(original title: employees will be dismissed if they exchange wages privately. Is salary confidentiality really legal?)
Topics involving wages and bonuses always attract special attention. Not long ago, the topic of whether the salary of colleagues should be made public triggered a heated discussion. Some media launched an online vote on 'will you inquire about the salary of colleagues'. The results showed that most people said they would inquire.
Is asking about a colleague's salary just a pastime between colleagues? The reporter learned that it is far more than that. Many companies have written the "Prohibition of private exchange of wages and bonuses" into contracts, and even companies have asked employees to sign income confidentiality agreements, making it clear that violators will be dismissed. In this way, asking about colleagues' wages has changed from 'will' to 'can'. However, even if the employer expressly stipulates that salary confidentiality is really legal?
'high voltage line' for enterprise management
Li Ying, who has just graduated, has not been dismissed because she inquired about the salary of her colleagues, but she has suffered from it.
At the age of 25, after her master's degree, she entered a finance company in Shanghai as an accountant. During a chat with her colleagues, Li Ying learned that the wages of two colleagues who joined the same batch and held the same position were higher than her own. She asked the HR Manager for reasons, but was criticized, 'informed & lsquo; Leave next time. "
Zhang man, who has been engaged in human resources work for many years in the financial industry, has a lot of feelings about the salary confidentiality system. She told reporters that this is a management system commonly used by many industry enterprises.
Zhang man said that an employee who has worked for 20 years can't get the same salary as an employee who has just graduated. " Even if the work content and task are the same, everyone's value contribution to the enterprise is different due to different educational background and experience. " In Zhang man's view, equal pay for equal work is more reflected in the basic wage.
Zhang man's company has included salary confidentiality in the employee code of conduct. During the induction training, the company will emphasize that this is the high-voltage line of the company's management. At work, some colleagues often ask Zhang man about the income of other colleagues. At this time, Zhang man usually explains it with the salary management system of the enterprise and emphasizes the rules of salary confidentiality, 'if the employee can't understand it, we will talk to him seriously.'
'income disclosure is the premise of equal pay for equal work'
According to media reports, He Jing once worked in a trading company for sales. By chance, He Jing learned that the salary and business of her eight colleagues who were engaged in the same work content and comparable performance were much higher than herself in Chengdu.
He Jing asked the manager in charge for a raise on the grounds of unfair distribution. Asked how to know that her salary is lower than others, He Jing answered truthfully. A few days later, the company terminated her labor relationship on the grounds of her serious violation of rules and regulations. He Jing refuses to accept it and brings a lawsuit to the court.
The court held that although the labor law did not expressly stipulate whether the income of workers should be disclosed, the practice of "confidentiality of employees' personal income" in the company's rules and regulations was contrary to the provision of equal pay for equal work in the labor contract law. Therefore, the court held that the company's behavior constituted an illegal termination of labor relations and ordered the company to pay economic compensation to He Jing.
In this regard, Yang Baobao, a lawyer of Beijing BOC law firm, agreed. He believes that in the case that the rules and regulations of the employer stipulate that the salary is confidential, although it is inappropriate for the party He Jing to inquire about the salary of other colleagues, it is not advisable for the company to take the act of inquiring about the salary of colleagues as the basis for terminating the labor contract.
According to the labor law, wage distribution should follow the principle of distribution according to work and implement equal pay for equal work. Yang Baobao believes that 'income disclosure is the premise of realizing equal pay for equal work'.
The wage payment system should be clarified
"Some people say their annual salary is 200000 yuan, others say 300000 yuan. In fact, one person may be talking about pre tax income and one person may be talking about after tax. This one-sided dissemination of information is not conducive to company management. " Zhang man believes that because employees do not know all the facts, it is necessary to avoid the dissemination of negative information through salary confidentiality. In Zhang man's opinion, salary confidentiality is more for personal salary, but everyone knows the salary management rules.
Yang Baobao told reporters that the employer's implementation of the salary confidentiality system is mainly considered from the aspects of protecting employees' privacy, preventing mutual comparison and reducing employee turnover. "To a certain extent, it is conducive to enterprise management and maintaining a harmonious atmosphere among employees."
"At present, China's laws do not explicitly stipulate that salaries must be kept confidential, nor do they restrict employers from implementing the salary confidentiality system." Yang Baobao believes that in the absence of express provisions in the law, the salary confidentiality clause should be respected and protected by the law as long as both parties reach an agreement and the formulation procedure is legal and effective.
However, in employment practice, some enterprises abuse the right of salary confidentiality system to exercise unreasonable control over workers. Yang Baobao believes that this conflicts with the principle of equal pay for equal work stipulated in the labor law to some extent.
In practice, the salary confidentiality system is often in conflict with the principle of equal pay for equal work due to the lack of constraints. Chen Junyu, a lawyer at Beijing Kangda law firm, believes that it is unfair for some basic and routine posts or workers of the same type of work, and it is difficult to realize the rights and interests of equal pay for equal work. " The law has no mandatory requirement on whether wages are publicized, but workers have the right to know their wages. Therefore, whether enterprises publicize employees' wages or not, they should formulate a clear wage payment system. "