The federal Pay Equity Act comes into force on August 31, 2021, requiring federally regulated employers to establish a pay equity plan. Read more about what this means for employers below.
The federal government announced today that the Pay Equity Act and its regulations will come into force on August 31, 2021. The Pay Equity Act impacts federally regulated workplaces by directing employers with 10 or more federally regulated employees to take measures to ensure that they are providing "equal pay for equal work", in order to address the gender wage gap (see ESDC's Backgrounder on the Pay Equity Act). These federally-regulated employers are required to establish and implement a pay equity plan by August 31, 2024.
According to Employment and Social Development Canada, a pay equity plan should: (1) compare pay between positions of equal value that are mostly held by women and those mostly held by men; (2) eliminate those identified pay differences within three to five years; and (3) be revised and updated at least every five years.
The Pay Equity Regulations support the Pay Equity Act by setting out requirements such as the posting of documents in the workplace, the mathematical factors for comparing pay between women and men, and the process for updating established pay equity plans.
Originally published 7 July 2021
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