Pay Equity Commission
The Space Toy Company
An Electronic copy of this publication is found on the Pay Equity Commission’s website at
www.payequity.gov.on.ca
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Disclaimer
This workbook and attachments are for information only, and are not intended to restrict
Review Officers or the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal in their determination of matters.
Refer to the Pay Equity Act for exact interpretation.
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Please Read Carefully
On January 1, 1987 the Pay Equity Act came into effect. When the law was passed it was
recognized that existing companies would have to modify their compensation practices to bring
them into compliance with the Act. The process that these companies had to follow is laid out in
Part II of the Act.
Part II applies to:
public sector employers who had employees as of July 1, 1993
private sector employers who had 100+ employees as of December 31, 1987
Part II sets out timeframes during which these companies were expected to implement pay equity
in their establishments and companies were given a phase in period to make adjustments to job
rates if required. The Pay Equity Office recommends that you consult the Act to determine the legal
requirements for your organization. You may find our Guide to Interpreting Ontario’s Pay
Equity Act a useful tool in understanding the Act.
The Space Toy Company (STC) is a fictitious, private sector company that was required to follow
the process in Part II. This case study is written in the present tense and sets out the actions taken
by the company to implement pay equity during the implementation period.
Individuals using this case study today are cautioned that the implementation periods have now
long passed and there is no phase in period for making adjustments. Any adjustments to job rates
found to be owing are now retroactive to the date when your company should have implemented
pay equity.
If your company came into existence after January 1, 1988 or if your company had fewer than 100
Employees as of December 31, 1987, Part II does not apply to you and there is no requirement to
do a pay equity plan. Please refer to other resources on our website to assist you in complying with
the Act.
The case study sets out several activities that are not required by the Act. These activities have
been shown to be of value to employers, unions and employees as they work through the pay
equity process in their establishments.
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A Learning Tool
Save this document on your computer hard drive and use it to learn about pay equity .
An Electronic Working File
Use this electronic file to record your organization’s pay equity decisions; the steps you took in
your process; your pay equity history; and your maintenance policies.
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Purpose of this document
This document illustrates how the Pay Equity Act was applied and continues to impact on the
Space Toy Company (STC), a fictitious organization created for the purposes of this case study.
The study explains how and why decisions are made at each step of the process and how pay
equity is being maintained.
You can save this document to your hard drive and use it as a learning tool, for note-taking, and to
record your organization’s pay equity history, decisions and maintenance requirements for your
establishment(s).
About the Space Toy Company (1987)
The Space Toy Company manufactures miniature and mid-size space and galactic toys for the 412 year-old market. This small Ontario-based company has production facilities in Belleville,
Kingston and Sarnia, as well as in Drummondville, Quebec.
The Pay Equity Act covers all Ontario employees of this employer only – employees in the
province of Quebec are covered by that province’s pay equity legislation.
The Space Toy Company’s Head Office is located on Dundas St. West in Toronto. The two small
plants in Belleville and Kingston have been in operation for 15 years. There is also a separate 10person office in downtown Kingston. Sarnia’s state-of-the-art facility utilizes high-tech digital
processes and has an active e-commerce department.
Plans are underway to open a new plant in Windsor in 2002. Management at STC is aware that
when the Windsor facility opens, pay equity has to be achieved immediately for those employees.
The company has pay equity implementation and maintenance plans underway for the new
Windsor plant.
Benefits of this document
Record-keeping
Pay Equity workshop attendees often tell the Commission that they have not kept good records of
initial pay equity decisions, a copy of the plan, or how pay equity has continued to be applied over
the years subsequent to their first pay equity process.
If record-keeping is a problem in your organization, this document may be of help as a learning tool
copied permanently to your computer and as an electronic folder in which to keep your pay equity
information.
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Liability:
There is no statute of limitations on the Pay Equity Act. A complaint can be brought to the Pay
Equity Commission at any time. Keeping good and accurate records will ensure that any concerns
brought forward by employees can be dealt with promptly and with a minimum of conflict.
Maintaining good pay equity records is simply good business for your organization.
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Table of Contents
Please Read Carefully ................................................................................................................... 3
A Learning Tool.............................................................................................................................. 4
An Electronic Working File ............................................................................................................. 4
Purpose of this document .............................................................................................................. 5
About the Space Toy Company (1987) .......................................................................................... 5
Benefits of this document ............................................................................................................... 5
Quick Facts .................................................................................................................................... 9
1.
Who is the employer? .......................................................................................................... 14
1a) What were the pay equity deadlines for STC? ..................................................................... 16
This is how STC counted employees ........................................................................................... 17
2.
How many establishments did STC have? ........................................................................... 19
3.
How many pay equity plans per establishment did STC need? ........................................... 21
In Summary ................................................................................................................................. 22
4.
What were the female and male job classes? ...................................................................... 24
More about female and male job classes..................................................................................... 26
5.
STC’s gender-neutral job evaluation process and system ................................................... 27
5a) Defining the system’s subfactors .......................................................................................... 31
5b) Deciding on the number of levels for each subfactor ........................................................... 33
5c) The weighting formula .......................................................................................................... 35
5d) The weighting formula breakdown between subfactors and levels ...................................... 37
5e) Collecting job information ..................................................................................................... 39
5f)
The job evaluation results .................................................................................................... 41
6.
How STC determined comparable jobs - Banding of Points ................................................ 43
7.
Adjusting job rates................................................................................................................ 45
8.
The Job-to-Job Pay Equity Plan for Establishment 1 – Toronto ........................................... 47
Summary of Parts 1 and 2– The Basics and Job-to-Job Comparisons ........................................ 51
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Introduction to Parts3-4: Proportional Value, Maintenance, and Addendum–Tools ...................... 52
9.
Introduction to Proportional Value (PV) ................................................................................ 54
9a) The start of the proportional value process – Answers to basic questions ........................... 55
9b) What was STC’s pay equity deadline for Proportional Value?.............................................. 56
9c) The Steps to Proportional Value (PV) .................................................................................. 57
9d) Method 1 – Free-Hand ......................................................................................................... 59
9e) Method 2 – Regression Analysis .......................................................................................... 61
9f)
The amended Pay Equity Plan using Proportional Value ..................................................... 63
10. Why maintain pay equity and how can STC do it? ............................................................... 67
10a) What is pay equity maintenance? ........................................................................................ 69
10b) Changed Circumstances ...................................................................................................... 71
10c) Sale of a business ................................................................................................................ 76
Pay Equity Committee Terms Of Reference/Administrative Arrangements .................................. 79
The tasks and responsibilities of the pay equity committee ......................................................... 82
Guide to Gathering Job Information ............................................................................................. 88
Guide to the Classification or Re-evaluation Process .................................................................. 90
Sample Job Description ............................................................................................................... 92
Maintenance Journal – Sample ................................................................................................... 95
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Table of Contents
Quick Facts
What is the effective date of the Pay Equity Act?
The Pay Equity Act came into effect on January 1, 1988.
Who does the Pay Equity Act cover?
Ontario employees of public sector employers
Ontario employees of private sector employers with 10 or more employees
Who does the Act not cover?
Employees of the federal government
Employees regulated by the federal government such as: banks, airlines, post offices,
television and radio stations, telecommunications, transportation
Employees who work in provinces other than Ontario (these employees are covered by
those provinces’ legislation)
Private sector companies with fewer than 10 employees in Ontario as of January 1, 1988
(Note: companies which grow to more than 10 employees must achieve pay equity
immediately).
Who is an employee?
All full-time and part-time workers
Seasonal workers in the same position for the same employer
Students working regularly at any time during the year apart from their vacation period
Who is not an employee?
Students working during their vacation periods only
Casual workers – a position is not casual if:
the work is performed for at least one-third of the normal work period, or
the work is performed on a regular and continuous basis, although for less than onethird of a normal work period.
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What is a Pay Equity Plan?
A pay equity plan is a document that outlines the process undertaken by the employer and/or union
to implement pay equity and provides information to employees about the required elements of pay
equity. Pay equity plans are required under Part II of the Pay Equity Act. Part II applies only to all
public sector Employers in existence as of July 1, 1993 and to all private sector Employers with
100+ Employees as of December 31, 1987.
What is the role of the bargaining agent?
In a unionized workplace, the employer and the bargaining agent, at the time of implementation,
negotiate:
the female and male job classes
the method used to compare job classes
the rate and timetable for wage adjustments
the pay equity plan itself
How is pay equity different from equal pay for equal work?
Pay equity, equal pay for work of equal value, compares jobs usually done by women with
different jobs usually done by men. When the value of the work is about the same, the female job
classes must be paid at least as much as the male job classes.
Equal pay for equal work means that if a man and a woman are doing substantially the same
work, they must receive the same pay (see the Employment Standards Act).
What communication does the Pay Equity Commission recommend?
Communication should happen at each step of your process or plan and especially after you have
completed your plan. Keeping the lines of communication open will:
help inform your employees about pay equity and their rights,
increase credibility for the pay equity process with your employees,
allow your employees to “buy in” to the plan you are developing,
dispel rumours or false information, and
help you to create a plan that is useful to your workplace.
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How do you achieve Pay Equity?
a) Identify female and male job classes
Job information is needed to identify the jobs or positions that should be grouped
into job classes.
b) Assess the value of female and male job classes
Female and male job classes must be described completely and accurately. The type
of demands involved in both female and male jobs must be included in the job
information and evaluated.
c) Compare the value of female and male job classes and adjust the job rates of female job
classes if required
Female job classes that are equal or comparable in value to male job classes must be
paid at least the same job rate.
What makes a good committee?
A committee1 can help minimize gender bias when comprised of diverse individuals who:
do different jobs,
come from different levels of the organization,
have different kinds of backgrounds,
have different lengths of service,
represent a balance of men and women, and
are not committed to the current job structure.
What is gender bias?
Gender bias is where the work performed by one gender is
understated/undervalued/underpaid. Usually, “women’s work” (i.e., nursing, clerical, etc.) is
understated/undervalued/underpaid in relation to “men’s work” (i.e., construction, policing).
To assess how the value of female job classes compares to male job classes, employers
must look at the total value of each job class based on skill, effort, responsibility and working
conditions. This evaluation must include all jobs and capture previously overlooked aspects
of work done by women.
1
A Pay Equity Committee is not required under the Pay Equity Act, but workplace parties have consistently
indicated their value
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What is gender neutrality?
Gender neutrality is the absence of bias in the job evaluation/comparison process, so that
it accurately captures the skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions of women’s and
men’s jobs.
Gender neutrality specifically uncovers and values the work of female job classes.
Gender neutrality is required in:
The collection of job information – the job information used must be accurate, complete,
up-to-date and consistent in detail for both genders.
The comparison system – the system used must value aspects of women’s work that may
have been overlooked and undervalued.
The use of the system to compare jobs – the value of the factors of skill, effort,
responsibility and working conditions must be determined using a process free of gender
bias.
Making the comparisons – employers must show that female jobs were compared to male
jobs as required by the Pay Equity Act, and, where appropriate, make pay equity
adjustments.
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Part I
At The Start
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1.
Who is the employer?
The first question for Space Toy Company (STC) to answer was “Who is the employer?” The term
“employer” is not defined in the Act. In STC’s case, as in the majority of cases where there is only
one potential employer which all employees recognize, the answer is easy – STC is the employer.
However, not all situations are this straightforward. In some instances, corporate ownership,
organizational structure and financial interrelationships make the employer more difficult to identify
– for instance, with franchises. In these unclear situations, the Tribunal has outlined the following
four tests in determining the employer:
Who has overall financial responsibility?
Who has responsibility for compensation practices?
What is the nature of the business, service or enterprise?
What is most consistent with achieving the purpose of the Pay Equity Act?
The answers to the following questions may also help: who hires, who fires, who disciplines, who
issuesT-4 slips, who sets policy, is there an employer-employee relationship from the employees’
point of view or was there an intention to create one?
Organizations also examine the following:
Who has responsibility for the budget?
Who bears the financial burden of compensation practices and wage adjustments under the
Pay Equity Act?
Who is responsible for the financial administration of the budget?
