What is Location-Agnostic Pay?
Location-agnostic pay, sometimes also called ‘geographically independent pay’ or ‘remote-first pay’, refers to when an employer offers a fixed salary or wage that is not tied to the physical location of the employee's work. In other words, regardless of where an employee resides or chooses to work, they will receive the same base salary.
How is location-agnostic pay different from other remuneration approaches?
In many compensation structures, salaries may be influenced by the prevailing wage rates in specific locations and what a given company can afford. For example, employees working in countries with higher market rates, such as Norway or the US, might receive higher salaries compared to those with lower market rates such as Estonia or Portugal. However, this approach can create discrepancies and pay inequities when employees working in similar roles have different salaries based solely on their location.
Adopting location-agnostic pay allows companies to promote pay equity and reduce potential disparities in remuneration. It allows organisations to assess job roles' market value from one location – usually where the company is based – and set a consistent salary that applies to all employees holding the same position, regardless of where they choose to live or work.
Location-agnostic pay and remote compensation policies
If your company decides to utilise a location-agnostic pay strategy, it’s important to create a Remote Compensation Policy that outlines it.
Well-defined remote compensation policies help establish fairness, transparency, and consistency among workers; promote employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention; and address potential challenges and concerns related to remote work arrangements – all no matter a given employee’s geographic location.
Boundless and location-agnostic pay
Depending on the size of your team and business, developing a location-agnostic remuneration plan could be the best compensation strategy to ensure you’re paying your employees fairly for their work.
Speak to one of our experts about how Boundless can help you employ your global workers legally and, if you decide a location-agnostic payment structure is right for you, compensate them accordingly.
