Step 4. Review your basic pay structure

Why?

The results of your job evaluation and classification will guide you in correcting any gender-based pay disparities and ensuring equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between women and men.

How?

  • Compare the job evaluation and classification results with current pay grades and salary ranges in your organisation.
  • Adjust categories and reclassify job roles into the most appropriate pay grades. Address any undervaluation found.
  • Revise your pay ranges or salary progression rules where inconsistencies and undervaluation are found.
  • Follow these points to build or revise your basic pay structure.
    • Define the number of pay grades based on your job evaluation and classification results and determine the lowest and highest salaries for the whole pay structure.
    • Decide on a midpoint salary for each pay grade, the central value of each grade’s pay range. Start with the lowest grade and build upwards following a logical progression factor.
    • Set minimum and maximum monthly salaries around each midpoint, for each grade, so that workers can grow within the range over time.

Important

If the job evaluation and classification show that some jobs are underpaid compared with their value (based on their score and grade), you should first consider adjusting salaries upwards

  • Equal pay between women and men is achieved by removing unjustified pay differences and by raising pay in undervalued, often women-dominated jobs, so that they match equivalent men-dominated jobs of the same value
  • Cutting salaries in higher-paid jobs is not a solution and can increase perceptions of unfairness

Mistakes to avoid

  • Adjusting scores to ‘fit’ the old structure instead of updating the pay structure.
  • Using historical pay to justify disparities – focus on the value of the job today.
  • Overlooking bonuses or allowances, which can hide pay inequalities. Addressing these is the next step.

Checklist: is your pay structure aligned with job evaluation and classification results? 

Use this checklist to help determine if your pay structure is aligned with the results of your gender-neutral job evaluation and classification.

Questions

Yes

No

Are job grades consistent with the job evaluation and classification scores (e.g. do the number of job groups and the number of pay grades match)?

Do pay grades reflect the grouping of jobs fairly (i.e. are jobs of equal value placed in the same pay grades)?

Are adjustments planned where mismatches have been identified?

Are all changes clearly documented and communicated to workers?

Results

If you answered ‘Yes’ to all questions, your pay structure is probably well aligned with your job evaluation and classification results.

If you answered ‘No’ to any question, review your pay grades and complementary and variable pay elements to ensure consistency, transparency and fairness.

Once the basic pay structure has been reviewed, it’s time to check if there are any gender gaps in complementary and variable pay components.