What is the investment or ownership of shareholders?
Who bears the responsibility of picking up the deficit or benefiting from the surplus?
What are the employees’ perceptions of who is the employer?
Who has responsibility for compensation practices?
Who sets the overall policy for compensation practices?
Who attaches the value of a job to its skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions?
What is the labour relations situation?
Who negotiates the wages and benefits with the union or sets the job rate in a non-union
setting?
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What is the nature of the business, service or enterprise?
What is the core activity of the business, service or enterprise?
Is the work in dispute integral to the organization or is it severable or dispensable?
Who decides what labour is to be undertaken and attaches that responsibility to a particular
job?
What is most consistent with achieving the purpose of the Pay Equity Act?
If there is more than one possible employer, refer to the purpose and objectives of the Pay
Equity Act.
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1a) What were the pay equity deadlines for STC?
The Pay Equity Act considers and/or requires:
The Act requires employers to implement pay equity according to the following schedule:
Employer Size
Table 1: Job to Job Comparison Method
Posting Date of
First Adjustment
Achievement Date
Pay Equity Plan
Public Sector
All sizes
January 1, 1990
January 1, 1990
No later than
January 1, 1998
500 or more
January 1, 1990
January 1, 1990
n/a
100 to 499
January 1, 1991
January 1, 1992
n/a
50 to 99
January 1, 1993
January 1, 1992
10 to 49
January 1, 1994
January 1, 1993
Private Sector
(based on the
average number
of employees in
1987)
Note: Employers with fewer than 10 employees are not required to do pay equity. However, when
their employees increase to 10 or more, they must achieve pay equity immediately.
The Act requires employers to determine the posting, implementation, and adjustment dates on the
basis of the average number of employees covered by the Act, who were working in Ontario
between January 1 and December 31, 1987.
The Act also specifies which employees are or are not covered.
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This is how STC counted employees
Employees to be included in the count:
Full-time
Part-time
Seasonal
Students working while going to school
2
Casual employees
3
Contract employees
Employees NOT to be included in the count:
Workers from temporary agencies
Students working during their vacation
STC employees who were part of the pay equity process:
Full-time
Part-time
Seasonal
Students working while going to school
Contract employees4
2
Casual employees – examples:
Someone brought in for a few days to do the inventory or for a number of months to work on a research project - after
these tasks are done, the persons are gone and so are the jobs. Such casual jobs are not usually or continuously
required to help run the business or fulfill the mission of the organization. The persons performing these jobs are not
included in your pay equity process.
3
Contract employees:
Sometimes employees perform work necessary to your business (not casual) but are paid on a contract basis. These
employees are covered by the Act.
4
Contract employees:
Sometimes employees perform work necessary to your business (not casual) but are paid on a contract basis. These
employees are covered by the Act.
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Based on the above requirements, the 1987 Ontario employee count for STC was as follows:
Table 2: 1987 Employee Count
Ontario Locations
Number of employees
Toronto Head Office
34
Belleville
111
Kingston
159
Sarnia
137
Total number of employees
441
STC’s decision
Table 3: All Ontario locations followed the implementation schedule below
The Space Toy Company
Posting date all plans
First pay equity adjustment
all plans
Private sector employer with
100-499 employees
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January 1, 1992
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2.
How many establishments did STC have?
The Pay Equity Act considers and/or requires:
The Act states that the establishment is all the employees of an employer who work in a
geographic division.
A geographic division can be a county, territorial district, or regional municipality, as
described in the Territorial Divisions Act.
An employer can decide to expand the definition of establishment to include two or more
geographic divisions. If the workplace has a union, this must be negotiated with the
bargaining agent.
All employees of an employer in a given geographic division must be included in one
establishment.
STC’s rationale:
STC’s “geographic divisions” were:
Toronto
Head Office
One location only within the Greater Toronto Area
Belleville
Plant
One location only within the City of Belleville
Kingston
Plant and separate 10-person office
Two locations within the City of Kingston
These two locations are within the same geographic division therefore cannot be
subdivided. The two locations must be included in the same establishment.
Sarnia
Plant
One location only within the City of Sarnia
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STC’s decision – 3 establishments
Establishment 1: Toronto
STC chose to divide their establishments in accordance with the definition of “geographic divisions”
Toronto Head Office was deemed to be one establishment.
Establishment 2: Belleville and Kingston
As Belleville and Kingston plants were located in the same area, and as the plants shared the
same Human Resources director and staff, STC felt it made sense to combine these two plants
into one establishment.
Establishment 3: Sarnia
Sarnia’s plant, a unique high tech work environment, had enough male job classes to serve as
comparators for the female job classes at that location. Therefore, Sarnia became the third
establishment.
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3.
How many pay equity plans per establishment did STC
need?
The Pay Equity Act considers and/or requires:
As required by the Act, each of the three establishments at STC must have:
one pay equity plan for each bargaining unit
one pay equity plan for all non-represented employees.
This is the number of plans STC needed at each establishment:
Table 4: Number of Plans
Establishments
Number of plans
Toronto
One plan (non-union)
There was no bargaining unit at the Toronto
Head Office so only one plan was required to
cover ALL non-union employees
Belleville/Kingston
One plan (for ALL non-union employees in
Belleville & Kingston)
A second plan (for Bargaining Unit 1 at Kingston
Plant)
A third plan (for Bargaining Unit 2 at Kingston
Plant)
A fourth plan (for Bargaining Unit 3 at Belleville
Plant)
Sarnia
One plan (non-union)
A second plan (for Bargaining Unit 1)
A third plan (for Bargaining Unit 2)
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In Summary
1. Initial questions and answers:
The Quick Facts section of this document gives the answers to the initial questions that
applied commonly to all of STC’s Ontario locations.
Files:
Establishment 1 – Toronto (this working document)
Establishment 2 – Belleville/Kingston (separate document)
Establishment 3 – Sarnia (separate document)
2. Pay Equity Committees
The Space Toy Company decided that each establishment should have its own Pay Equity
Committee. Each establishment had joint employer/employee or employer/bargaining agent
committees.
3. Legal considerations, rationale and decision-making
The following pages show what decisions were taken to establish pay equity for the female job
classes in the Toronto establishment only. No mention will be made of any other Ontario
location or their jobs, as they were not part of the Toronto pay equity process.
A similar pay equity process was followed for Establishments 2 and 3.
Where unions were present at the time of implementation, bargaining agents and STC
negotiated and agreed on a pay equity plan.
4. Electronic record-keeping
Users of this document can add pages at each appropriate step to record decisions and/or
actions the organization took to achieve and maintain pay equity. A full set of notes can be
attached as well and kept as an electronic file on your computers.
The remainder of this document details the Toronto non-union pay equity process and plan
only.
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Part II
Achieving Pay Equity using
the Job-to-Job Comparison
Method
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Table of Contents
4.
What were the female and male job classes?
The Pay Equity Act considers and/or requires:
The Act requires that positions be grouped into job classes. Job classes are one or more positions
which:
have similar duties and responsibilities, and
require similar qualifications, and
are filled by similar recruiting procedures, and
have the same compensation schedule, salary range or range of salary rates.
You determine female and male job classes by considering the following:
The current percentage of men or women doing the job
if 60% or more are female – female job class
If 70% or more are male – male job class
The historical incumbency
In the past, have more men or more women been in this job class?
The gender stereotype attached to the work
Do men or women usually do this job according to what most people believe?
Positions can also be grouped in a “Group of Jobs”. (STC referred to the Commission’s A Guide to
Interpreting Ontario’s Pay Equity Act: Determining Job Classes for more information on groups of
jobs). A group of jobs is a series of jobs where:
the nature of the work performed is related
there is already an established progression of job classes representing successive levels of
work in terms of skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions. Examples:
Secretary 1, Secretary 2, Secretary 3, or
File Clerk 1, File Clerk 2, File Clerk 3, File Clerk 4.
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Table of Contents
Job Class
Table 5: STC’s decision
Composition
Gender
Number of Positions
General Manager
1/M
M
1
Marketing Director
1/M
M
1
Controller
1/M
M
1
Sales Manager
1/M
M
1
Administration Manager
1/F
F
1
Accounting Manager
1/F
F
1
Accountant
1/M
M
1
Global Markets Specialist
1/F
F
1
Digital Markets Specialist
1F
F
1
Sales Representative
7M/1F
M
8
Customer Service Supervisor
1/F
F
1
Financial Analyst
1/M
M
1
Service/Systems Technician
1/M
M
1
Administrative Assistant
2/F
F
2
Secretary
3/F
F
3
Customer Service Clerk
6/F
F
6
Accounting Clerk
2/F
F
2
Receptionist/Typist
1/F
F
1
Total positions
34
Total job classes
18
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More about female and male job classes
Notes:
The term similar (used in the job class definition) is used instead of the term identical or the
same. This broad definition may enable several positions to be included in a particular job class,
which may reduce the number of comparisons that need to be made.
The qualifications considered should be those currently needed to do the job, not those
qualifications which an employee may happen to have or which are merely desirable.
Recruiting procedures are often associated with qualifications. The qualifications sought affect
the site where employees are recruited; for example, union hiring halls or a college campus. The
scope of recruiting does not affect the determination of job class. For example, some job classes
are recruited locally, while others are recruited provincially or even nationally. The regions may
differ but the qualifications stay the same. Usually, the kind of recruiting - internal or external,
newspaper or radio ads - is not important when determining job class.
A job class can be made up of one position that is unique in the organization.
Full-time and part-time work:
Job rate is defined in the Act as “the highest level of compensation, which includes wages, salaries
and benefits”.
Positions in which employees work full-time and part-time can belong to the same job class if they
have the same compensation schedule, salary grade or range of salary rates and meet the other
tests for job class.
However, in many cases, part-time employees have different job rates than full-time employees
because they do not have the same benefit schedule. In these cases, part-time and full-time
employees are in separate job classes.
Gender-Neutral job classes – identify these and put them aside:
Job classes can be gender-neutral if the 60% and 70% rule doesn’t apply; if you can’t identify a
stereotype; and if historically, you can’t make a case that this job class has been dominated by
women or men.
An example could be a Conveyor Belt line job which has been filled historically by both men and
women, more or less in equal numbers, over a long period of time. This is a gender-neutral job
class and is not included in the pay equity process. A gender-neutral job cannot be used as a
comparator nor can it receive pay equity adjustments.
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5.
STC’s gender-neutral job evaluation process and system
The Pay Equity Act considers and/or requires:
The Act requires that STC compare the value of skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions
of female and male job classes using a gender-neutral comparison system.
STC’s rationale:
STC modified the Pay Equity Commission’s 10-factor job comparison system. STC considered the
company’s goals, products, services and the work done in all job classes. They paid particular
attention to aspects of work done by women that could have been overlooked in the past.
This newly-adapted system fit the nature of the jobs at Toronto’s Head Office. Its subfactors
captured the aspects of work present in men’s and women’s jobs and provided the yardstick by
which to compare the total value of female and male job classes.
This new system also offered flexibility if future modification ever became necessary.
STC’s decision:
Setting up a committee was not required by the Act. However, STC decided that four staff
members and one management representative would work with a job evaluation consultant to
modify the system’s subfactors and develop a weighting formula.
The first step for the Committee was to identify those aspects of work present in female and male
jobs. These elements of work are compiled in the Table 6.
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The data in Table 6 is organized this way:
Column 1:
Aspects of work present in the jobs at Toronto’s Head Office. This list is not exhaustive.
From these elements, a shorter list of 10 subfactors was created.
These 10 subfactors are listed in Column 2.
Column 2:
The list of 10 subfactors for the job comparison system.
Example: In column 1, Budget responsibilities, Accuracy and Accountability are elements
of work that can be grouped under the subfactor “Responsibility for Financial
Resources”, which in turn falls under the main factor of Responsibility.
Column 3:
The factors of skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions are required by the Pay Equity Act.
