The Employment Relations (Employee Remuneration Disclosure) Amendment Bill has passed its third reading. It will come into force the day after it receives Royal assent.
The Bill’s aim is to increase transparency about pay, and allow any pay discrimination to be more easily identified and remedied.
The Bill provides protection for employees who discuss or disclose their remuneration and creates a new ground for a personal grievance: “adverse conduct for a remuneration disclosure reason”. Once the law comes into effect, if an employee is dismissed, refused a benefit, or otherwise treated adversely as a result of them discussing their remuneration, they will be able to raise a personal grievance in respect of the action against them.
Once a personal grievance is raised, the employer would need to prove that the discussion of remuneration was not a substantial reason for the action being taken.
The Bill does not prevent employers from including provisions in employment agreements preventing employees from discussing their remuneration, but practically, it will mean these clauses cannot be enforced.
The key takeaway for employers is a reminder to take care around setting/increasing remuneration so that there’s consistency in approach and the business can defend potentially different levels of pay for comparable employees if called on by an employee to do so.
If you have any questions, please contact a member of our employment team.
Disclaimer: The content of this article is general in nature and not intended as a substitute for specific professional advice on any matter and should not be relied upon for that purpose.
