Publishing salaries an 'opportunity to create trust'
BBCPublishing salary bands on job adverts is not a priority for Jersey but could be considered, according to Social Security Minister Elaine Millar.
Her comments follow draft proposals to publish salary information in job adverts amid UK government plans to rewrite anti-discrimination laws. Millar said: "I think we'll wait to see what the UK do, wait to see what the impact is."
David Warr, owner of Cooper & Co coffee bars on the island, said publishing salaries risked bringing "more bureauracy at a time when efforts are being made to cut red tape".
But pay transparency advocate Jenny Winspear said it would be "an opportunity for Jersey businesses to create trust".
Officials in the UK plan to consult on whether exact salaries will have to be displayed, or whether there should be a pay range or "benchmark rate" for open roles.
There is no requirement for companies to display job salaries in Jersey.
Jenny Winspear, the Jersey-born founder of Bridgit Pay, a pay transparency technology platform, urged businesses to consider the perspective of candidates who may go through an interview process "only to be handed a job offer significantly below what they were expecting".
"Not only is that a huge waste of time for the candidate, but it's also a massive waste of time for the business," she said.
Millar said the change was still under review in the UK.
"My concern about saying 'you must put out salary range' is that the range could be very wide," she said.
"There can be all sorts of reasons why someone is at the higher end of the band than others.
"I think just putting a salary in an advert may not necessarily give the full picture."
Lynn Cleary from Jersey's Institute of Directors said total transparency would be a "positive move" but first she wanted to see a focus on gender pay gap transparency.
Warr said he was "totally transparent" if someone phoned to inquire about the rate of pay they could expect at his coffee business but legislation risked increased red tape.
Simon Soar, director of music venue The Sundown said he included salaries on job adverts for his business.
He said: "We are very transparent with all the job roles we advertise. We always have been from the start. I think it's only fair people understand what they're applying for".
Soar said he had "absolutely no issue" with any move to make businesses display a pay bracket when advertising roles.
"We've tried to put a lot on what we pay our staff, we've tried to put a lot on the benefits we provide them as well and in doing so we've seen some great staff retention and also we see a lot of people applying because they know what they're applying for," he said.
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