Column 1
Table 6: Female and Male Jobs
Column 2
Aspects of work present in the
jobs at Toronto Head Office (This
list is not exhaustive)
10 Subfactors (Derived from
Column 1)
Education;
Knowledge
Additional self-study;
Training Programs;
Licenses or Certificates;
On-the-job or off-the-job experience;
Theoretical and/or technical
knowledge.
Communication (verbal, written),
Interpersonal Skills;
Contacts with public/clients/staff;
Explaining information or ideas with
varied levels of complexity or
difficulty;
Counseling, advising or negotiating.
Column 3
Factors (Required by
the Act)
Skill
Interpersonal Skills/Contacts
Ability to do detailed or routine work;
Problem-solving/Judgement
Judgement;
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Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Listening;
Concentration using sight, touch,
hearing, taste or smell;
Attention demand;
Watching a computer screen;
Visual application, including
frequency and duration of efforts;
Verifying columns of numbers;
Handling emergencies.
Mental Effort
Effort
Manual effort;
Keyboarding;
Pushing or pulling;
Speed; volume of work;
Physical strain, including frequency
and duration;
Sitting for long periods of time.
Physical Effort
Coordination of workflow/tasks;
Policy development;
Training and evaluation of staff;
Supervision of others;
Quality of work;
Records.
Personal \ Policies \
Practices
Collection, location, retrieval and
maintenance of information;
Complexity of information;
Consequence of errors;
Details;
Confidentiality;
Accuracy in recording information;
Information Resources
Resourcefulness/creativity;
Analytical ability;
Problem-solving;
Decision-making;
Impact of decisions.
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Responsibility
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Column 1
Column 2
Column 3
Cost of errors;
Public relations;
Interpreting, presenting, recording
information accurately;
Reporting.
Budget responsibilities;
Accountability;
Accuracy;
Cash;
Cost accounting;
Financial decisions
Storage, usage, maintenance and
repair of goods and products;
Equipment and machinery;
Product;
Resources;
Property.
Physical environment/surroundings;
Exposure to health hazard;
Eyestrain;
Exposure to accident hazard;
Open office;
Time pressure;
Travel, local or out-of-town;
Crowded conditions;
Stress of multiple demands;
Interruptions;
Monotony;
Risk of injury;
Ventilation or temperature;
Noise;
Exposure to chemicals.
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Financial Resources
Material Resources
Environment
Working Conditions
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5a) Defining the system’s subfactors
The Committee then defined each subfactor listed in column 2 of Table 6. These are the
definitions for the 10 subfactors:
Knowledge:
This subfactor measures the level of experience, formal education and basic skills necessary to
meet the requirements of the job. Skills and knowledge may be learned from both on-the-job or offthe-job experiences and/or education.
Interpersonal Skills/Contacts:
This subfactor measures the job requirement to deal effectively with people both within and outside
the organization. This subfactor considers the type, importance and purpose of contacts and the
degree of interpersonal skills required.
Problem-Solving/Judgement:
This subfactor measures the problem-solving/judgement required on the job. It assesses the
difficulty in identifying various available choices of action and in exercising judgement to select the
most appropriate action. It also considers mental processes such as analysis, reasoning or
evaluation.
Mental Effort:
This subfactor measures the duration and intensity of mental effort required to perform the job.
Mental effort is related to the amount of concentration and attentiveness required, both in terms of
thinking, watching and listening. All types of tasks requiring concentration should be considered.
Physical Effort:
This subfactor measures the duration and intensity required to perform the job. Physical effort is
related to the amount of physical demand on the body or the energy required to do all kinds of
tasks like standing, walking, lifting, keyboarding or holding the body in one position for long periods
of time.
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Responsibility for Personnel, Policies and Practices:
This subfactor measures the extent to which key activities and responsibilities are achieved
through the direction, management, education, training, evaluation, motivation and control of the
work and of others. It does not measure the interpersonal skills required in other types of contacts.
Policies can be health and safety rules or special programs.
Responsibility for Information Resources:
This subfactor measures the degree of responsibility for the collection, storage, retrieval,
interpretation and maintenance of information/data/files required to perform the job. It also
measures the nature of involvement with the information.
Responsibility for Financial Resources:
This subfactor measures the degree of accountability for money, financial data, financial records
and related decisions, and the acquisition and/or expenditure of funds.
Responsibility for Material Resources:
This subfactor measures the degree of responsibility for the collection, storage, retrieval, safe
usage and maintenance of material resources including office equipment, supplies, products and
machinery required to perform the job. It also measures the value and nature of the involvement
with the resources.
Environment:
This subfactor measures the nature and severity of the working conditions and hazards that have
an impact on the job.
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5b) Deciding on the number of levels for each subfactor
Once the subfactor definitions were written, the number of levels for each subfactor was
determined.
A level measures the degree to which a subfactor is present in a given job. For example, an
Administration Manager has more responsibility for personnel, policies and practices than a
Customer Service Clerk. Therefore, the Manager’s job would be assigned a higher level on that
subfactor. Another example is that a welder would have a higher level of disagreeable or
hazardous working conditions than a mail clerk.
Most subfactors are divided into five levels, but in some cases, four or six were necessary. The
Committee was prepared to add or remove levels as the system was developed and tested. Once
the number of levels for each subfactor was determined and finalized, definitions for each level
were written.
For example, all agreed that Problem-Solving/Judgement needed 5 full levels as this subfactor
was present to some degree in all Toronto jobs. The example below shows how subfactor levels
were written for Problem-Solving/Judgement. (The other 9 subfactors were similarly defined, but
are not shown here.)
Problem-Solving/Judgement
This subfactor measures the problem-solving/judgement required to do the job. It assesses the
difficulty in identifying various available choices of action and in exercising judgement to select the
most appropriate action. It also considers mental processes such as analysis, reasoning or
evaluation.
Level 1: A measure at this lowest level means the subfactor’s contribution to the overall value of
the job is very small.
Problems faced on the job tend to be routine and standard. Solutions or required responses are
set. Decisions are obvious with few alternatives, or the problem can almost always be referred to
someone else. Little choice of independent action or judgement.
Level 2: A measure at this level means the subfactor contributes to the overall job value but not
significantly.
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Problems faced on the job tend to be somewhat standardized with infrequent new problem
situations. Decisions are made from a number of known alternatives, or unusual problems are
usually referred to someone else. Some choice of independent action or judgement.
Level 3: A measure at this level means the subfactor is a more significant and regular component
of the job.
Problems faced on the job tend to be variable. Decisions are made by weighing alternative
approaches within a framework of customary practice. Occasionally, unique problems are referred
to someone else; sometimes refers recommendations for approval. Typically involves a choice of
independent action or judgement.
Level 4: A measure at this level means a high degree of the subfactor is needed to perform the
job.
Problems faced on the job are most often variable, non-standardized. Decisions involve
interpreting and analyzing different factors, and guides and precedents are limited. Seldom are
problems referred to someone else; frequently refers recommendations for approval. Frequent
opportunity for independent action or judgement.
Level 5: A measure at this level means the highest requirement of the subfactor within the
organization is needed to perform the job.
Problems faced on the job are complex and unique. Decisions involve interpretation of many
different factors; often requires generating novel solutions from which decisions will be made.
Ultimately responsible for resolving problems or refers recommendations for approval. Develops
policy.
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5c) The weighting formula
The Committee’s next step was to determine how important each factor (skill, effort, responsibility
and working conditions) and subfactor was to the workplace by developing a weighting formula that
would reflect the values of all Toronto jobs. Weights were assigned to factors and subfactors and
point values for each level were calculated.
STC’s rationale and decision:
To assure gender neutrality in weighting, the Committee considered the goals, products and
services at the Toronto Head Office and the work done in female and male job classes. This was
helpful in determining the weight (or value) of each of the four factors in relation to each other.
Factors were not given equal weight/value.
Table 7: Shows the Weighting Formula
Skill
35%
Effort
20%
Responsibility
35%
Working Conditions
10%
Total value for the systems
100%
Table 8: Reflects the breakdown of this weighting formula between the 10 Subfactors
Skill
35%
Knowledge
15%
Interpersonal skills/Contacts
12%
Problem-solving/Judgement
8%
Effort
20%
Mental effort
12%
Physical effort
8%
Responsibility
35%
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Personnel, policies and practices
12%
Information resources
10%
Financial resources
8%
Material resources
5%
Working Conditions
10%
Environment
10%
Total Value for the Systems
100%
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5d) The weighting formula breakdown between subfactors
and levels
The Committee assigned four to six levels to all 10 subfactors in the system. The basic weighting
formula for all levels for all subfactors is shown in table 9 below.
The Committee determined the total points for each level by dividing the total number of points
assigned to each subfactor by the number of its levels. I.e., Mental Effort at 120 points, was
divided by its number of levels (5). Each level was then assigned 24 points. 24 points x 5 = 120
points for level 5. The result of the calculation, from Level 1 to 5 is: 24, 48, 72, 96, and 120 points,
as shown in table 9.
The Committee also opted to shade up or down for more flexibility – that is, using the “+” or “-“
factor to rate job classes that did not comfortably fit a subfactor’s level. This was done by dividing
the number of points allotted to each level by 3, then adding or subtracting that amount – i.e., if
each level of Mental Effort had 24 points, then 24 was divided by 3. The “+” or “-“ factor is 8 (round
off if needed). That amount (8) was added or subtracted from the appropriate level.
Point breakdown showing levels, “+” and “-“ considerations are tallied in table 10 on page 37.
Table 9: Weighting Formula Breakdown for each Factor, Subfactor and Level
Weight Points Points for levels
Skills (35% divided between three subfactors)
1| 2| 3|4 |5 |6
Knowledge
Interpersonal skills/Contacts
15%
12%
150
120
30 | 60 | 90| 120 | 150
24 | 48 | 72 | 96 |120
Problem-solving/Judgement
Effort (20% applied to two subfactors)
8%
80
16| 32 |48 |64 |80
1| 2| 3|4 |5 |6
Mental effort
Physical effort
Responsibility (35% divided between four
subfactors)
Personnel, policies and practices
12%
8%
120
80
24 | 48 | 72 | 96 |120
16 | 32 | 48 | 64| 80
1| 2| 3|4 |5 |6
12%
120
20 | 40 | 60 |80 |100 |120
Information resources
Financial resources
Material resources
Working Conditions (10% applied to one
subfactor)
Environment
Total
10%
8%
5%
100
80
50
20 | 40 | 60 | 80| 100
20 | 40 | 60 | 80
10 | 20 | 30| 40 | 50
1| 2| 3|4 |5 |6
10%
100%
100
1000
20 | 40 | 60 |80 |100
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Knowledge (K)
Interpersonal Skills/Contacts (ISC)
Problem Solving/Judgement (PSJ)
Mental Effort (MF)
Physical Effort (PE)
Personnel, Policies and Practices (PPP)
Information Resources (IR)
Financial Resources (FR)
Material Resources (MR)
Environment (E)
Table 10: Point Values for each Subfactor level
PSJ
MF
PE
PPP
IR
FR
K
ISC
MR
E
1
30
24
16
24
16
20
20
20
10
20
1+
40
32
21
32
21
27
27
27
13
27
2-
50
40
27
40
27
33
33
33
17
33
2
60
48
32
48
32
40
40
40
20
40
2+
70
56
37
56
37
47
47
47
23
47
3-
80
64
43
64
43
53
53
53
27
53
3
90
72
48
72
48
60
60
60
30
60
3+
100
80
53
80
53
67
67
67
33
67
4-
110
88
59
88
59
73
73
73
37
73
4
120
96
64
96
64
80
80
80
40
80
4+
130
104
69
104
69
87
87
43
87
5-
140
112
75
112
75
93
93
47
93
5
150
120
80
120
80
100
100
50
100
5+
107
6-
113
6
120
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5e) Collecting job information
The system is now ready to use: the subfactors and number of levels have been decided, the
necessary definitions written, and the weighting formula calculated and tabulated. Now, it is time to
collect job information.
To prepare job information for the job evaluation and comparison process, the STC
Committee, consultant and management:
1. Reviewed existing job descriptions for accuracy, content, current information and gender
neutrality.
They decided new job information was required for all jobs, as data on file was outdated
and inaccurate.
