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

Using the scores, and with the support of Tool 3 – Supporting Excel (micro-organisations), the owner created three pay grades.

• Grade 1 (entry-level/support): shop assistant and pastry kitchen assistant.
• Grade 2 (skilled): baker.
• Grade 3 (senior/specialist): head baker and owner/manager.

She set clear pay ranges for each grade, ensuring that differences reflected the real demands of the jobs. She set the midpoint monthly salary for grade 1 at EUR 1800 and the highest at EUR 2850, and she used a progression factor of about 1.20 between the midpoints in each pay range.

• The lower number is typical for people who are newer or still developing their skills.
• The midpoint in each pay range shows what someone can expect to earn once they’re fully competent in their role.
• The higher number reflects advanced experience and strong performance.

This design helps employees grow their salary as they gain expertise and take on more responsibility, rather than salary being driven mainly by outside market changes.

Importantly, the owner adjusted the shop assistants’ basic pay upwards, as the job evaluation and classification showed that their role involved more responsibility and effort than previously recognised.

The owner also reviewed all complementary and variable pay components at the bakery to verify that they were based on objective, gender-neutral criteria. She examined which roles received benefits or allowances for early morning shifts (e.g. starting at 4 a.m. for bakers) and for weekend work. She found that both the baker and head baker received early-shift allowances based on actual start times, while weekend work allowances applied equally to shop assistants and baking staff when they worked those hours. Therefore, her analysis confirmed these allowances are gender-neutral because they were linked only to genuine working-time demands and were available to all roles in the bakery under the same conditions, regardless of whether they were typically held by women or men.

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