In Quebec, the Pay Equity Act mandates that covered employers establish a pay equity plan.
Quebec Gender Pay Gap Reporting: What You Need to Know
LAST MODIFIED: January 10, 2025
At a glance
Who:
10+ employees for general provisions; 50+ required to develop pay equity plan
What:
Pay Gap Report
When:
Three years to develop a pay equity plan, then update every five years
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2025 gender pay gap reporting requirements in Quebec
When is Quebec’s gender pay gap report due?
Quebec’s Pay Equity Act requires that covered employers create a pay equity plan within three years of becoming subject to the Act. All employers subject to the Act must then update their pay equity plan every five years.
If a company’s workforce increases to 10 or more employees during a calendar year, the Pay Equity Act’s requirements will take effect on January 1 of the following year. If, for example, an employer had eight employees as of December 15, 2021 but hired 50 new employees in from January-June 2022 (so their total workforce was 50 as of June 2022), they would be subject to the Act on January 1, 2023 and their first report would be due by January 1, 2026.
Who needs to report on pay gaps in Quebec?
Employers with 10+ employees have general equal pay obligations. Employers with 50+ employees must develop a pay equity plan.
What pay gap metrics do I need to report in Quebec?
The Quebec law requires that covered employers establish and periodically update a pay equity plan. To do so, employers must:
- Identify the different job classes made up of positions in their workplace and determine the value of the work performed, based on four factors: qualifications, responsibility, effort, and working conditions;
- Determine whether each job class is predominantly male, predominantly female or gender neutral;
- Calculate the compensation of each predominantly female or male job class;
- Compare the compensation between predominantly female and male job classes doing work of equal or comparable value; and
- Prepare, post, and finalize the report.
Employers must remediate any pay inequities by increasing the compensation of employees in jobs that are not receiving equal pay for work of equal value. The remediation should generally be completed within four years after the employer becomes subject to this Act (i.e., within the year after the pay equity plan is completed).
For customers using Syndio’s Global Pay Reports, we offer a thorough breakdown of the necessary data to simplify the preparation of your report.
Where do I need to share the pay gap report in Quebec?
Employer must share the results with employees and submit the Employer’s Declaration on Pay Equity (DEMES) to the CNESST (Commission des normes, de l’équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail).
Syndio’s Global Pay Reports help you centralize and automate reporting for 48 jurisdictions across 43 countries. Our software makes reporting easy, fast, and accurate so you can report with confidence, even as requirements change. And our services team can answer all your detailed questions — we’re experts so you don’t have to be.
Request a demo of Syndio's Global Pay Reports software.
Employers in Quebec and the EU Pay Transparency Directive
The most significant piece of pay equity, pay transparency, and pay reporting legislation was recently adopted in the European Union: the EU Pay Transparency Directive.
While this Directive will not directly impact employees in Quebec, employers headquartered in Quebec will be impacted if they have employees in any EU Member State. Many of the Directive’s pay equity and pay transparency obligations will apply to employers with any employees in the EU. Some obligations, like pay gap reporting, will apply to employers with more employees in the EU. There’s also a growing trend of countries learning from and adopting elements of pay gap reporting laws from around the world so the EU Pay Transparency Directive may be a roadmap for future developments in Canada.
Syndio provides a comprehensive solution for the EU Pay Transparency Directive with everything you need to plan, prepare, and comply. Learn more ->
How Syndio helps with global pay equity, pay reporting, and pay transparency
Syndio provides the technology and expert partnership you need to comply with the growing pay equity, pay reporting, and pay transparency demands around the globe.
- Report your pay data and pay gaps — with Syndio’s Global Pay Reports. Our software supports fast, easy, and accurate compliance with pay reporting in 48 jurisdictions across 43 countries, including Quebec and for the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Syndio also supports the EU’s CSRD reporting.
- Identify, explain, and fix pay gaps — with Syndio’s PayEQ and OppEQ. Our suite of solutions give you the tools and legally compliant methodologies to analyze, explain, and make progress to close pay and career advancement gaps.
- Keep your pay gaps closed — with Syndio’s Pay Finder. On-demand pay recommendations help managers and recruiters make equitable, explainable pay decisions that don’t exacerbate pay gaps.
- Create a customized action plan — with Syndio’s EU Readiness Strategy Package. Syndio’s team of experts help you build a custom strategy and support project management. This includes a change management strategy session for senior leaders, communications strategy session on pay gap and Right to Information, and ongoing support on best practices and trends.
- Craft tailored communications strategies — with Syndio’s Communications Package. Leverage best practices to build a communications plan that builds your brand while aligning to your values and objectives.
Syndio takes data privacy and security seriously. Syndio is GDPR compliant, SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 2022 certified, and has completed the Cloud Security Alliance CAIQv.4.02 security self-assessment for STAR Level One. Learn more in our Trust Center under “Security Reports.”
The most asked questions about Quebec's gender pay gap reporting
Syndio helps customers all over the world with their global pay reporting needs. Here are some common questions we get about the reporting requirements under Quebec's pay gap law.
The information provided on this resource does not and is not intended to be legal advice. All information, content, and materials are provided for general informational purposes only. The links to third-party or government websites are offered for the convenience of the reader; Syndio is not responsible for the contents on linked pages.
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