They discussed the various alternatives available to collect job information; (i.e.,
questionnaires, interviews or desk audits). They decided to develop a questionnaire to
mirror the system, pilot test it on a mixture of four or five male and female jobs, review the
questionnaire again and modify it if necessary. They also opted to prepare new job
descriptions using the questionnaire information, and to use these updated job
descriptions to evaluate jobs.
2. Set a timetable, and assigned roles for all those involved in the pay equity process. They
agreed on “Terms of Reference” that set out the responsibilities and tasks of the Committee,
under the leadership of the consultant.
The Committee was involved in each of the following steps:
designing the questionnaire;
supervising, testing and modifying the questionnaire;
distributing, collecting, and reviewing information;
employee interviewing and desk auditing, when necessary;
evaluating jobs and helping finalize results.
3. Prepared a communication plan (not required by the Act).
The Committee agreed on a communication strategy to send pay equity updates to employees
every two months until the posting of the plan. These updates outlined:
the pay equity concept and process to employees;
the Pay Equity Committee's tasks and responsibilities;
the expected timelines to complete the job evaluations;
the Committee’s progress and contact information for employee questions;
what was expected of employees during the process.
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The Committee needed extra time:
The company retained the Consultant for an extra month, as the committee’s work took longer than
anticipated. There were delays in turning in the questionnaires for review and/or modification.
Due to new time constraints, the Committee elected to use the questionnaires themselves to
evaluate jobs instead of immediately developing new job descriptions.
The Committee also decided, with management’s support, that the Administration Manager, the
Customer Service Supervisor and two committee members would oversee the writing of new job
descriptions no later than one month after the conclusion of the pay equity job evaluation process.
The Committee compiled information, rating sheets and notes during the job evaluation
process:
The Committee completed the work in six months instead of the four months forecasted. Records
were kept of all evaluation reasons and decisions.
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5f) The job evaluation results
The Pay Equity Act considers and/or requires:
The Pay Equity Act states that pay equity is achieved when a female job class is paid at least as
much as a male job class of equal or comparable value.
Equal or comparable value means similar, not necessarily identical value.
STC’s rationale:
The Committee discussed various ways of comparing jobs of equal or comparable value, and
decided to use a common tool called the “Fixed Point Band” method.
This method is where bands of points are developed, such as 0 to 50 points, 51 to 100 points, 101
to 150 points, etc. Job classes that fall within the same band are of equal or comparable value.
There is no set formula for the number of points that can be set within each band – organizations
usually set bands within 5-10% of a system’s total value. Several calculations were tried in order to
find the fairest result. The Committee concluded that bands of 75 points gave reasonable results.
STC opted to set bands within 7.5% of the total system.
The system had a total value of 1000 points – bands were set every 75 points (7.5% x 1000 = 75).
A worksheet was prepared showing 75-point bands (see table 12). The female and male job
classes were listed within the bands on this worksheet according to the number of points each
received.
The final evaluation results for female and male job classes are listed below.
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STC’s decision:
Table 11: Final Evaluation Results for Female and Male Job Classes
Job Class
Gender
Number of
Points
positions
General Manager
M
1
865
Marketing Director
M
1
762
Controller
M
1
755
Sales Manager
M
1
647
Administration Manager
F
1
630
Accounting Manager
F
1
625
Accountant
M
1
592
Global Markets Specialist
F
1
575
Digital Markets Specialist
F
1
575
Sales Representative
M
8
561
Customer Service Supervisor
F
1
542
Financial Analyst
M
1
540
Service/Systems Technician
M
1
458
Administrative Assistant
F
2
456
Secretary
F
3
430
Customer Service Clerk
F
6
391
Accounting Clerk
F
1
330
Receptionist/Typist
F
2
282
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6.
How STC determined comparable jobs - Banding of Points
Table 12 shows 75-point bands with female and male job classes of equal or comparable value.
The Act also specifies a “search sequence” to identify the appropriate male comparator for a
female job class if more than one male comparator is available, or if there is no male comparator in
a band. Search sequence information is shown at the bottom of this page.
Female Job Classes
Table 12: Point Bands
Job Rate
Male Job Classes
850-925
Job Rate
General Manager (865)
775-849
700-774
Marketing Director (762)
Controller (755)
625-699
Administration Manager (630)
Accounting Manager (625)
30.00
29.00
550-624
Global Markets Specialist (575)
Digital Markets Specialist (575)
25.00
25.00
475-549
Customer Service Supervisor(542)
31.00
Accountant (592)
Sales Representative (561)
28.00
26.00
Financial Analyst (540)
24.00
Service/Systems Technician (458)
21.00
22.00
400-474
Administrative Assistant (456)
Secretary (430)
Sales Manager (647)
19.00
17.00
325-399
Customer Service Clerk (391)
Accounting Clerk(330)
17.00
16.00
250-324
Receptionist/Typist (282)
15.00
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Search sequence 1: Look for a male job class of equal or comparable value INSIDE the same
pay equity plan. If more than one is found, the one with the lowest job rate is the appropriate *
Comparator.
Search sequence 2: If there is no male job class of equal or comparable value inside the pay
equity plan, look OUTSIDE to other plans in the establishment. Again, if there is more than one
possible comparator, use the one with the lowest job rate.
Search sequence 3: If there are no male job classes of equal or comparable value, look
THROUGHOUT the establishment for male job classes that are of lower value but higher paid
than the female job classes considered. If more than one is found, use the one with the highest
job rate as the appropriate comparator.
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7.
Adjusting job rates
The Pay Equity Act considers and/or requires:
The Act defines job rate as the highest level of compensation, which includes wages, salaries
and benefits. Job rates of female job classes are compared to job rates of male job classes of
equal or comparable value. When required, adjustments must be paid to each position in the
female job class (each step in the range).
STC’s rationale and decision:
For STC’s purposes, job rate was the highest rate of pay, including bonuses, commissions, and all
payments, which an employee could normally reach. Since the Toronto office used a formal
seniority system, the job rate was the rate at the top of the range. The benefits available to
employees in all job classes were the same.
The rate of pay was calculated on an hourly basis. Most employees were on a 35-hour workweek
with a few employees on a 40-hour workweek.
STC compared the difference in job rates between each female job class requiring an adjustment
and its male comparator. The difference in the job rate (calculated at the top of the range) was
applied to all levels of the range for the female jobs. See Table 13 for results and breakdown.
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Female Job Classes
Table 13: Adjusting Salary Ranges
Job Rate Job Rate
Male Job Comparator
Job
Rate
Wage
Gap
Old
Range
30.00
28.50
27.00
New Range
31.00
29.50
28.00
Sales Manager
31.00 1.00
29.00
27.50
26.00
25.00
23.50
22.00
31.00
29.50
28.00
26.00
24.50
23.00
Sales Manager
31.00 2.00
Sales Representative
26.00 1.00
25.00
23.50
22.00
22.00
20.50
19.00
26.00
24.50
23.00
24.00
22.50
21.00
Sales Representative
26.00 1.00
Financial Analyst
24.00 2.00
(400-474)
Administrative Assistant
19.00
17.50
16.00
21.00
19.50
18.00
Service/Systems
Technician
21.00 2.00
Secretary
17.00
15.50
14.00
21.00
19.50
18.00
Service/Systems
Technician
21.00 4.00
(625-699)
Administrative Manager
Accounting Manager
(550-624)
Global Markets Specialist
Digital Markets Specialist
(475-549)
Customer Service
Supervisor
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8.
The Job-to-Job Pay Equity Plan for Establishment 1 – Toronto
The Space Toy Company (STC)
Employer:
The Space Toy Company
Dundas Street West,
Toronto, ON M7A 2H8
Date of posting and pay equity adjustments:
The Space Toy Company posted the following pay equity plan on February 15, 1991.
Pay equity adjustments are to begin January 1, 1992.
Establishment:
This plan refers to Establishment 1, Toronto Head Office, located at the above address.
Job classes covered by the plan:
This plan covers all non-union job classes (there are no bargaining units at this
location/establishment) of the Space Toy Company whose employees work in the geographic
division of Metro Toronto. This is the only plan covering the employees working in Metro Toronto.
The following are female job classes:
Administrative Manager
Accounting Manager
Global Markets Specialist
Digital Markets Specialist
Customer Service Supervisor
Administrative Assistant
Secretary
Customer Service Clerk
Accounting Clerk
Receptionist/Typist
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The following are male job classes:
General Manager
Marketing Director
Controller
Sales Manager
Accountant
Sales Representative
Financial Analyst
Service/Systems Technician
Method of comparison:
A gender-neutral job comparison system is used to measure the value of the work performed by
each job class. Points are assigned to each job class and values determined for all jobs based on
the factors of skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions.
A committee carried out the job evaluations.
Jobs of equal or comparable value were determined by dividing the system into fixed point bands,
75 points wide.
Pay equity adjustments:
The law requires that 1% of the previous year’s payroll be used for pay equity adjustments every
year until pay equity is achieved. One percent of the company's 1991 total Ontario payroll will be
spent on pay equity adjustments in 1992. The estimated 1991 payroll for the Space Toy Company
is $16,106,000. The estimated amount to be spent in 1992 for pay equity is $161,060. to be
distributed amongst all the Ontario locations (Toronto, Belleville, Kingston and Sarnia).
Approximately twenty percent of this amount ($32,212.) was set aside for pay equity adjustments
at the Toronto Head Office.
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Comparison results:
Following are the female job classes that found male comparators; their male comparator job
classes; the total pay equity adjustment needed in each case; the 1992 adjustment and the
balance to be paid January 1, 1993 (STC has decided to close the wage gaps and achieve pay
equity within two years):
Female Job Class
Table 14: Comparison Results
Male Comparator
Pay Equity Adjustments Adjustments
Job Class
Adjustment 1992
1993
Administration Manager
Sales Manager
$1.00/hr
1.00
Accounting Manager
Sales Manager
$2.00/hr
1.00
Global Markets
Specialist
Sales Representative
$1.00/hr
100
Digital Markets
Specialist
Customer Service
Supervisor
Administrative Assistant
Sales Representative
$1.00/hr
1.00
Financial Analyst
$2.00/hr
1.00
1.00
Service/Systems
Technician
Service/Systems
Technician
$2.00/hr
1.75
0.25
$4.00/hr
2.955
1.05
Secretary
1.00
5
The Act states that the female job class with the lowest job rate (Secretary) shall receive increases that are
greater than the increases for other female job classes until that job rate is equal to the job rate of the next lowestpaid female job class or the job rate required to achieve pay equity. As required by law, every female job class that
is owed an adjustment must be adjusted each year or until pay equity is achieved for that female job class. Every
position in a job class receives the same adjustment in dollar terms.
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Objection period for non-union employees under the Pay Equity Act:
As of the posting date, February 15, 1991, employees have 90 days to raise concerns about
the plan to the Pay Equity Committee.
Following this 90-day period, the company has 7 days to re-post a revised plan or post a
notice saying there will be no revisions.
After this, any employee has 30 days to bring an objection to the Pay Equity Commission
If no objection is received by the Pay Equity Commission by the end of this 90-7-30 day
appeal period, this plan is deemed approved and will be implemented.
For further information, contact _____________________ with the Pay Equity Committee.
Or call the Pay Equity Commission at 1-800-387-8813.
Other salary increases
The following internal wage increases are not required by the Act, are not included in the
pay equity plan, are not paid out of the above 1% payroll amount and are not pay equity
adjustments.
There are no male comparator job classes for the following female job classes, but internal wage
adjustments in keeping with the overall compensation system were given to:
Customer Service Clerk
Table 15: Internal wage adjustments
$1.00/hr
Accounting Clerk
$1.00/hr
Receptionist/Typist
$1.00/hr
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Summary of Parts 1 and 2– The Basics and Job-to-Job Comparisons
Part 1: At The Start – Province-Wide Answers For The Space Toy Company
Basic questions and answers that applied to STC in all its establishments.
