Equal pay reviews: jargon buster

Section 11 of the Personnel Today Management Resources one stop guide on equal pay reviews. Other sections.

Analytical job evaluation scheme A job evaluation scheme that involves analysing jobs by breaking them down into factors or elements based on the demands they place on the job holder, weighting and scoring those factors, then ranking jobs in order of their value to the organisation.

Article 141 Article 141 of the Treaty of Amsterdam, formerly Article 119 of the Treaty of Rome, requires member states to ensure men and women receive equal pay for equal work. It does not confer on women completely equal terms with male comparators - it applies only to "the ordinary basic or minimum wage or salary and any other consideration, whether in cash or kind, which the worker receives directly or indirectly, in respect of his employer or employment." This includes pensions.

Back pay Tribunals can include in compensation awards arrears of pay backdated up to six years from the date equal pay proceedings were filed with the tribunal. In certain circumstances, such as where the employer has concealed evidence of inequality, back pay can be awarded going back to the time of the first contravention.

Benchmark job A job selected as representative of a range of jobs against which other jobs can be assessed in a job evaluation scheme.

Code of Practice on Equal Pay The Equal Opportunities Commission's Code of Practice for implementing equal pay in the workplace. The code briefly describes the employer's duties under the Equal Pay Act 1970 and advises employers on how to do equal pay reviews. A revised code is due on 1 December 2003. It is approved by Parliament and is admissible in evidence in any proceedings under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 or the Equal Pay Act 1970 before an employment tribunal. Provisions of the code can be taken into account by the tribunal.

Comparator Person of the opposite sex with whom equal pay complainant wishes to compare his or her pay or conditions. There may be one or several. The comparator must satisfy conditions regarding where they work (same or associated employer, or same establishment or service) and what work they do (like work, work rated as equivalent or work of equal value). Can be someone working with complainant at the present time, a predecessor or even a successor.

Confidentiality The principle of transparency in pay systems does not mean individuals have the automatic right to know what others earn. Workers have the right to confidentiality, both under the contract and under the Data Protection Act 1998 (see below). The equal pay questionnaire does not allow an employer to breach these duties, but an employment tribunal can order the employer to disclose confidential information.

Data Protection Act 1998 Protects personal data and allows data to be disclosed only in accordance with data protection principles. Pay records constitute personal data under the Act; other information, such as ethnic origin and medical details, is sensitive personal data for which there are particular safeguards around keeping and disclosing it.

Degree levels A set of agreed criteria under a job evaluation scheme against which job factors can be broken down into smaller elements.

Equal Pay Act 1970 (EqPA) The UK legislation that entitles a woman doing equal work or work of equal value to that of a man in the same or associated employment to equality in pay and terms and conditions under the terms of her employment.

Equal pay questionnaire Standard form a worker can use to ask an employer for information to help establish whether she has received equal pay to that of comparators, and, if not, the reasons why.

Equal pay review A process that includes comparing the pay of men and women doing like work, work rated as equivalent by a job evaluation scheme, and/or work of equal value; and identifying and taking steps to eliminate gaps between men's and women's pay that cannot satisfactorily be explained on grounds other than sex.

Equality clause A clause implied into every worker's contract under the EqPA, which entitles workers to contractual terms and conditions as favourable as those of comparable workers of the opposite sex, known as comparators (see Comparators), unless the employer can show the difference in terms and conditions is justifiable because of a "genuine material factor" other than sex.

Establishment or service European law allows claimants to make a comparison with others working in the same establishment or service. There is no precise legal definition, but according to case law it means where pay differences are attributable to a common source, and there is a single body responsible for and capable of remedying pay inequality.

Factor The main elements or characteristics of a range of jobs that can be defined and assessed under a job evaluation scheme. Factors may be divided further into sub-factors.

Factor plan The full range of factors or subfactors against which all jobs are evaluated in a job evaluation scheme.

Gender pay gap This represents women's overall average pay as a percentage of men's. For example, the pay gap is said to be 18 per cent where women's pay is 82 per cent of men's. The gender pay gap is said to 'narrow' as women's average pay moves closer to men's. To arrive at a figure for the gender pay gap, most official statistics compare the average hourly earnings of men and women working full-time.

Genuine material factor An explanation for a difference in pay that is significant, is the real reason for the difference, and is not connected with the sex of the people doing the jobs. This will be acceptable as a defence against an equal pay claim.

Grade drift A process where the relationship between the pay for a group of jobs and the characteristics of the jobs becomes so disconnected that it is no longer representative.

Indirect sex discrimination A provision, criterion or practice that acts to the detriment of a considerably larger proportion of one sex than the other, requiring objective justification from the employer under the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. The employer must show the purpose was to meet a real business need and that the provision was both necessary and an appropriate way of meeting that need.

Job analyst A person who lists the various tasks and requirements of a job and prepares job descriptions, usually as part of a job evaluation scheme.

Job description A written account of the various characteristics, skills, tasks and responsibilities that make up a particular job.

Like work The same or broadly similar work, judged by the nature of the work actually being done rather than a job description or title. Like work must be paid equally under the EqPA (See Equal Pay Act 1970).

Non-analytical job evaluation scheme A job evaluation scheme involving whole job analysis.

Pay Defined by Article 141 of the Treaty of Rome as "the ordinary basic or minimum wage or salary and any other consideration, whether in cash or kind, which the worker receives directly or indirectly, in respect of his employment, from his employer". This includes pensions, discretionary bonuses, sick pay and all benefits such as mortgage allowances, cars, and private medical insurance.

Rank order The hierarchical relationship of jobs to each other according to their value under a job evaluation scheme.

Red-circling The practice of protecting the wages of employees whose pay rates under a new job evaluation scheme are lower than the rate they are currently receiving. Allows such employees to retain their current rates for an agreed period.

Same employment Claimants can choose comparators working for the same employer at the same workplace, the same employer at a different workplace where common terms and conditions apply, an associated employer, such as the employer's parent company, or those in the same establishment or service (see Establishment or service).

Sub-factor More precise job elements derived from sub-dividing factors under a job evaluation scheme.

Tailor made job evaluation scheme A scheme devised in-house according to the particular needs of an organisation.

Time limits Deadlines for bringing a claim under the Equal Pay Act 1970 and the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. These are generally six months after leaving the employment of the employer in question for the former, and three months after the alleged act of discrimination for the latter, though there are exceptions (see Section 2).

Transparency A quality of pay and benefits systems that means they are capable of being understood by all stakeholders - employers, employees, and trade unions. This includes understanding how each element of the pay packet contributes to total earnings. Where the pay system is not transparent, and the complainant shows some evidence of discrimination, the burden of proof will be on the employer to demonstrate its pay system does not discriminate.

Weighting The process of differentiating between job factors (or elements) under a job evaluation scheme to reflect their importance to the organisation, relative to other factors.

Whole job analysis The process of comparing jobs in their entirety and placing them in a rank order according to their value.

Work of equal value Jobs that can be regarded as being of equal value or worth to the organisation or sector even if they involve different work. This is judged in terms of the demands on the job holders in terms of effort, skill, decision-making and responsibility.

Work rated as equivalent Jobs that have been assessed under the same analytical job evaluation scheme and found to be of equal value - for example, having the same number of points or falling within the same grade.