Guidance on wage or salary information on job postings

Section 2 of the Pay Transparency Act requires that salary or wage information must be included on all publicly advertised job postings. This requirement comes into effect on November 1, 2023, and applies to all employers in B.C.

Employers do not need to include bonus pay, overtime pay, commissions, tips, or benefits on job postings. They may voluntarily choose to include this or other information if desired. The expected wage or salary or expected range of the wage or salary must be included within the job posting. For example:

• $20 per hour
• $20-$30 per hour
• $40,000 per year
• $40,000 - $60,000 per year

If stating a wage or salary range on publicly advertised job postings, employers must not include an unspecified minimum or maximum amount. For example:

• “$20 per hour and up” or “up to $30 per hour” does not meet the requirement
• “$20-$30 per hour” does meet the requirement

At this time, the Province is not providing guidance on how large the range on an advertised wage or salary range can be. This is at the employer’s discretion. The Province may choose to provide further guidance or introduce a regulation on maximum advertised ranges in the future if needed.

Wage or salary information should be the employer’s reasonable expectation of pay for the job at the time of posting. This requirement does not prevent the following:

• The applicant requesting a higher wage or salary than the amount advertised
• The employer agreeing to pay an applicant a higher wage or salary than the amount advertised

In addition to jobs posted directly by the employer, this requirement applies to jobs posted by third parties on job search websites, job boards and other recruitment platforms on behalf of the employer. 

The requirement applies to jobs advertised outside of B.C. if the position is open to B.C. residents to apply and may be filled by someone living in B.C., either in-person or remotely. 

General “help wanted” posters that don’t advertise a specific opportunity and general recruitment campaigns that don’t mention specific job opportunities are not captured by this requirement. If a job is not posted publicly then it is not required to include pay information.

For more information please see pay transparency laws in B.C. and pay transparency regulations.

Questions can be submitted by email to PayTransparency@gov.bc.ca.