Whether or not individuals’ pay should be made public is a matter of controversy.
In recent years the issue of pay has never been far from the headlines, whether that’s in terms of executive remuneration, gender pay reporting or revelations of just what the BBC pays its staff. Underpinning this is a belief that many people are overpaid for what they do, while others are effectively being exploited, whether deliberately or unconsciously.
Against this backdrop, more organisations are feeling under pressure to be more open about what they pay their staff and how this is worked out, whether in the form of publishing the difference between top and bottom salaries, highlighting pay bands or outlining the package that comes with each job role.
Not being able to see the whole picture in a headline salary comparison is a concern for Monica Atwal, Managing Partner at Clarkslegal.
“Transparency of pay grades and criteria for reward can only assist,” she says. “But details of individuals will also need to disclose other matrices, such as performance, expertise, critical skills, breadth of knowledge and responsibility, loyalty and length of service, so employees can understand their individual value and know the criteria to be met to move pay bands.”
