Canadian HR Reporter is the national journal of human resource management. It features the latest workplace news, HR best practices, employment law commentary and tools and tips for employers to get the most out of their workforce.
Issue link: https://digital.hrreporter.com/i/1220817
24 www.hrreporter.com F E A T U R E S IN Canada, the wage gap continues to be a key issue when it comes to gender equality. Both pay equity and pay equality laws aim to address the gap; these are two different legal concepts that are often confused. What's the difference? Pay equity legislation addresses equal pay for work of equal value. Generally, in Canadian jurisdictions with pay equity legislation, achieving pay equity means that jobs traditionally held by women are paid the same as jobs traditionally held by men. Pay equity laws address the rights of female- dominated occupations as groups, meaning that male- and female- dominated occupations of comparable value with the same employer must be paid equally. Pay equality provisions, which are proactive pay equity and equality obligations for employers. The act is new proactive pay equity legislation for the federally regulated sector that passed in December 2018 and is intended to come into effect in 2020. The act will replace the existing complaint-based system and expand employer obligations, placing the onus of pay equity analysis on employers. It will apply to all federally regulated public and private sector employers with 10 or more employees, as well as ministers' offices. Here are some ways employers can better navigate the act, if it applies. Review compensation practices and research the new provisions: Organizations should familiarize themselves with the act's detailed provisions and be ready to develop an implementation plan for the upcoming changes. Different obligations will apply to small employers (10 to 99 employees), large employers (100- plus employees) and unionized employers, so it's extremely important for organizations to review their PAY DIFFERENCES STILL A CHALLENGE IN CANADA research in 2020 in partnership with Leger. The gender wage gap is also reflected in additional compensation (bonuses) where men reported receiving more than double the amount reported by women ($7,647 compared to $3,251 on average). Women are more likely to report earning less than $30,000 in pre-tax salary (22 per cent compared to 14 per cent for men), while men are significantly more likely to report earning $80,000 or more (30 per cent compared to 13 per cent for women), found the research. The Pay Equity Act While the federal Pay Equity Act is not in effect at the time of writing, its expected entry into force in 2020 reflects a global trend toward more PREPARING FOR NEW PAY EQUITY RULES Passed back in 2018, new rules around pay equity in Canada are expected to come into effect in 2020. Employers can take steps to prepare by reviewing compensation practices and setting up a pay equity committee, says Natalka Haras of ADP required under employment standards or human rights legislation across Canada, address the rights of women employees as individuals. Pay equality or "equal pay for equal work" is the concept that men and women must be paid the same for performing the same job in the same organization. It means a female engineer must be paid equally as a male engineer with the same employer, although reasonable differences due to factors such as seniority or merit are permitted. The wage gap There is still a lot of work to do to eliminate the pay gap in Canada. The average salary for Canadian men in 2019 was $67,704, which is 24 per cent higher than women, who earned $51,352 on average, according to ADP Canada, which conducted market Source: ADP C O M P E N S AT I O N $66,504 Average pay for men per year in 2019 $49,721 Average pay for women per year in 2019 80% Number of men who believe that men and women are compensated equally within their workplace 62% Number of women who believe that men and women are compensated equally in the workplace 45% Number of workers who would leave their current employer if they found out that a colleague of equal standing received preferential compensation based on gender 63% Number of executives who believe men and women are equally compensated 31% Number of executives who feel pay equity is a priority within their organization