Part 2: Requirements To Do The “Job-To-Job” Comparison Method
In January 1988, the Pay Equity Act was made law to address the undervaluation and systemic
discriminatory compensation of work performed by women. The Act required that jobs usually done
by women be compared to jobs usually done by men. Female job classes which are of equal or
comparable value to male job classes must be paid at least the same.
The Space Toy Company complied and implemented a Job-to-Job Pay Equity Plan in 1991. Pay
equity was achieved at STC within two years of posting the plan.
However, three female job classes at STC’s Head Office could not achieve pay equity using this
approach, as they found no male comparators of equal or comparable value or lower value and
higher paid.
Effective July 1, 1993, the Pay Equity Act was amended, adding the Proportional Value method.
This second approach is used to provide pay equity for female jobs, unmatched under Job-to-Job.
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Introduction to Parts 3-4: Proportional Value, Maintenance, and
Addendum–Tools
Part 3: Requirements To Do The “Proportional Value” (PV) Method
The Space Toy Company was required, under the amended Act, to use “Proportional Value” to
provide pay equity for three unmatched female job classes: Customer Service Clerk, Accounting
Clerk and Receptionist/Typist.
STC complied with this requirement within the timelines set out in the Act.
Part 4: Requirements To “Maintain Pay Equity” After Its Achievement
STC was obligated to achieve pay equity using the Job-to-Job and Proportional Value methods
and to maintain pay equity, making sure that wage gaps that were identified and closed remained
closed.
The next step after achieving pay equity was to discuss practical ways to maintain pay equity on an
on-going basis. Part 4 of this document shows the circumstances that have impacted on pay equity
maintenance and the steps that STC has taken to comply with maintenance requirements.
Addendum – Tools
The Pay Equity Committee developed an Information Kit designed to help its representatives and
STC employees with questions about the job evaluation process. These samples and tools are in
the Addendum portion of this document, and include:
“Terms of Reference and Administrative Arrangements for the Pay Equity Committee”
“The Tasks and Responsibilities of the Pay Equity Committee”
“Request for Review of Job Information” form
“Guide to Gathering Job Information”
“Guide to Classification or Re-evaluation Process”
“Sample Job Description”
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PART III
Achieving Pay Equity using
The Proportional Value
Comparison Method
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9.
Introduction to Proportional Value (PV)
The Pay Equity Act considers and/or requires:
The Pay Equity Act was amended, effective July 1, 1993, and introduced Proportional Value as
another method to compare job classes.
The Space Toy Company was required, under the amended Act, to use the “Proportional Value”
method to provide pay equity for the following three female jobs, unmatched under the Job-to-Job
method:
Customer Service Clerk
Accounting Clerk
Receptionist/Typist
Although these jobs were given salary increases in 1992, these were not pay equity adjustments
(revisit Summary of Parts 1 and 2 for more detail).
What Is “Proportional Value”?
Proportional value is a method of indirectly comparing female and male job classes and is used to
provide pay equity for any unmatched female job class under the Job-to-Job method.
STC was required to look at the way male job classes were paid in the organization by examining
the relationship between the value of the work performed and the compensation received. With
this information, STC developed an overall picture of the way male jobs were paid. This data was
then used to determine what any male job class at any value would likely be paid at STC.
When Is Pay Equity Achieved Using The “Proportional Value” Method?
Pay equity is achieved when the relationship between the value of the work performed and the
compensation received is at least the same for female as for male job classes.
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9a) The start of the proportional value process – Answers to basic
questions
Before applying the Proportional Value Method, STC reviewed the steps initially used in the
Job-to-Job comparison:
determining the employer (the Space Toy Company)
defining the establishment (Toronto Head Office)
identifying the number of pay equity plans needed in the establishment (one non-union plan
- all Toronto. employees)
determining female and male job classes (see job classes definition) and selecting or
developing a gender neutral job comparison system (see STC’s gender-neutral job
evaluation process and system )
determining the value of female and male job classes using the gender neutral job
comparison system (see the weighting formula)
determining job rates for female and male job classes (same at this time as at PV plan
posting date)
identifying appropriate male comparators for female job classes and the remaining
unmatched female job classes
Dates used to calculate job rates:
STC used the job rates in effect when preparing the PV plan. Job rates were calculated the same
way as for the Job-to-Job comparison method.
STC and Pay Equity Committee discussions and conclusions on how to proceed:
As the Customer Service Clerk, Accounting Clerk and Receptionist/Typist female job
classes had received non-pay equity salary increases in 1992, STC did not expect to find
major discrepancies in job rates in 1993 when PV came into effect.
STC elected to close wage gaps, if any, immediately upon the posting of the PV Pay Equity
Plan. STC could have phased in adjustments over a number of years – again, at 1% of the
previous year’s payroll per year, until pay equity was achieved.
STC’s retroactive adjustment date was January 1, 1993.
The amended Act provided the same 90-7-30 day appeal period process as under the Jobto-Job method, beginning at the posting date.
Important Note on posting plans:
STC was aware that anytime Toronto’s non-union plan was amended and re-posted, (i.e. changed
circumstances), or if a new plan was required, (i.e. sale of a business), the 90-7-30 day appeal
period would always apply from the date of posting.
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9b) What was STC’s pay equity deadline for Proportional Value?
The Pay Equity Act considers and/or requires:
The Act requires employers to implement the Proportional Value method according to the following
schedule:
Employer
Type/Size
Table 16: Schedule for PV
Posting date for
Retroactive
First
PV
Date
Adjustment
Achievement
Date
Public Sector
All sizes
January 1, 1994
January 1, 1993
January 1, 1994
No later than
January 1, 1998
500+
January 1, 1994
January 1, 1993
January 1, 1994
n/a
100 – 499
January 1, 1994
January 1, 1993
January 1, 1994
n/a
50 – 99
January 1, 1994
January 1, 1993
January 1, 19946 n/a
10 – 49
January 1, 1994
January 1, 1994
January 1, 19947 n/a8
Private Sector
6
STC’s compliance date
7
Private sector employers with 50 to 99 employees who chose not to post a plan must achieve pay equity
using the proportional value method by July 1, 1993 and adjustments are retroactive to July 1, 1993.
8
Private sector employers with 10 to 49 employees who chose not to post a plan must achieve pay equity
by January 1, 1994.
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9c) The Steps to Proportional Value (PV)
As the Committee’s aim was to draw a line of best fit, the Pay Equity Committee followed a series
of steps:
They identified unmatched female job classes under the Job-to-Job method:
Customer Service Clerk
Accounting Clerk
Receptionist/Typist
They reviewed job descriptions for accuracy and completeness:
Job information was very recent and had been kept updated. Few changes were required.
They selected a representative group of male job classes as required under the PV method:
The representative group of male jobs could have included all the male job classes in the Toronto
Pay Equity Plan.
STC felt that the representative group should be male jobs whose pay patterns were the closest to
those of the female job classes.
The company recognized that including higher paid and higher valued male job classes in the
representative group could pull the line higher at the top and lower at the bottom where the female
job classes would be plotted – this could disadvantage the three unmatched female job classes.
When reviewing the data, the Committee also found that two lines, one for the management group
and one for the hourly workers would better fit their pay structures.
They determined the relationship between the value of male job classes and their job rates
by using two job rate line methods to draw a line of best fit:
First, the Committee drew a line Free-Hand. Job rates were shown on the vertical axis and job
values on the horizontal axis. For example, the male job class of Financial Analyst was recorded
at the point where its value (540 points) and its job rate ($24.00) intersected.
The Committee used a second method, Regression Analysis, to create a wage line and to
double-check the free-hand results.
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The Committee excluded those male job classes that, due to their placement on the graph,
distorted the job rate line. The Committee’s final decision was to use a very small number of
representative male job classes.
See the Amended Pay Equity Plan using Proportional Value section for the results of these
calculations.
They identified adjustments by applying the formula resulting from the Regression Analysis
calculation.
The final regression calculations and PV job rate results are shown under section Method 2 –
Regression Analysis.
They amended the original pay equity plan.
The 1991 Pay Equity Plan was amended to reflect an amended PV job rate. See Table 20 for the
amended plan.
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9d) Method 1 – Free-Hand
The Committee worked with three representative male job classes whose pay patterns were the
closest to those of the unmatched female job classes.
STC first calculated an average point, by calculating the average of the male job values and the
average of the male job rates for the three representative male job classes (see list below). This
average point became the pivot point, or the centre through which any male job rate line would
cross.
Table 17: This is the average point (or pivot point) calculation: The unmatched Female Job
Classes
Representative
Value (pts)
Job
Female Jobs
Value
Job
Male Job
Rate
(pts)
Rate ($)
($)
Sales
Representative
561
26.00
Customer Service
Clerk
391
17.00
Financial Analyst
540
24.00
Account Clerk
330
16.00
Service/Systems
Technicians
458
21.00
Receptionist/Typist
282
15.00
Total
1559
71.00
Average Job Value
Average Job Rate
1559/3 = 519.66
$71.00/3 = 23.67
On the graph below:
the male job classes were plotted and a line was drawn through the pivot point and the
male job classes;
the female job classes were added, as indicated by the three squares below the Female
Jobs text box.
The Committee checked these results using Regression Analysis.
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Figure 1: Representative group of male job classes showing the average point
Adjustment required: This initial exercise showed that the female job class paid below the PV
male wage line would receive an adjustment.
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9e) Method 2 – Regression Analysis
When the job rate line was drawn free-hand, the line was put in place visually. STC had to keep
adjusting the line until one was drawn that best fit the points on the graph.
Some experts contend that Regression Analysis is a more exact way to determine which line best
fits the points on a graph. STC double-checked the free-hand results with a regression calculation.
Regression Analysis uses a set of mathematical procedures to calculate a job rate line. Although
this method can produce a line on a graph, only the statistical results of the calculations are
included here.
Male Job Class
Table 18: The Regression Analysis Results
Sample 2: Results using 3 male jobs as representative group
Job Value
Job Rate ($)
9
561
26.00
Financial Analyst
540
24.00
Service/ Systems Technician
458
21.00
Sales Representative
Regression Output
Constant
0.188984
Standard Error of the Estimate
0.75758
R Squared
0.95469
No. of Observations
3
Degrees of Freedom
1
X Coefficient(s)
0.045178
Standard Error of a Coefficient
0.009842
9
These 3 male jobs (Sales Representative, Financial Analyst and Service Systems/Technician) were
deemed representative.
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The Committee’s and STC’s conclusions and decisions
The Committee and STC felt that this group of male job classes was representative because their
pay patterns were closest to that of the female job classes. The regression result was also very
good.
They identified adjustments by applying the formula resulting from the above calculation to the
three unmatched female job classes. These are the final regression calculations and PV job rate
results:
Unmatched Female
Job Class
Table 19: Proportional Value Job Rate Results
Job Value Job Rate ($)
P.V Rates/$
Adjustment
Receptionist/Typist
282
15
12.929279
Nil
Accounting Clerk
330
16
15.09784
Nil
Customer Service Clerk
391
17
17.853719
0.85
Adjustment required: One job rate adjustment was required – for the Customer Service Clerk.
The other two female job classes had job rates higher than the Proportional Value rate. Therefore,
under the Pay Equity Act, these job classes did not require a pay equity adjustment. The 1991 Pay
Equity Plan was amended to reflect this change. See Table 20 for the amended plan.
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9f)
The amended Pay Equity Plan using Proportional Value
The Pay Equity Act was amended on July 1, 1993. The amendments require that the Proportional
Value method be applied to all female job classes that could not achieve pay equity using the Jobto-Job comparison method.
As a result, the pay equity plan posted on January 1, 1991 is amended as follows:
Female job classes without male comparators
The Proportional Value method was used to achieve pay equity for the following unmatched female
job classes under the Job-to-Job approach:
Customer Service Clerk
Accounting Clerk
Receptionist/Typist
Representative group of male job classes
The following male jobs were used as the representative group of male job classes when applying
the Proportional Value method:
Sales Representative
Financial Analyst
Service/Systems Technician
Method of comparison
A gender neutral job comparison system was used to measure the value of each job class. Points
were assigned to each job class and values determined for all jobs based on the factors of skill,
effort, responsibility and working conditions.
Evaluations were carried out by a committee.
