Pay secrecy clauses in employment contracts (ie clauses that forbid an employee from sharing information about their pay or terms, or asking any other employee about their pay or terms) are unlawful in any new written employment agreement as and from 7 June 2023.
If the employment contract was made between 7 December 2022 and 6 June 2023, the pay secrecy terms cannot be enforced.
For employment contracts made before 7 December 2022, the pay secrecy terms will continue until the agreement is changed.
These rights and obligations arise under section 333B, C and D of the Fair Work Act and are intended to prevent the restriction on employees discussing the terms of their employment, so as to promote fairness in the workplace. Of course, there is no obligation on an employee to respond to enquiries from other employees about those terms.
For questions in relation to employment, please contact Peter Muller at peterm@qbmlaw.com.au or Megan Hanneman at meganh@qbmlaw.com.au
