Salary Band
A defined range of pay — with a minimum, midpoint, and maximum — associated with a specific role, level, or job grade within an organisation.
A salary band (also called a pay band or pay range) defines the minimum and maximum compensation the organisation will pay for a given role or level. Salary bands provide structure to compensation decisions, ensure internal equity, and create a transparent framework that employees can understand and plan their career progression around.
Publishing salary bands — including in job descriptions — is an increasingly common practice and is now required by law in several US states (including California and New York) and EU countries. Transparency about pay has been shown to reduce gender and ethnicity pay gaps, increase application rates, and build trust.
For distributed teams, salary bands may be global (the same range regardless of location), regional (adjusted for geographic cost differences), or location-specific. Each approach has trade-offs: global bands maximise simplicity and equity across the team; location-based bands align pay with local market rates but introduce complexity and potential for resentment.