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Proportional Value method and calculations:
The job value and job rates of all male job classes were plotted on a graph. A representative
group of male job classes was selected from this male job class group.
A statistical method called Regression Analysis was used to determine the relationship between
the value of the male jobs and their job rates. This produced a formula which was then used to
calculate pay equity job rates for female job classes.
Pay equity is achieved when the female job classes are paid the Proportional Value pay equity job
rate. Female job classes that are paid less than the pay equity job rate receive an adjustment until
pay equity is achieved.
Female job classes that are paid more than the pay equity job rate do not receive a Proportional
Value adjustment.
Job Class
Value
Table 20: Results
Present Job
Pay Equity Job
Rate ($)
Rate ($)
Adjustment
Required
Customer Service
Clerk
391
17.00
17.85
0.85
Accounting Clerk
330
16.00
15.10
Nil
Receptionist/Typist
282
15.00
12.93
Nil
Adjustments:
The Act requires that 1% of the 1993 payroll be spent on pay equity adjustments in 1994.
The total amount of the adjustments amounted to less than 1% of payroll, so the full adjustment
was paid immediately to the single female job class – Customer Service Clerk – that required an
adjustment.
The adjustment was paid on January 1, 1994, retroactive to January 1, 1993, as required by the
Act.
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Objection period for non-union employees:
As of this posting date, January 1, 1994, employees have 90 days to raise concerns to the Pay
Equity Committee.
Following the 90-day period, the company will have 7 days to post any revisions made in response
to this plan or post a notice stating there won’t be any revisions, if that is the case.
After this, any employee has 30 days to bring an objection to the Pay Equity Commission if there
still are unresolved issues.
For further information, contact _______________________________ from the Pay Equity
Committee.
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Part IV
Maintaining Pay Equity
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10. Why maintain pay equity and how can STC do it?
Why is STC obligated to maintain pay equity?
The Pay Equity Act requires that wage gaps between female and male job classes, which have
been identified and closed, cannot be re-opened. Also, new gaps cannot be created.
Section 7(1) sets out the requirements and obligation to achieve and maintain pay equity:
“Every employer shall establish and maintain compensation practices that provide for pay
equity in every establishment of the employer.”
Section 7(2) means that any employer covered by this Act cannot opt out of doing pay
equity:
“No employer or bargaining agent shall bargain for or agree to compensation practices that, if
adopted, would cause a contravention of subsection (1).”
STC was aware from the beginning that pay equity was not meant to be a one-time effort. Although
the Act did not specify what type of compensation practices should be used to maintain pay equity,
the Act did clearly state that pay equity had to be established and maintained.
After the Job-to-Job (1991) and Proportional Value (1994) plans were posted for female job
classes and pay equity achieved using these two methods, STC then entered into its maintenance
phase.
How does STC maintain pay equity?
STC had achieved pay equity using two approaches: Job-to-Job and Proportional Value. Pay
equity could be maintained using these two methods or STC could have decided to use PV only for
all female job classes.
This is the RULE to follow when deciding to use Proportional Value only for all female job classes:
If at any time, female job classes can receive a better adjustment under the Job-to-Job
method than under PV, then they are entitled to it. And if you’re using PV to maintain
pay equity for all female job classes, those female job classes that had received
adjustments under the Job-to-Job approach cannot be paid less under PV than they
would be paid under Job-to-Job.
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A method of tracking for potential Job-to-Job comparisons would also be needed if using PV to
maintain (this could become very difficult over time).
In 1994, STC decided to maintain pay equity using both Job-to-Job and PV. If in the future, STC
decides to use PV only for maintenance, then they will pay attention to and abide by the above
rule.
Was the Pay Equity “Maintenance Program” that STC set up required under the Pay Equity
Act?
No, a maintenance program is not required. However, STC and its employees felt this was the best
way to ensure pay equity maintenance in a practical and timely manner.
Under the Pay Equity Act, the employer has the responsibility to maintain compensation practices
that provide for pay equity. In a unionized establishment, the employer and the bargaining agent
could develop an agreement on how to maintain pay equity and incorporate this document into the
collective agreement.
The reference materials in the Addendum part of this document were developed to help the
Committee in its work and to help employees when submitting requests for re-evaluation of their
jobs.
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10a) What is pay equity maintenance?
What does pay equity maintenance mean in practical terms?
To maintain pay equity, the Space Toy Company monitors changes in the Toronto establishment
for their pay equity implications. Wage gaps, identified and closed under the Job-to-Job and
Proportional Value process, cannot be re-opened or new ones created after the achievement of
pay equity.
Phasing-in adjustments
There is no phasing-in adjustments after pay equity is achieved. If wage gaps re-occur and are not
closed immediately, adjustments retroactive to the date that the changes occurred must be paid to
the job class in question.
Key maintenance areas
STC paid close attention to two key areas of the Act that can impact on pay equity maintenance:
Changed Circumstances and Sale of Business.
What are “Changed Circumstances” (Section 14.1 of the Act)?
Changed circumstances are situations which occur in the daily running of the business that impact
on pay equity and deemed approved plans. For example, changes to job values, job rates, male
comparators, organizational structure, etc. Any of these changes can affect pay equity and
existing plans.
What is a “Sale of a Business” (Section 13.1 of the Act)?
Sale of a business is when an employer, bound by a pay equity plan, sells a business. For
example, when two companies merge, existing pay equity plans for the two separate legal entities
have to be reviewed for their continued appropriateness. Often, new plans have to be prepared to
reflect substantial internal changes to jobs, values, comparators, job rates and pay equity resulting
from the merger.
Do pay equity plan(s) ever get amended/re-posted or are there circumstances where new
plans are required?
STC (and the law) views the pay equity plan as a legal, binding contract. Its terms must accurately
show all female and male job classes in the workplace, as well as explain/detail how pay equity
was done. If the plan that was posted many years ago doesn’t reflect the current reality in the
workplace, it may need amending and re-posting (in the event of Changed Circumstances) or a
new plan drawn up and posted (in the event of a Sale of Business). On-going and regular
maintenance of compensation practices do not require an amendment to the plan or a reposting.
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What problems did STC identify when discussing and deciding on the future maintenance
process?
The STC Committee worked on pay equity issues from 1990 to 1995. But staff turnover
and heavy workloads made it difficult for the committee to do a timely job of maintaining
pay equity after 1995.
From 1996, record keeping and follow-up was not done in a planned manner. There was
no pay equity committee and the office misplaced some of the original pay equity
materials, notes, evaluation results, rating sheets, etc.
Concerns were raised by employees about pay equity maintenance. In October 1998,
discussions began between management and staff on how to monitor changes
impacting on pay equity and on how to maintain pay equity in a practical manner.
What solutions did STC come up with to address the above problems/concerns?
In 1999, STC and its employees formalized what they felt was a practical approach to
maintain pay equity by creating a “Pay Equity Maintenance Program”. Such a
program is not required by the Act, but STC and the employees at the Toronto Head
Office agreed that pay equity compliance and employee satisfaction could go hand in
hand if a formal process was followed.
The maintenance program was put into effect on January 1, 2000, and tested over a
six-month period. Some amendments were made to the terms of reference and policies
and procedures.
The addendum of this document is comprised of reference tools developed and used by
STC, the Pay Equity Committee and the employees of the company.
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10b) Changed Circumstances
What are Changed Circumstances?
Under the Act, employers like STC who posted a pay equity plan are covered by a provision
related to “changed circumstances” in the establishment.
When the impact of changes in the workplace amounts to “changed circumstances”, causing a
deemed approved plan to be no longer appropriate for the entire workplace or for the bargaining
unit, the plan may have to be amended.
Although the Act does not define “changed circumstances”, there are some situations which could
be considered a changed circumstance, making STC’s plan no longer appropriate. These
situations include:
Restructuring in the organization
New or vanishing job classes and/or new male comparators for a female job class
Significant changes in the value of the work performed for female or male job classes
Certification of a bargaining agent after a deemed-approved plan
STC understood that:
In most cases, an amended pay equity plan was not necessary;
In the event of a restructuring or unionization, pay equity rates may not be reduced;
Negotiation of a new gender neutral comparison system is not required;
Necessary adjustments are retroactive to the date the change occurred.
Examples at STC
Over the years, STC, like most companies, has gone through several restructurings, made
changes to jobs, salaries, department structures, etc. These circumstances have and continue to
impact on pay equity and its maintenance.
STC has an obligation under the Pay Equity Act to monitor these changes, make adjustments if
necessary, and maintain pay equity now that it has been achieved and wage gaps closed.
The following are circumstances that the Pay Equity Committee and STC have been monitoring for
pay equity maintenance.
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1. Changes to duties, responsibilities and/or the value of a female or male job class:
Significant changes to the skill, effort, responsibility and/or working conditions of a job class could
be sufficient to alter its value. In some cases, the changes are minor and so is the impact on pay
equity. In other cases, a new male comparator may be required or the proportional value male
wage line might need recalculating.
For example:
Accountant:
The Accountant male job class took on some of the duties of the male job Financial Analyst when it
was made redundant. The Accountant job was re-evaluated and its value was increased from 592
to 619 points. The Accountant job remained within the band of 550-624 points.
Pay Equity Maintenance – Concerns/Impact: No pay equity impact, as this job was not a
comparator for the two female jobs in the 550-624 point band.
Customer Service Clerk:
One of the six Customer Service Clerks was assigned new duties and responsibilities. When reevaluated, the job value increased from 391 to 415 points, moving the position up to the next point
band. There was a male comparator in that band and the male job rate at that time was $24.00.
The Clerk’s current job rate was $19.00.
Pay Equity Maintenance – Concerns/Impact: The salary range for the Customer Service
position was adjusted by $5.00, retroactive to when the changes occurred in the job. The
significant changes to the position and the different compensation from other Customer Service
Clerks, required the creation of a new job class. This new position was renamed “Customer
Service/Team Leader”.
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2. Changes to the gender of a job class:
Job class gender could change from female or male, or female to male or to gender neutral, thus
impacting on pay equity. For example:
Sales Representative:
In 1997, the Sales Department downsized its Sales Representative group from eight to six. There
were now three male and three female employees in this job class.
Originally, this was deemed a male job class because: there were seven males and one female; its
incumbents had always been male; and the work was stereotypically male.
Although there were equal numbers of female and male incumbents, this job class did not
automatically become gender-neutral. As male Sales Representatives still stereotypically
dominated in this market, the Committee and STC held that the Sales Representative job class
would remain male dominated for pay equity purposes.
Pay Equity Maintenance Concerns: The Sales Representative job was the comparator for the
Markets Specialist female job. A change to the gender of the Sales Representative job would have
had a pay equity impact.
Pay Equity impact: None, as the Sales Representative job remained the male comparator for the
550-624 point band. No changes were made to its current job rate.
Global Markets Specialist and Digital Markets Specialist:
These two female job classes, with one incumbent in each, were rolled into one job class and was
renamed “Markets Specialist”. One incumbent was retained in the position and the other
incumbent left the company. The restructured job class was re-evaluated and its value increased
from 575 to 612 points.
Pay Equity Impact: None, as this restructured female job class remained in the 550-624 point
band and the male comparator remained the same. No changes were made to its job rate.
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3. Changes in union status:
There could be a change to the composition of a bargaining unit, a change in union status or
bargaining agent.
The Toronto establishment did not have a bargaining unit. However, STC was aware that if a new
bargaining unit were created for the Toronto workplace, the existing pay equity plan would have to
be divided into two separate plans. If this was not possible, an amended plan might have to be
negotiated with the union as this would amount to a changed circumstance rendering the plan no
longer appropriate for the bargaining unit.
4. Changes to the compensation of a job class:
Increases to male job rates (includes changes to benefits) could impact on female job rates if these
male job classes were used as comparators under the Job-to-Job method or if they were part of a
representative group of male jobs under the Proportional Value method.
For example:
5. Sales Manager:
The Sales Manager male job class was and still is the comparator for the female jobs of:
Administration Manager and Accounting Manager. The value of the Sales Manager job hasn’t
changed significantly but its job rate has increased several times over the years.
