B.C. pay transparency reports: what employers with 50+ staff need to do

B.C.'s Pay Transparency Act has been phasing in reporting by employer size since 2023. This fall it reaches employers with 50 or more employees in B.C., about 8,500 businesses, most of them reporting for the first time.

Rules for every employer

Some parts of the Act already apply to every B.C. employer, whatever its size, and have since the Act became law on May 11, 2023.

• 01Pay in job postings. Every public job posting must include the expected pay or pay range.
• 02No pay-history questions. You can't ask applicants what they were paid by previous employers.
• 03No reprisals. You can't dismiss, suspend, demote, discipline, or harass an employee for asking about their pay, sharing it with a coworker or applicant, or asking about your pay transparency report.

Who has to report

Reporting phased in by the number of employees in B.C. as of January 1 of the reporting year. Count your B.C. headcount on January 1, 2026; if it was 50 or more, your first report is due November 1, 2026.

After the first report, it's annual: a new report is due by November 1 every year. The Province says about 64% of the 700 employers due in 2025 met the requirement, and it is continuing outreach to the rest.

What goes in the report

The report covers a 12-month reporting period you choose, such as your fiscal or calendar year. It compares pay by gender using four categories: Man, Woman, Non-Binary, and Unknown or Prefer Not to Answer.

• 01Employer details: name, mailing address, NAICS code, the start and end dates of the reporting period, and employee count as of January 1.
• 02Per-employee payroll data: gender category, hours worked, ordinary pay, special salary, overtime hours, overtime pay, and bonus pay.
• 03Pay gaps: mean and median gaps for hourly ordinary pay, overtime pay, overtime hours, and bonus pay, shown as a percentage between "Man" and each of the other three categories.

The Province offers a free Pay Transparency Reporting Tool that produces the report from your data. Using it is optional.

Posting it

Post the report on a publicly accessible website, or in a visible place in each workplace and available to anyone on request. It has to stay accessible until you post the next year's report.

Getting ready

• 01Confirm your January 1 headcount in B.C. That decides whether 2026 is your first year.
• 02Pick the 12-month period and export hours, ordinary pay, overtime, and bonus pay per employee from payroll.
• 03Collect gender information in the four categories, with "Unknown or Prefer Not to Answer" for anyone who hasn't provided it.
• 04Run the numbers (or use the reporting tool) and post the report before November 1.