HR News: Salary Transparency

Recently, we wrote about the changes planned by the Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Policy in the field of salary transparency. In the article The end of the pay gap? The Ministry is preparing a draft law we discussed the so-called gender pay gap and legislative work aimed at implementing the EU directive on equal pay for women and men. Meanwhile, the amendment on salary transparency, which has already been published, is another step — this time covering all employees. The new regulations give candidates the right to know the amount of salary and benefits offered (including non-monetary) even before starting a job. What else is included in the June Act? What obligations does it impose on employers? We check below.

Obligations of employers

The new law is an action that aims to build a remuneration culture based on transparency and fairness. It obliges the employer to focus only on objective, transparent criteria and to offer remuneration appropriate to the position, and not to the candidate's employment history.

Under the amendment to the Labour Code, employers will have to:

• Provide information about the salary (in paper or electronic form in advance): its amount or range (ranges), even before the conclusion of the employment relationship. This applies to both cash and other benefits (e.g. allowances, non-salary benefits).
• Base the offer of remuneration on neutral criteria: particularly in terms of gender, in order to prevent discrimination and promote equality.
• Provide relevant information to the candidate: in the job advertisement, before the interview (if there was no advertisement), or at the latest before signing the contract (if the previous forms of contact did not contain this data).
• Maintain gender neutrality: job titles and the entire recruitment process are to be free of discriminatory elements.
• Do not ask about a candidate's previous earnings: this is a new, explicit ban intended to protect employees from underbidding based on their salary history.

Pros of the law for working people

The labor market is often a problem for employees also in the field of searching for offers (which we wrote about in the article Ghost jobs: a problem in the classifieds market) and the announcements themselves are often not satisfactory. Why? Firstly, it is often in vain to look in them for the scope of the proposed salary and secondly, often the job descriptions themselves, including the scope of duties, are often laconic. The new regulations are an opportunity to really strengthen the position of employees in the labor market. Transparency of salaries already at the recruitment stage will allow you to better assess the attractiveness of the offer and avoid a situation in which only after signing the contract it turns out that the conditions are less favorable than expected. The prohibition of asking about previous earnings protects against underpayment on the basis of professional history, and the obligation to have a neutral and transparent recruitment process increases the chances of equal treatment; regardless of gender, age or origin. This is a step towards a fairer and more transparent labour market.

Additional information: language and sanctions

If the law is signed by the President, then in addition to the publication of announcements with explicit remuneration, employers will also have to take care of the appropriate language in the announcements. The legislation requires that job titles be gender-neutral or contain both masculine and feminine forms. Where the female form does not exist, it will be necessary to formulate an appropriate description. This may mean the need to update the remuneration regulations and other internal documents of the employer. The Leviathan Confederation recalls that employers report the need for time to adapt to changes that go beyond the recruitment announcements themselves and also include company documentation. It is important that they have an adequate period for implementation because they require the development of a new system and the expenditure of time for employers. Although the new regulations introduce significant changes in the field of wage transparency, the legislator has not provided for them a separate sanction in the form of, for example, an offense against the rights of the employee (this means that the only tool for enforcing these regulations remains a civil action, that is, the possibility of pursuing claims on the basis of Article 183d of the Labor Code.) Any candidate in respect of whom the rules on equal treatment (including the transparency of remuneration) have been violated may claim compensation of no less than the minimum wage for the work. It is enough just to justify the fact of the violation; it is the employer who will have to prove that there was no discrimination. However, if the applicant wants to obtain higher compensation, it will be necessary to indicate the specific damage or harm.

It is worth recalling that these changes are not something completely new if we look at practices in other countries, and especially in the European Union. Salary transparency is today the standard of the new work culture, which has been shaped for years by countries such as Germany, France and the United Kingdom. Poland is joining this trend by introducing regulations aimed at increasing transparency and equality in the labour market.

It is also worth looking at the law from the perspective of good practices that have turned into an obligation - however, this is a reason to be pleased - after all, practices that for a long time were simply good customs translate into law. From the side of HR departments, this also has a beneficial effect on recruitment, because people who take up work for a given position, when they know the salary, undertake more informed recruitment and such applications are more reliable.

Sources:

1. https://www.prawo.pl/kadry/jawnosc-wynagrodzen-jakie-zmiany-zawiera-poselski-projekt,532335.html
2. https://accace.pl/jawnosc-wynagrodzen-nowe-obowiazki-pracodawcow/
3. https://kadry.infor.pl/wynagrodzenie/wysokosc-wynagrodzenia/6985639,nadchodzi-jawnosc-wynagrodzen-co-sie-zmieni.html