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According to research from the Institute of Payroll Professionals (IPP), the only professional body for individuals working in payroll in the UK, payslip confidentiality is an issue that affects some organisations. More than one in six (15%) employees said they would read a colleague’s payslip if they found it on their desk and were confident that no one was watching them.

Other interesting statistics reveal that nearly one in five (18%) workers discuss their salary with their colleagues and more than half (53%) talk about how much they get paid outside of the workplace with friends and family.

Elaine Gibson, Senior Policy and Research Officer for the IPP, said: “Talking about how much money one makes is usually a social taboo in the workplace and most of the time there is an implicit understanding amongst colleagues not to their discuss salaries.

“Many organisations discourage workers from talking about their pay, some even going as far to implement clauses into employment contracts requiring confidentiality on pay.

“However, this will all change in October when the Equality Act 2010 will ban ‘gagging’ clauses which forbid staff members from comparing their pay levels with other employees.

“This will hopefully make organisations’ pay structures more transparent and will expose the pay gaps between employees who perform the same roles, especially in the cases of gender and disability-based inequality of pay.”