And then there’s the archane view of salary communications…
I was reading Workforce magazine online and overall agreeing with the points of view about how important it is for companies to update the Employee Handbook. There’s been some recent employment laws enacted and it’s just sound advice to make sure that the Handbook is up to date.
But then I got to the paragraph labeled as “Confidential Information”. Granted, the advice here is technically correct, here’s an opportunity to advise or counsel readers from the standpoint of progressive HR practices and yet the positioning taken is from strictly the legal compliance angle.
Check it out. What do you think?
Confidential information: A common statement in many aging handbooks instructs a worker to “not discuss your wages with any other person.” However, under certain circumstances, employees have a right to discuss topics for their mutual aid and protection under federal labor law, which would include wage and benefits information. Employees may have the right to discuss this with both fellow employees and third parties, such as union representatives.
With all the recent push for more openness and transparency of pay, I’d like to think that we’d focus more on the cultural benefits to allowing (heck, even encouraging!) salary communications, vs. the archane view of making sure companies don’t violate the minimally required threshold of compensation discussions allowed amongst employees.
