The implementation of the "secret salary system" cannot exceed the legal bottom line
Zhang Yusheng
A well-known company recently announced that employees have the right to discuss working conditions and pay, according to a report in Workers Daily on January 17.
For a time, the topic of "whether an enterprise should implement a salary confidentiality system" has attracted attention again.
Regarding the practice of some companies dismissing workers on the grounds that employees discussed wages and violated the company's secret salary regulations, lawyers pointed out that the secret salary system cannot be abused, let alone become a tool to infringe on the legitimate rights and interests of workers.
Employee compensation is not only the due remuneration that laborers obtain through legal labor, but also the human resource cost that enterprise managers should pay for hiring labor.
It is based on this that people pay special attention to the topic of "secret salary system".
Although the implementation of the "secret salary system" belongs to the scope of autonomy of enterprise management, enterprises must still abide by the bottom line of the law and must not act arbitrarily.
As an "imported product", the original intention of the "secret salary system" implemented abroad is to reduce labor costs, and employers and employees negotiate salary one by one.
In recent years, this method has become an express provision for some enterprises in my country. During the specific implementation process, many drawbacks have also been exposed, causing some conflicts and disputes, and even become a tool for some enterprises to infringe on the rights and interests of workers.
There is neither a clear requirement that corporate salaries must be disclosed in the current laws of our country, nor specific provisions that prohibit companies from practicing salary secrecy.
In reality, foreign-funded enterprises and private enterprises are often keen on the "secret salary system".
The implementation of the "secret salary system" and the "clear salary system" have their own advantages.
For example, the former can prevent employees from competing in terms of salary, facilitate enterprises to control labor costs, maintain flexibility in salary execution, facilitate recruitment or retention of talents, and protect the privacy of employees’ personal income.
The latter is beneficial to protect employees' right to know and to participate, to improve employees' trust in the enterprise, and especially to enhance the incentive effect brought about by compensation and performance.
From the perspective of workers, of course, they hope that the salary standard will be open and transparent, and the salary will be clear and convinced that there are differences.
Enterprises can implement the "secret salary system", but they should clarify the boundaries, clarify the bottom line, seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, and cannot abuse.
According to the provisions of the Labor Contract Law, when an employer formulates, revises or decides on labor remuneration, insurance benefits, and other rules and regulations or major matters that directly affect the vital interests of workers, it shall be discussed by the workers' congress or all workers.
Employers shall publicize or inform workers of rules and regulations and decisions on major matters that directly involve the vital interests of workers.
Therefore, even if an enterprise keeps employee remuneration a secret, the rules regarding the "secret salary system" cannot be kept secret, and must perform relevant procedures such as employee discussion, equal consultation, public announcement, and notification, and fully listen to the opinions of all parties and accept supervision.
The International Labour Organization clarifies in the Protection of Wages Convention that "enterprises should take effective measures to ensure that employees are informed of their wage conditions before employment in an easy-to-understand and appropriate manner, and that they are notified of wage composition details when wages are paid."
Although there is no clear concept of "wage right to know" in my country's labor regulations, the relevant legal system clearly stipulates that enterprises should truthfully inform workers about the specific situation of labor remuneration.
In addition, it is necessary to prevent enterprises from implementing "salary discrimination" through the "secret salary system", and "different pay for the same work" and "different men and women" for the same type of work and the same position.