The law where employees can discuss salary with coworkers is also have different in between state, territory and even local council area. In some States such as New South Wales and Victoria, it is illegal to discuss salary with coworkers. The best strategy when entering into a negotiation is to learn what your current salary is worth, then find someone your work environment who will help you in establishing a pay scale for similar positions in the industry. When you approach a company, you must give them a reason why they should hire you rather than a similar candidate. When approaching this task of salary negotiation, it is advisable that you find out what people who have skill sets that are similar to yours are actually earning at the moment. Throw all this information together and try comparing your knowledge and skills against those of other applicants or employees.
Is it illegal to discuss salary with coworkers in Australia?
Yes, it’s illegal to discuss your coworkers’ salaries in Australia. This law is the same in most countries around the world, but why is it so important?
It’s important because it prevents discrimination based on gender or other factors. For example, if you know that your coworker makes more money than you do at the same job level and they’ve been there longer, you might start to wonder why that is and whether or not you deserve more money. If you were able to discuss their salary openly with them, then they would likely tell you why they’re making more money than you are—and maybe even how much more they make!
This kind of information can be damaging when shared with others who don’t have access to the same information yet. For example: if one person makes $50K/year while another makes $25K/year at the same job level and experience level (or less), then it becomes clear that there’s an issue with pay inequity at that company; however if both employees are prohibited from discussing their salaries with each other then neither will know about this problem until someone else finds out about it (or
Is it illegal to discuss salary with coworkers australia
Introduction
Discussing salaries with coworkers is legal in Australia
How to Be Mindful About the Conversations You Have with Coworkers
- Don’t talk about your personal life. This is one of the major areas you should be mindful of when having conversations with coworkers. The nature of work leads to lots of conversations about things that are not related to work, but it’s important to remember that this is not a safe space for sharing information about yourself or others.
- Don’t talk about political views, religious beliefs and gross habits. These topics can also lead people into uncomfortable territory that has nothing to do with the job itself and creates an unnecessary divide between employees who may otherwise get along fine under normal circumstances (or at least tolerate each other).
- Don’t talk about personal health problems or diseases you might have either as an individual or someone close to you—especially if they’re contagious! This might seem like common sense but I’ve seen so many examples where people were “unintentionally” infected by their coworkers due simply because they didn’t think twice before mentioning something during casual conversation in the office break room during lunch hour.”
Don’t get too personal.
Don’t get too personal.
This includes talking about religion, politics, or your personal problems at work. It also includes discussing salary with coworkers. You may think that discussing your salary will help you improve the situation and possibly save you some money in the long run. However, it is important to remember that disclosing this information might put your job in jeopardy if the person you are sharing it with decides to share that information with other people.
If someone asks you directly about something like religion or politics (or anything else they shouldn’t ask), simply say “I don’t feel comfortable talking about that” and change the subject back to work-related topics until they get bored of asking questions like these!
Don’t share your health problems.
When you’re talking to coworkers, it’s important to keep in mind that there are some topics that aren’t appropriate for the workplace.
Discussing your health problems is one of them. This is a very personal topic, and it can make people feel uncomfortable. You don’t want others to know about something like this unless they are very close friends or family members. It’s fine if you want to share this information in certain situations, but simply discussing it at work isn’t going to help anyone—and it might actually make things worse! If a coworker were to bring up their own health problems with me, I would probably try my best not say anything about mine since I don’t know them well enough yet; however if someone else brought up theirs then I would probably just listen without saying anything until later on when we’re closer friends (or even better yet…a couple).
Don’t talk about your religious beliefs or views on politics.
Don’t talk about your religious beliefs or views on politics.
It’s not illegal to discuss religion or politics in Australia, but it can be an uncomfortable topic for some people. If you’re new to a job and you have questions about the company’s stance on these issues, check out their website or ask someone who works there directly.
You can’t push your personal views on others at work either—so if you’re passionate about a certain political party, keep your opinion about them to yourself until you get to know everyone better. It’s also important not to try and convert people who don’t share your values—it may be unprofessional and could make others feel uncomfortable around you if they perceive that as aggressive behavior (even if they aren’t)
Don’t share too many details about your romantic life.
- You shouldn’t share too many details about your romantic life.
- Your coworkers don’t need to know who you’re dating, what sexual orientation or preferences you have, and they certainly don’t need to hear every detail of your sex life.
- If you’re married or divorced, that information is private and should not be discussed at work.
Don’t talk about gross things.
Gross things are things that make you feel gross. Gross talk is the kind of conversation that makes everyone else in the room want to call a doctor because they’re sure their ears are bleeding. Gross topics include but are not limited to:
- How much money your parents give (or don’t give) you for rent
- Your favorite body fluids
- How much weight your boyfriend/girlfriend has gained since moving in together
Find a different topic if you have nothing else to do but stand at the water cooler.
If you’re bored and have nothing better to do than stand at the water cooler, then consider talking about the weather. Or maybe it’s a recent or upcoming holiday. Maybe there’s something going on in popular media that is relevant and on everyone’s minds—like a movie or TV show.
Or maybe you can find out if your coworker likes sports and find out how their team did last night (or this morning). It doesn’t matter what you talk about—just make sure that it’s not about salaries!
People like talking to you when you have topics that aren’t centered on yourself.
Asking questions about others is a great way to make people feel comfortable around you, but it also helps them learn more about themselves. The best thing about asking these questions is that everyone has an opinion and something interesting to say—and the only way for you to find out what that is is by asking.
You want people to feel like they can open up around you, so don’t be judgmental or critical of anything they say. People will start feeling like they can’t trust you if all you do is gossip and talk about yourself too much.
Another bonus of asking questions: by showing interest in learning about others, it shows that other people matter too! And since everyone likes talking about themselves (and we’re all unique), this will make sure your conversations are interesting for everyone involved!
Conclusion
Knowing how much your coworkers make is a good way to ensure that you’re paid fairly, but it can be difficult to get that information when discussing salary is frowned upon. However, we hope that our guide has given you some ideas on how to get the best of both worlds: fair pay and a professional atmosphere. Remember, there are plenty of ways to discuss wages without being direct—you just have to be strategic about it!
