Proposed pay transparency legislation would help to proactively address lingering pay disparities, attendees of a town hall meeting heard this week.

Jason Hayward, the Minister of Economy and Labour, told a crowd at St Paul AME Centennial Hall on Thursday that while Bermuda has long prohibited discrimination through the Human Rights Act, significant pay inequality continues to exist.

He said that statistics show wage disparities across race, gender and immigration status, and that such disparities have a real impact on the community.

Mr Hayward said that improving wage transparency would help to prevent disparities before they can occur, requiring employers to be more transparent as to how salaries are determined, include salary ranges in job adverts and prohibit the use of salary history in hiring decisions.

“This is not about creating any unnecessary burden for businesses. It’s about ensuring that pay decisions are based on objective, transparent and non-discriminatory factors and employees have confidence that they are being treated fairly.”

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Mr Hayward said that there are legitimate questions and concerns, which is why the Government is hosting the town halls to garner feedback on how the policy might be strengthened.

He told attendees that while there are protections in place under the Human Rights Act to require equal pay for equal work, those who feel they are being discriminated against have to prove it.

Mr Hayward: “That is a hard hurdle to climb, so what we want to do is put in a proactive solution rather than a reactive solution.”

Under the proposed scheme, employers would be required to implement pay transparency policies and ensure that there are objective criteria for differences in salary so they can clearly be understood by all.

Labour relations officers and Labour Relations Tribunal would be used to enforce the policies and adjudicate disputes.

He said that the Government had not fully determined the scope of employee benefits to be considered, noting that elements such as housing allowances, childcare allowances and bonuses can also play a factor in inequality.

Stacey-Lee Williams, Curb executive director, said that she had experienced pay disparities first hand, recalling a time she discovered that she was making $10,000 a year less than her non-Bermudian colleagues when a payroll spreadsheet landed on her desk.

She said: “When I raised the issue with my employer, something important happened. The salary disparity could no longer remain hidden.

“The organisation had to confront the question: could this difference be objectively justified? Ultimately, my salary was adjusted.

“Had that payroll spreadsheet never crossed my desk, I would likely have continued earning less simply because I didn’t know.”

Ms Williams said pay transparency is about fairness, transparency and trust, asking employers if they can objectively explain differences in salary.

“If the answer is yes, employers have nothing to fear. If the answer is no, then transparency gives us an opportunity to examine our systems and consider whether they are as fair as we believe them to be.”

Lisa Reed, executive officer with the Human Rights Commission, said that one of the challenges faced is that a right can exist in law but be very difficult to exercise in practice.

She said: “If I suspect that I am being paid less because of my race, my sex, my disability, my place of origin or another protected characteristic, what information to I have available to me to verify my claim?

“From a human rights perspective, a right is only as meaningful as a person’s ability to exercise it.”

In addition to helping the employees, Ms Reed argued that pay transparency would help to protect employers from allegations of discrimination by demonstrating that they have an objective salary framework.

However, she said that polices must be carefully crafted to address privacy concerns.

• The proposed pay transparency legislation consultation paper is available atforum.gov.bm, where members of the public can also submit feedback and comments on the proposal