Research by the Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP) found that one in six employees said they would read a colleague’s payslip if it was found on their desk and were confident of not being seen.
Other findings reveal that one in five employees discuss their salary with co-workers, while more than half talk to friends and family about how much they get paid outside of working hours. These statistics highlight how payslip confidentiality is still an issue that affects many organisations.
Elaine Gibson, Senior Policy and Research Officer for the IPP, was quoted at www.payroll-help.com saying, “Talking about how much money one makes is usually a social taboo in the workplace and most of the time there is an implicit understanding amongst colleagues not to their discuss salaries.
“Many organisations discourage workers from talking about their pay, some even going as far to implement clauses into employment contracts requiring confidentiality on pay.
“However, this will all change in October when the Equality Act 2010 will ban ‘gagging’ clauses which forbid staff members from comparing their pay levels with other employees.
“This will hopefully make organisations’ pay structures more transparent and will expose the pay gaps between employees who perform the same roles, especially in the cases of gender and disability-based inequality of pay.”
To find out more about the Equality Act 2010, visit www.equalities.gov.uk.
