Legal to disclose your salary

While it might be unpleasant to discuss how much one gets paid, a company cannot contractually oblige employees to keep their salaries confidential – neither are job seekers obliged to provide a copy of their payslip to their potential recruiters.

Despite payslips often issued with “confidential” printed on the front, according to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act (BCEA), an employer cannot take disciplinary action against a person who discloses their remuneration to their colleagues.

“It is not law. It is mostly policy and practice but there is nothing in the law that says you cannot disclose your salary. If you want to tell your mates, it is up to you,” said labour lawyer Dunstan Farrell.

According to Section 78(1)(b) of the BCEA, an employee can discuss the terms and conditions of their employment with anyone and Section 79(2) provides that employers cannot prevent their staff from talking about the details of their salaries to anyone, neither can the employee be punished for doing so.

According to American author and management professor David Burkus, salary transparency makes for a better workplace for both the employer and employees, as keeping the remuneration a secret leads to peers either thinking they are underpaid or being discriminated against.

But, Farrell said, that transparency could cause “massive antagonism” in the workplace.

Labour lawyer Alexia Vosloo-DeWitt said salaries were confidential because when you go for an interview, you have the right to negotiate your salary. “The fact that someone had better negotiation skills than you, why should that now be made public? It will lead to animosity between employees if it is constantly openly discussed,” she said.

Recruiters are also now requesting potential candidates to show their payslip before an offer is made. This, however, was not to be used as a benchmark when making the offer, but to assess the candidate’s credibility. A payslip can also be used to the candidate’s advantage, said recruitment specialist and chief executive of Emakhosini Management, Makhosazana Valerie Tshabalala.

“It is for protection and can be used as proof that you were indeed employed and how much you got paid. Recruiters will then ask how much you are looking at getting paid and will make an offer based on what they have budgeted for. If the offer is less than what you were paid, then the payslip plays to the candidate’s advantage.”

A candidate can also refuse to issue their previous payslip to a recruiter. “If they’re serious about finding the correct skill then they will come back to you,” said Tshabalala. –