For any organisations for which none of the previous checks are appropriate
This is a spot check approach to identifying equal work and equal pay risks, by identifying and comparing jobs with occupants of opposite gender (different ethnic composition, age groups and so on), where there may be an equal pay issue.
So, for example, if process grade F1 is male dominated and service and catering grade SC1 is female dominated, then sample jobs could be selected from each group. Or, if service and catering grade SC4, includes qualified cooks, who are mainly women, and engineering grade 2 includes male dominated craft jobs, then jobs from each could be selected for spot checks.
Detailed steps are as follows:
- Identify a number of male and female employees’ jobs within your organisation for equal value spot checks, selecting the jobs where you suspect possible equal value vulnerabilities, those performed by large numbers of men and women, those performed by low paid workers, etc.
- Apply an equal value spot check to estimate whether the jobs are equal in value. The equal value spot check should involve a systematic assessment of the demands of the jobs under headings such as effort, skill, decision, and responsibility.
- Where you identify equal value through the spot check, compare male and female pay. So if the qualified cook job turns out to be of equal value to the male carpenter job, compare the pay of the relevant females and males.
- This approach will tell you whether you have significant equal pay issues. It will not provide a defence to equal pay claims. Organisations in this situation, therefore, are advised to consider introducing a single job evaluation system to cover all employees. This could involve a substantial investment of time and effort, but will provide a more robust defence to equal pay claims and facilitate future equal pay audits.