Rewards strategy

Navigating pay transparency in Ontario 

Across Canada, the movement for pay transparency is gaining significant traction, with employees actively seeking more open and equitable salary disclosure practices. Now is the time to take action and embrace these standards, and to foster a culture of trust and accountability within your organization.

Ontario’s pay transparency and job posting requirements take effect January 2026. The clock is ticking for employers with 25 or more employees. 

Are you prepared? 

Compliance with transparency laws is just the beginning.

In addition to compliance requirements, employers are facing pressure from employees to be more transparent.

Mercer has key insights on employee expectations and employer practices in Canada:

Employees

40% of employees are unlikely to apply for a job without compensation information in the job posting

69% of employees say they know their own pay range

53% of Gen Z share their compensation with colleagues

59% of employees have researched their pay ranges

Source: Inside Employees’ Minds, Mercer Canada 2023-2024

Employers

Fewer than 20% of Canadian employers have fully implemented pay transparency strategies1

41% of employers in Canada are still developing their transparency plans1

22% are intending to do so within the next year1

15% of Canadian employers are sharing pay ranges both internally and externally in a standardized way2

29% of Canadian employers openly communicate the pay range of an employee’s current grade2

Sources 
1 Global Pay Transparency Report, Mercer 
2 Compensation Planning November 2024 Pulse Survey, Mercer Canada

Understanding the future and taking steps to get there

Pay transparency is a journey, and organizations advance at different rates. The key is to define your strategy and build a roadmap between where you are today and where you want to go.

Phases in an employers pay transparency journey: 

Employers face many choice points in their pay transparency journey
Employers face many choice points in their pay transparency journey: From preparing on how to approach pay transparency to shifting from compliance to fairness, organizations have the option from complying with legislation to full transparency.

A five-step playbook to guide the path to pay transparency:

Pay transparency journey
  • Assess your readiness: 
    Review your compensation foundation
  • Set your destination: 
    Address key questions around where you’re headed
  • Plan for the journey: 
    Address the gaps and risks in your current environment 
  •  Share your story: 
    Deploy your plan and go live
  • Measure the impact: 
     Measure your success through data and insights

Mercer collaborates with clients to shape their pay transparency strategy, aim to mitigate risks through assessments and develop a robust rewards ecosystem. We also help clients tell their story and seek to enhance their brand through engaging communications. 

Pay Transparency Readiness Assessment 

The time to act on pay transparency is now.

An example of Mercer's Pay Transparency Readiness Assessment results. This tool reviews an employer's key human resources programs and pay practices to evaluate the current state or readiness from a compliance and employee experience perspective.
This infographic may not be sold, reproduced, or redistributed, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Mercer (Canada) Limited. This infographic and any recommendations, analysis, or advice provided herein are not intended to be taken as advice regarding any individual situation and should not be relied upon as such. The information contained herein is based on sources Mercer believes are reliable, but Mercer makes no representation or warranty as to its accuracy. Any statements concerning actuarial, tax, accounting, or legal matters are based solely on Mercer’s consulting experience and are not to be relied upon as actuarial, tax, accounting, or legal advice, for which you should consult your own professional advisors. Any modeling, analytics, or projections are subject to inherent uncertainty, and the statements herein could be materially affected if any underlying assumptions, conditions, information, or factors are inaccurate or incomplete or should change. Mercer shall have no obligation to update the report and shall have no liability of any kind (including, without limitation, for any direct, indirect, consequential, exemplary, special or other damages) to you or any other party arising out of this publication or any matter contained herein. 

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Take the first step with our Pay Transparency Readiness Assessment and evaluate your preparedness. 

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