Pay Equity Maintenance – Concerns/ Impact: Every time the job rate for the Sales Manager
increased, the job rate of the two female job classes that were matched to it also received the
same dollar increase retroactive to the date the male job received its increase.
6. Creation of new job classes:
Creating an entirely new job class or bringing significant changes to an existing job class impacts
on pay equity. A new female job class must achieve pay equity immediately.
A new male job class could be used as a comparator where no male job comparator was available
before under the Job-to-Job approach; or this new male job class could become part of the
representative group of male jobs under the Proportional Value approach.
Adding a male job to a representative group could also affect the wage line and subsequently, any
female jobs under Proportional Value.
STC dealt with the new job class issue for the Customer Service Clerk job class – see the Guide to
the Classification or Re-evaluation Process.
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7. Vanishing job classes
If a female job class disappears, any outstanding pay equity adjustments must be paid to each
position in this job class at that time.
If a male comparator job class disappears, a new comparator must be found for the female job
class it was matched to. If the male job was part of a PV line, this line might need recalculating.
This created a unique problem for STC in the following situation:
Financial Analyst
The Financial Analyst was the male comparator for the Customer Service Supervisor at the time
this job was made redundant. When this male job was made redundant, the law required STC to
find another male job comparator – but none could be found in the Toronto Head Office pay equity
plan.
Pay Equity Maintenance – Concerns/ Impact: To preserve the integrity of the internal
compensation structure, the company opted to keep the Financial Analyst job information, job
value and job rate on its job list and use it to maintain pay equity for the Customer Service
Supervisor job class.
In practical terms, if all male jobs were to get an increase of $1.00/hour, so would this “ghost jobFinancial Analyst”. Its match, the Customer Service Supervisor would automatically receive the
$1.00/hour increase. This was a creative approach and solution that fit STC’s internal equity
considerations.
At a certain point in the future, this solution may no longer be viable.
Note: STC’s solution went beyond the scope of the Act.
8. Restructuring:
STC went through several restructurings over the years but good records of how pay equity was
dealt with at the time and/or maintained after the changes occurred were not kept. For this reason,
STC and employees decided to formalize a process to maintain pay equity. This process is
detailed in the Addendum part of this document.
9. Last notes on re-opening or widening of the wage gap
STC is committed to pay equity compliance, and seeks to ensure that wage gaps do not re-occur.
With this in mind, STC, the Pay Equity Committee and the employees take an active role in
maintaining pay equity.
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10c) Sale of a business
What is a “Sale of a Business”?
For pay equity purposes, a “Sale of a Business” could be a:
merger
sale
lease
transfer
acquisition
amalgamation
Since pay equity came into effect at STC, there have not been any of the changes listed above.
STC and the Pay Equity Committee called the Pay Equity Commission about “sale of business”.
The Commission sent information that helped STC identify key areas to monitor.
STC is paying attention to these areas regarding “Sale of Business”:
In non-union situations, the 90-7-30 day appeal period applies from the date of posting. This
appeal period applies every time a pay equity plan is amended and posted or a new plan is
prepared and posted.
A gender-neutral job comparison system may be chosen. If there are few changes to jobs
and the organization after a sale, the existing job evaluation system and the pay equity
plans may still be appropriate. But if changes are substantial, the system may no longer fit
the nature of the workplace, capture the elements of work or correctly attach value to the
jobs. A new system would have to be put in place, the jobs re-evaluated and a pay equity
plan posted.
The purchaser assumes responsibility for any pay equity requirements in the predecessor
organization unless there’s a merger agreement.
There can’t be an interruption in pay equity for employees, even in the event of a sale of
business. For instance, if STC were to merge with another company, existing pay equity
plan(s) would continue to be implemented until checked to see if they’re still appropriate. If
not, a new pay equity process would begin and new plans drawn up.
Any necessary adjustments to job rates are always retroactive to the date the sale occurred.
STC keeps in contact with the Commission about updates and information on the
maintenance of pay equity.
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After a Sale of Business
After a sale of business, a new plan (or plans where there are bargaining units) may have to be
prepared and posted if existing ones no longer cover the job classes to which they apply and are
no longer appropriate.
For example:
Organizations often experience major changes after a sale of business: restructuring of
departments or new ones created; new jobs in new areas; new products, services or
manufacturing processes, etc. Major changes like these could make previous pay equity plans no
longer appropriate.
The process of achieving pay equity again and developing a new plan is like the one STC followed
at the beginning:
determining the employer and the establishment(s);
determining job classes and evaluating them;
doing Job-to-Job comparisons or Proportional Value if required;
preparing and posting new pay equity plans.
Caution
Pay equity rates in the new plan(s) may be different than in the old plan in a sale or merger
situation.
A sale of business or merger cannot be used to roll back or lower pay equity rates.
Adjustments in pay equity rates in new plans, if different than in previous plans, may need to
be substantiated and an employer would have to show that the pay equity process was
followed and pay equity achieved.
There is no deadline for preparing a plan after a sale of business. However, employees could
complain to the Pay Equity Commission that a previous plan is no longer appropriate and a new
plan has not been prepared.
In the event of a complaint, a Review Officer from the Commission would be assigned to
investigate.
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Addendum
Tools
Terms of Reference for the Pay Equity Committee
Tasks and Responsibilities of the Pay Equity Committee
Request for Review of Job Information Form
Guide to Gathering Job Information
Guide to Classification or Re-evaluation Process
Sample Job Information
Maintenance Journal Sample
Disclaimer
The information in the addendum was prepared for the use of the Space Toy Company, a fictitious
organization created for the purpose of this case study.
This workbook and attachments are for information only, and are not intended to restrict Review
Officers or the Pay Equity Hearings Tribunal in their determination of matters. Refer to the Pay
Equity Act for exact interpretation.
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Table of Contents
Pay Equity Committee Terms Of Reference/Administrative
Arrangements
(Employers can use the following sample to create their own terms of reference)
Mission
To help create a work environment that promotes equality and fairness for all jobs, with sensitivity
to issues around gender bias and the undervaluing of female job classes, through policy and
administration that is seen as necessary, effective and fair.
Purpose of the Pay Equity Committee
To receive applications for review of pay equity situations or questions; to evaluate jobs; to take
measures to resolve employee concerns; and to recommend outcomes or solutions to help resolve
pay equity issues for employees of the Space Toy Company.
Goal
To ensure that the work of the Space Toy Company’s employees is valued in a gender-neutral way
and compensated fairly.
Accountability
The Pay Equity Committee is accountable to the management of the Space Toy Company and
reports through the Committee Secretary.
Long Term Objectives
To maintain pay equity for the employees of the Space Toy Company – Toronto Establishment,
and ensure compliance with the Pay Equity Act in a timely and practical manner.
Intermediate objectives (this list is not exhaustive)
To meet the long term objectives, the Pay Equity Committee will:
Establish policies and guidelines for an efficiently run Pay Equity Committee;
Train new committee members on all matters relating to pay equity;
Conduct meetings to review any “Application for Position Review” forms submitted by
employees;
Meet with the applicant(s) and a management representative on the question(s) or
concern(s) raised and decide on steps to follow;
Review applications, re-evaluate job information when needed, or follow other avenues to
address issues before the Committee;
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Meet with applicant, supervisor and management representative with results;
Make final decision by consensus;
Take any action necessary to close the matter, i.e. recommend retroactive pay equity
adjustments where required;
Minutes of meetings will be taken and all Committee information will be retained at the
Space Toy Company head office.
Composition
The Pay Equity Committee will be comprised of five members: one Management Representative,
one Human Resources Representative, two Staff Representatives and one Chair. Any member
from the above areas (except the Chair) may designate an alternate representative to attend
meetings.
Chair
The Chair, a non-voting member, shall be appointed by the Committee through a voting process
and will act as a neutral facilitator.
Protocol/decision-making
Pay Equity Committee members will endeavor to resolve any outstanding differences resulting
from objections and strive for consensus. Consensus is reached when all committee members
agree with the decision. The Chair will decide in the event of non-agreement. In order to carry on
business, at least four (4) members must be at the meeting. While consensus-building is the best
way to decide, representative voting may be appropriate on less important issues – a threshold of
75% will apply when consensus cannot be reached for minor issues.
Meetings
The timing and frequency of meetings will depend on the demand and will be decided by the
Committee as required.
Finances
No member of the Pay Equity Committee shall be penalized in salary because of time spent on
activities relating to the work of the Committee. Any expenditure of funds necessary to the function
of the Committee shall be paid for by the Space Toy Company.
Reporting
The Pay Equity Committee shall report to management of the Space Toy Company, through
minutes prepared by the Secretary no later than one week following a scheduled meeting.
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Confidentiality
Representatives of the Pay Equity Committee shall respect the confidentiality of any confidential
information or materials to which they have access. Any disclosure shall be limited to those who
have a need to know. Should an applicant decide to withdraw an application in order to protect his
or her anonymity, the Committee shall respect this decision.
Notes
The Secretary will take notes on evaluation details and results, decisions made and actions
recommended. A summary of these decisions and actions will be circulated to Committee
representatives by email within one week of the meeting.
Files
The Pay Equity Committee Secretary shall maintain suitable records of concerns, complaints,
findings, recommendations, decisions and actions which shall then be accessible to Committee
representatives and the applicants to whom these records apply.
The Pay Equity Act
As there is no time limit on making complaints under the Pay Equity Act, all files and information
contained herein shall be retained, stored and archived by the Space Toy Company.
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The tasks and responsibilities of the pay equity committee
The tasks and responsibilities of the Pay Equity Committee include, but are not limited to,
the following:
Set up the pay equity committee:
1. Develop strategies or plans for making the pay equity process work effectively and
efficiently. The goal is to function with a minimum of conflict and conduct matters in a timely
way.
2. Establish policies and terms of reference defining the activities of the Pay Equity Committee.
3. Decide the role of each member and develop clear expectations of each of these roles.
Useful roles are Facilitator/Chair and Secretary/Recorder. Integrate new members by
providing them with all available resources, support, and information on pay equity and
legislative requirements. Explain the “Committee Tasks and Responsibilities” to new
members and provide updates on the past workings and history of the Committee and the
pay equity process.
4. The Pay Equity Committee shall strive to make decisions by consensus. Though harder to
do, making decisions by consensus forces the group to clarify issues, gather additional
information if necessary and seek better alternatives.
Ongoing tasks and responsibilities of the pay equity committee:
1. Hold Pay Equity Committee meetings, ensuring a timely handling, review and resolution of
questions and concerns.
2. Receive and examine all applications for review of any situation, event or change affecting
jobs or compensation that could have an impact or effect on pay equity.
3. Ensure that all necessary information or documentation is available to resolve concerns or
complaints: this data could be collected through written submission, by employee or
management interviews or by conducting desk audits. Requests for this data shall receive
priority from management of the Space Toy Company and all employees and every effort
shall be made to consult the relevant parties and give such parties the opportunity to reply,
should they so wish.
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4. Review job information/descriptions for accuracy, completeness and gender-neutrality; take
any action necessary to resolve complaints, issues or concerns, e.g. evaluation of job
classes, recalculation of job rates, correct matching of male and female job classes through
the Job-to-Job or Proportional Value approaches. Make sure the gender neutral
comparison system used to evaluate jobs is still appropriate. If changes are required, the
Committee will recommend changes and modifications to the system and seek approval
from STC management.
5. Submit the results of the review to all parties upon the conclusion of a re-evaluation or any
other work undertaken to address an employee’s complaint or concerns. The Committee
will include its findings, conclusions and recommendations for action. The Committee will
hear further arguments if the decision is appealed by an employee or a supervisor.
6. Ensure that pay equity adjustments, including any retroactivity, are disbursed no later than
the third pay period following the Committee’s recommendations/decisions and the
agreement of all parties of said decision.
Other tasks or projects for the pay equity committee:
1. Communicate/update twice yearly with all persons working for the Toronto STC office on
issues relating to pay equity or the functions of the Pay Equity Committee.
