Many people who have applied for competitive positions at desirable private sector organisations may be aware of the fairly common practice of including a clause in the employment contract which prohibits the employee from discussing or disclosing their salary or terms of employment with co-workers. Obviously such a restriction is designed to limit workers' bargaining power when it comes to pay and benefits, by limiting their ability to assess whether they are being paid fairly, or being paid less than the person next to them for doing the same work.
My question: is such a clause enforceable under Canadian labour/employment law? In the United States and UK, my understanding is that workers have a right to discuss employment terms to ensure they are not being discriminated against (it is well-known that women and other demographic groups are still paid less for doing the same job and work with same experience level, in this day and age). This right is, as I understand it, also rolled in with the right to organize labour at a workplace. Usually one of the first things that is done at the formation stage of a labour union is to determine how much all the union members are currently being paid, and other relevant terms of employment, so that the workers can bargain collectively. To attempt to limit the right to discuss pay through a clause in the employment contract would be tantamount to attempting to limit the right of labour to organize. My understanding is that a clause in an employment contract which is contrary to Canadian labour law is not enforceable, and will not be upheld by the courts in a wrongful dismissal suit (in the case that violation of that clause, discussion of pay with coworkers, is cited as cause for dismissal).
I tried to research this more on my own but I have no experience with employment law and only found reputable sources on this particular matter pertaining to the US and UK legal systems. sWould anyone care to comment?
My question: is such a clause enforceable under Canadian labour/employment law? In the United States and UK, my understanding is that workers have a right to discuss employment terms to ensure they are not being discriminated against (it is well-known that women and other demographic groups are still paid less for doing the same job and work with same experience level, in this day and age). This right is, as I understand it, also rolled in with the right to organize labour at a workplace. Usually one of the first things that is done at the formation stage of a labour union is to determine how much all the union members are currently being paid, and other relevant terms of employment, so that the workers can bargain collectively. To attempt to limit the right to discuss pay through a clause in the employment contract would be tantamount to attempting to limit the right of labour to organize. My understanding is that a clause in an employment contract which is contrary to Canadian labour law is not enforceable, and will not be upheld by the courts in a wrongful dismissal suit (in the case that violation of that clause, discussion of pay with coworkers, is cited as cause for dismissal).
I tried to research this more on my own but I have no experience with employment law and only found reputable sources on this particular matter pertaining to the US and UK legal systems. sWould anyone care to comment?