Pay secrecy during recruitment is widely regarded as unfair labour practice and a violation of jobseeker human rights.
We asked Truworths Divisional Director of HR why they are not transparent about pay in their job adverts.
Pay Secrecy is an Abuse of Power
Pay secrecy during recruitment can be an abuse of employer power in a number of ways. For one, it can give employers an unfair advantage in the hiring process, as they can use the information to offer lower salaries or other incentives to the candidate. This can be harmful for the candidate, who may not be aware that they are being offered a lower wage than they could potentially earn elsewhere.
Pay secrecy during recruitment can make it difficult for workers to negotiate for fair and competitive compensation, and can limit their ability to advocate for their own interests and the interests of their colleagues. Overall, pay secrecy during recruitment can be seen as an abuse of employer power, and it is important for employers to be transparent and fair in their hiring practices in order to promote trust and fairness in the workplace.
Pay Transparency is Fashionable, but not at Truworths!
In New York City, job adverts that don’t display pay are banned.
We used social media to ask Truworths why they advertise positions, particularly those targeting interns, without including a salary range or stipend. It took them six days to figure out a response. Read it below.
Dear Leonie,
Re: your request for clarity on our job advertisements
Truworths chooses not to disclose salaries with advertisements for employment opportunities so as not to inadvertently and prematurely exclude good candidates from positions based purely on their salary expectations.
Truworths offers market-related salaries and remunerates fairly based on the requirements of a role, the candidate’s qualifications, skills and experience. Furthermore candidates are welcome to discuss their salary expectations during the interview process.
We find your social media posts to be unnecessarily hostile toward Truworths, particularly given that advertising employment opportunities without a salary range is not an unusual practice in South Africa.
Truworths will not hesitate to defend itself against defamatory statements, and reserves all its legal rights.
Regards
Mark
Mark Smith
Divisional Director : Human Resources
1 Mostert Street, Cape Town, 8001
P.O. Box 600, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
E: msmith@truworths.co.za www.truworths.co.za
Wage secrecy and Information Inequality
Can we Prevent Abuse of Power?
Employer abuse of power during the recruitment process can be prevented through a range of measures, including:
Wage secrecy, or the practice of not disclosing information about the pay of employees or potential employees, can be considered a form of information inequality. This is because it can prevent individuals from having access to important information that they need in order to make informed decisions about their employment and compensation. Without transparency about pay, it can be difficult for workers to know if they are being paid fairly for their work, and it can limit their ability to negotiate for competitive and fair compensation. Additionally, pay secrecy can create an atmosphere of mistrust and resentment in the workplace, as employees may suspect that their colleagues are being paid differently for the same work without any good reason. Overall, wage secrecy can be seen as a form of information inequality that can have negative consequences for both individual workers and for the organization as a whole.
- Establishing clear and fair recruitment policies and procedures, which outline the rights and responsibilities of employers and jobseekers, and which provide guidance on how to conduct a fair and inclusive hiring process.
- Implementing anti-discrimination and harassment policies, which outline prohibited behaviors and provide clear guidelines on how to report and address incidents of discrimination or harassment.
- Providing training and support to employers and other stakeholders on how to prevent and address abuse of power during the recruitment process, including through the use of fair and transparent hiring practices, and by promoting a culture of respect and inclusion in the workplace.
- Enforcing existing laws and regulations that protect the rights of jobseekers, and taking appropriate legal action against employers who engage in abusive or discriminatory practices during the recruitment process.
- Engaging in dialogue and collaboration with jobseekers, employers, and other stakeholders in order to promote fairness and equality in the hiring process, and to address and prevent abuse of power and other forms of discrimination and inequality.
Overall, preventing employer abuse of power during the recruitment process requires a combination of legal, organizational, and cultural measures, and it is important for all stakeholders to work together to promote fairness and equality in the workplace.
