EU-wide guidelines on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification: Step-by-step toolkit

The owner of Neighbourhood Bakery wanted a clear and fair pay system. Even as a very small employer, she aimed to follow the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between women and men. She wanted to ensure that roles often seen as ‘helping out’ (e.g. shop assistants) were valued for their particular demands and to support her team’s well-being with transparent pay.

With only five employees, she chose the micro-organisation pathway, which is simple enough for very small teams.

She carried out the job evaluation and classification herself but explained the process to the workers and checked short job descriptions with them to ensure she was not missing essential tasks or skills.

She was clear with her team from the start: the goal was not to judge personal performance, but to set up a transparent pay structure everyone could trust.