Equal pay and job evaluation schemes

A man and woman are working on the same job

Under the Equality Act 2010 women are entitled to be paid the same as men for doing equal work or work of equal value. But how do decide what is equal work or work of equal value?

What is a job evaluation scheme?

In order to avoid the risk of an equal pay claim, you need to be sure that your pay scheme is fair and equal for women and men. A job evaluation scheme is one way of doing this. Acas have produced a guide to employers on how to carry out a job evaluation scheme. It is a good way to:

  • decide on pay and grading
  • make sure you have a fair and equal pay system
  • review all jobs after a major change within the company

The Acas website has more information about job evaluation and you can download a copy of their advisory booklet Job evaluation: considerations and risks (.pdf).

Carrying out an equal pay review

If you run a smaller company (50 employees or fewer), a more manageable alternative to carrying out a job evaluation is to hold an equal pay review. An equal pay review can help you to:

  1. determine whether employees are doing equal work
  2. compare pay between men and women doing equal work
  3. identify any action that needs to be taken

The Equality and Human Rights Commission have produced an equal pay review for smaller organisations which takes you through the steps you need to take in order to conduct an equal pay review, including a sample spreadsheet tool and an equal value estimator tool.

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