BY Mr. Enoch Ofori
A very important principle in salary administration is confidentiality. Confidentiality in relation to workers’ salary simply means that salaries of workers should be personal to each and every one such that nobody knows the others’ salary. This can be found in section 9(b) of act 651.
TYPES OF SALARY STRUCTURE
There are two salary structure regimes i.e. the notches and the broadband. The notches use predetermined grades and steps that make it very easy and simple to know what salary a worker is earning. By knowing the salary scale i.e. grade and step, one can tell how much a worker is earning.
On the other hand, the broadband uses an entry, mid and maximum point. With this type, a worker is placed on a particular band based on his or her performance or contribution to the growth of the organization. For example, a company can have five (5) bands (A, B, C, D and E). However, within each band, there is an entry, mid-point and maximum point for workers to move based on their performance. Therefore, within the organization, everybody can identify the band on which a worker is being placed but the specific or exact salary of the worker is known only to the HR Manager and some top members of Management.
CONCLUSION
Following the explanation above, it is advisable that organizations employ the broadband salary structure, in order to uphold the confidentiality of workers’ salary. By so doing, Management can present the entry, mid and maximum points of the various bands to the Union. This will enable Management keep the salaries of workers confidential as stipulated in section 9(b) of Act 651.
