BC Workplace Blog

BC’s Pay Transparency Act and Pay Transparency Reports

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Co-authored by Articled Student, Aivrey Mckinley

This is an update to our previous post: BC Pay Transparency Act: Employers – What You Need To Know

The Act requires employers to complete annual transparency reports from the period of January 1 to November 1 on a yearly basis.

The reports must be prepared annually by November 1^st of each year through a phased approach:

• By November 1, 2024, all employers with 1000+ employees or more will be required to complete reports.
• By November 1, 2025, this requirement will extend to all employers with 300+ employees.
• By November 1, 2026, this requirement will extend to all employers with 50+ employees.

Since our last update, the B.C. Government has posted online resources on its website to guide employers in preparing their pay transparency reports. The resources include:

• a summary of information the reports must include;
• examples of reports, resources employers should refer to when collecting employee information; and
• an online tool employers can use to generate their pay transparency reports.

Pay transparency reports must include:

• the name and mailing address of the organization
• the applicable North American Industry Classification 2022 sector code or NAICS code
• the dates on which the reporting period began and ended
• the number of employees as of January 1, reported as within one of the following ranges:
  • 50 to 299 employees
  • 300 to 999 employees
  • 1000 or more employees
• the gender category that is being compared with (for example, a comparison of men versus women or non-binary employees)
• the results of the pay gap calculations

Compliance and Reporting Obligations

Employers must publish completed and current reports on their publicly accessible website or, if there is no public website, make copies of the report available to their employees at the workplace or to any member of the public on request. For those employers completing reports on behalf of Indigenous Peoples, special considerations and obligations of consultation may apply.

Guidelines for Collecting Gender Information

To fulfill the reporting requirements and in compliance with reporting obligations, employers must collect information from employees by asking them to voluntarily self-identify by using following gender categories:

• man;
• woman;
• non-binary; and
• unknown.

Employees must be specifically notified that the disclosure of information is voluntary.

The information does not need to be collected annually: employers must make reasonable efforts to collect the required information from their employees when preparing their first pay transparency report. Additionally, employers must make reasonable efforts to collect gender information when a new employee is onboarded.

Employers must also provide employees with the opportunity, at least annually, to provide gender pay information or to update or change any information previously provided.

If you would like more information about the Act and Pay Transparency Regulations and need assistance with preparing a pay transparency report, please contact any member of our Employment and Human Rights Group.