Opinion: it’s vital we start talking about pay

A report by the Trades Union Congress has revealed a fifth of people are ‘banned’ from discussing their salary at work.

Do you know what your colleagues are paid? 

It’s unlikely as talking about salaries is generally viewed as something of a taboo among Brits. 

I know that in the various jobs I’ve held over my career, I’ve never had a conversation with my peers about what they were earning, and how it may have compared to my own pay packet.

But it’s not just reservations among Brits that’s preventing many of us from opening up about our payslips ‒ for many having that conversation would see them actually risk their jobs entirely.

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The forbidden conversation

A report from the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in January found that almost one in five people have been told that they are forbidden from discussing their salary with their co-workers.

It argued these ‘gagging orders’ are causing employees to be reticent about challenging how fair their pay is or flagging up potential discrimination.

The Equality Act 2010 does place some restrictions on secrecy clauses. They are essentially unenforceable should an employee opt to discuss pay to find out if they are being paid less than colleagues for discriminatory reasons.

But evidently this legislation isn’t doing enough to prevent employers from warning their staff of the potentially serious consequences of having a conversation with their colleagues about money.

This secrecy doesn’t just cloud our knowledge of how our salaries compare to people doing the same sort of job ‒ it includes those higher up the business too.

The TUC report found that half of workers don’t know what senior managers in their organisation are paid, while more than half are provided with no information about other people’s pay in the organisation.

What’s more, a paltry 18% said their workplace has a transparent pay policy.

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The pay gap

Let’s be honest, the pay gap between ordinary workers and bosses is absolutely insane. 

Figures by the High Pay Centre thinktank found that many bosses of FTSE 100 firms took just 33 hours to be paid more than the typical worker’s annual salary.

In other words, by close of play on 6 January, they were already better off than normal employees. 

And yes, I accept that as these are the bosses of the biggest firms in the nation, they are always going to be in a more lucrative position.

But it’s a perfect illustration of the gap between the haves and have nots.

It’s good to talk

Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, described pay secrecy clauses as a “get out of jail free card for bad bosses” and I find it very difficult to argue with her.

Yes, talking about money is likely to be a little uncomfortable, but the reality is that by doing so we end up with much fairer workplaces.

Bosses need to be accountable over just how much they pay staff and have to justify why there may be discrepancies.

While I never discussed money as an employee, that has changed since going freelance.

I’ve had plenty of conversations with fellow freelancers about pay, ranging from what different people pay to how quickly the money tends to come through.

It’s put me in a far more informed position, but it’s also given me a better sense of my own worth as a worker. It’s something I wish I had done in the past.

I’ve no doubt there have been times in my career when I was being paid less for doing the same job as someone else and having had a conversation like that would have helped me when asking for a pay rise.

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Tackling greedy bosses

And just as we need to have actual information to hand to see how our salaries compare to our peers, it’s also right that we have a better handle on what our bosses are getting as well. 

We are making small progress on this front, as firms listed on the Stock Exchange, who have more than 250 staff, are required to start disclosing the ratio of their chief executives’ pay to the salaries of normal employees from this year.

This should shine a light on those firms whose bosses are taking an excessive portion of the pie, and hopefully steer the management of non-listed firms away from being quite so greedy.

Only time will tell if a sense of shame will tackle excessive pay. But if nothing else, it should get people talking about salaries ‒ even if their bosses don’t approve.