2. Coordinate the amendment of the Pay Equity Plan on a yearly basis. STC has a legal
obligation to maintain and adjust for pay equity as soon as changes occur, and may amend
and re-post the plan. STC created an ongoing maintenance program and opted to amend
and re-post the plan at the end of each calendar year. The amended plan details all
changes that occurred during the previous twelve months, reminds employees of the
“Request for Position Review” process and of the legislated 127-day appeal period (details
on page 88 and 93) given to employees upon a re-posting of an amended plan.
3. The Pay Equity Committee is responsible for developing, modifying and maintaining a
Resource Kit containing tools designed to help its representatives and STC employees with
concerns about the re-evaluation or classification process.
4. The Resource Kit includes:
“Pay Equity Committee – Terms of Reference and Administrative Arrangements”
“The Tasks and Responsibilities of the Pay Equity Committee” “Request for Review of Job Information”
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“Guide to Gathering Job Information”
“Guide to Classification or Re-evaluation Process”
“Job Description Sample”
“Maintenance Journal Sample”
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Request for Review of Job Information
Reason for review of job information
New position
Update/review requested
Incumbent’s Name:
Department:
Job Title:
Title Code:
Supervisor’s Name:
Name of person who assigns work (if different from above):
Directly supervises the following employees: List Name and Job Title
List positions reporting directly to employees names from list above: Number of employees and
Job Title:
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List any new or additional licenses, certificates, degrees or credentials that are required for the job :
List any new machines, tools, equipment, office appliances or motor vehicles which are now
required to do the job. (Indicate whether use is occasional, frequent or constant):
List which responsibilities were added, deleted or changed since last review:
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List which duties were added, deleted or changed since last review:
Indicate the areas where new or added skills or knowledge are now required.
Signature (signature indicate neither agreement nor disagreement with the re-classification/review
requested. Employee – I certify that the information on this form is correct.
X
Signature
Date
Immediate Supervisor – I have reviewed the statements on this form and certify to their accuracy.
X
Signature
Date
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Table of Contents
Guide to Gathering Job Information
To achieve pay equity, STC systematically collected, analyzed and documented the skill, effort,
responsibility and the working conditions under which each job is performed. To maintain good
records, STC seeks to know:
What a worker does
Table 21: Job Information
How the worker does it Why the worker does it
Work qualifications
Duties
Methods
Products
Skills
Tasks
Tools
Services
Knowledge
Techniques
Abilities
Physical demands
This information is usually extracted and set out in detail on a job statement or description.
Why and how STC gathered job information
The Space Toy Company felt that well written job descriptions clarify expectations for everyone
and allow employees to work smarter. To obtain complete and accurate job information, STC felt
that the least complicated and most time efficient method was to use a questionnaire specifically
designed to match the information required in their job evaluation system.
STC decided to modify a job evaluation system and corresponding questionnaire provided by the
Pay Equity Commission (Volume 2 – The Job Evaluation System). This was done strictly for the
purpose of meeting the deadlines in the Pay Equity Act. The Space Toy Company’s Pay Equity
Committee evaluated jobs using the questionnaires then went on to create formal descriptions for
all jobs in the company.
Job descriptions also provide another advantage in that they make it easier to track changes in job
content. Changes in jobs take many forms and occur for a variety reasons. This can include a
change in supervision, organizational structure, operating systems, technological change or even a
change in the physical surroundings. Some changes are abrupt and quite marked. Others are
more gradual and frequently go unnoticed.
The Pay Equity Act requires employers to amend pay equity plans to reflect any significant change
in areas like those above. Maintaining up-to-date job descriptions is a good way to fulfill this
obligation.
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The process of gathering job information
The responsibility of determining the value of an individual job in relation to other jobs in an
organization, through job evaluation, can be broken down into a series of steps – beginning with
the collection of information about the job that is about to be evaluated.
Job information can be collected in a variety of different ways. This includes the use of
questionnaires, interviews of employees and/or supervisors, observation or a combination of these
methods. One of the most common approaches is the use of questionnaires, which are completed
by employees on the basis that they know their own jobs the best. Any missing or unclear
information is then obtained or verified through interviews and/or observation. Once collected, job
information is often used to prepare formal job descriptions and sometimes used to prepare job
specifications.
The purpose of job descriptions
Job descriptions can serve several useful purposes. They can be used for recruitment, job
evaluation, performance appraisals, training and development, career planning and so on. For this
reason STC sees the benefit in preparing formal job descriptions.
Formal job descriptions are not essential for job evaluation purposes as long as there is another
source of complete and accurate job information.
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Guide to the Classification or Re-evaluation Process
When significant changes occur in a job, it is the shared responsibility of the supervisor and
employee to submit revised job information to the Pay Equity Committee Secretary.
The incumbent fills out the “Request for Review of Job Information” form, then has the information
reviewed and approved by the Supervisor.
What are the three main reasons for a position review?
1. a new position is created, or an existing one is restructured;
2. STC is recruiting for a previously classified position - job requirements are then reviewed for
accuracy and currency before posting or advertising for the vacant position;
3. a position undergoes significant change.
When does reclassification or re-evaluation occur?
1. a skill or responsibility has been added and is being performed on a regular and continuous
basis;
2. an existing skill or responsibility that had been performed on an infrequent basis is now
performed on a regular and continuous basis;
3. a skill or responsibility performed on a regular and continuous basis has been deleted or
decreased;
4. a reorganization causes a change in the responsibilities or skills required in a position or
positions.
What are the three main steps in the classification or re-evaluation process?
1. preparation or modification of position documentation by the staff member, supervisor, or
Human Resource. representative for a new job;
2. evaluation of that job information by the Pay Equity Committee, whose representative may
visit the department to gain a better understanding of the position being reviewed, and;
3. communication of the results of the position review to the department administrator,
supervisor, and staff member.
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About job descriptions
1. duties and responsibilities no longer performed should be removed from the job description;
2. the supervisor may develop a composite position description representative of a group when
two or more individuals hold the same type of position (e.g., Customer Service Clerks);
3. elements of the tasks that had not been previously rated or that are now being realigned
due to changes in the job environment or requirements must be defined and included;
4. each major job duty and/or tasks is listed, starting with the duties that take the largest
portion of time – e.g. a duty can be “Conference Coordination” and tasks can be scheduling
speakers for bi-monthly departmental seminars by calling individuals from established
listings, ascertaining availability, determining event dates and composing correspondence;
5. the approximate amount of working time spent on each major duty is indicated using
percentages, number of hours per day, frequency (daily, weekly, monthly);
6. technical terms are explained by describing processes and equipment in easy to understand
language; be specific about the nature and scope of responsibilities involved, the
equipment, processes and work aids used;
7. enough clear and concise detail about the job must be included; for example, “handles mail”
could mean receiving, logging, reading, distributing, locating background material related to
the correspondence and attaching it for the reader’s information;
8. duties, knowledge, skills, and other characteristics cannot be over or understated;
9. being promoted or changing to a new job does not mean that the job itself changes and
should be re-evaluated;
10. it is not the purpose of a position description or of the re-evaluation process to evaluate an
individual’s performance in their job or to address issues of wages, office complaints or
relationships with co-workers – these are not relevant to this activity;
11. a copy of the reviewed and/or modified position description is kept on file for future
reference.
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Table of Content
Sample Job Description
Summary Statement
Under the supervision of a Manager, the incumbent performs a variety of administrative support
and office clerical functions for a Department Head and/or Division Manager. These duties include
taking and preparing minutes, composing and typing administrative/confidential/legal documents,
arranging of appointments and travel plans, and performing the general duties of a private
secretary. Responsibilities may include supervising a small clerical staff.
How long have the duties and the distribution of time been substantially as below? 14 months
Attach a copy of the most recent organizational chart.
Amount of time:
Major duties and responsibilities
1. Liases with other departments, divisions, outside agencies, committees, or boards of office
administrative matters pertaining to the immediate supervisor.
2. Prepare, maintains and provides letters, memoranda, reports, forms and other materials
from rough draft, final working draft notes, and dictation notes for supervisor’s review and
signature, in accordance with department or division policy.
3. Composes and prepares correspondence of a simple and straightforward nature for the
division or department.
4. Performs other secretarial and clerical functions such as assembling, taking and preparing
minutes, agendas or other reports for division or department committees.
5. Answers telephones and personal inquiries. Provides information and referrals to
employees and the general public, as required.
6. Develops and maintains efficient and up-to-date filing system.
7. Arranges meetings and schedules out-of-town travel for departmental or division personnel.
8. Ensures that adequate operating levels of office supplies, equipment and furniture are
maintained, by preparing and processing requisitions and verifying completed purchase
orders. Also prepares vouchers and billings for division services, travel requests, other
reports related to revenues collected and financial or budget statements. May be required to
administer and disburse petty cash.
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9. Maintains accurate records of hours worked by division or department employees. Includes
securing timesheets, calculating overtime and benefits accrued and preparing related
payroll reports. Prepares various personnel action forms and coordinates with the Office of
Employee Services to assure compliance with policies and procedures.
10. May be required to supervise clerical staff or to be lead person for secretarial staff. Assigns
tasks and reviews work of subordinates.
11. Coordinates all details related to special projects and events, i.e., the annual sales
conference and the quarterly division general meetings.
12. Performs other related duties as assigned.
Job Description Sample- Administrative Secretary
Minimum Qualifications and Skills
1. Graduation from high school or the equivalent, and four year’s work experience in an office
performing secretarial or office clerical duties. Office administration training may be
substituted for one year’s experience if the course work is sufficient to be the equivalent.
2. Demonstrated proficiency in the use of personal computers, with a working knowledge of
computer software for filing, word processing, spreadsheets, database management and
emailing. Ability to type 60 wpm net. Ability to record minutes of meetings in an accurate,
efficient and timely manner. Shorthand and speedwriting skills would be an asset.
3. A working knowledge of various standard office equipment and other specified technical
equipment such as a business calculator, copying machine, fax machine, etc.
4. A working knowledge of modern office policies and procedures in a computerized and local
network environment.
5. Ability to schedule appointments, develop and maintain complex filing system and keep
orderly records.
6. Ability to relate well with co-workers, supervisors, other employees, client groups and the
general public, and provide leadership and work direction to subordinate staff.
7. Possession of a valid driver’s license.
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Mental Effort
Mental and visual concentration during computer work four or five hours daily, for accuracy
in data entry and editing.
Listening and mental attentiveness in dealing with customer or public queries, and
manager’s requirements.
Mental effort required in multi-tasking and handling interruptions that require constant
refocusing.
Physical Effort
Performs multiple, repeated and sustained hand-eye movements on computer keyboard
and screen up to four to five hours daily.
Lifts and shelves office supplies (up to 30 pounds) daily.
Sits for extended periods of up to five hours daily, operating computer and other office
equipment.
Working Conditions
Works in confined space of four-foot high, minimum-grade baffled privacy station.
Governed by concurrent and dynamic deadlines, despite conflicting priorities and frequent
interruptions.
Intermittent exposure to co-workers/clients; occasional handling of queries and calls from
upset or irate people.
Frequent exposure to glare from computer screen, printer toners or chemicals.
Lifting of boxes that can result in injury to back, feet or hands.
Type of Supervision Received
Reports to a department head or division manager. Works under general instructions to
prioritize and complete assigned tasks. Assignments are periodically checked for progress
by the immediate supervisor.
Type of Supervision and/or Assistance Given
May be required to supervise clerical staff or to be lead person for secretarial staff. Assigns,
prioritizes tasks and reviews work of subordinate staff.
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Table of Content
Maintenance Journal – Sample
Date
What’s happening
January 1 – December 31, 2000
Applicant Action
Jan. 12 New duties assigned to
Receptionist job class:
Sonia G
Scan, re-format,
proofread documents
from company
archives;
Documents to Web
writer – no editing;
Applicant asking whether
issue is pay equity or equal
pay for equal work – Jon and
Helen doing the same job –
Business Analyst.
Resolution
Check
progress
by
January
27/00
All info needed by
February 11th
Assist CSR’s in filling
out publication orders.
Jan.20
Requested
updated Job.
Description from
Human
Resources, with
Sonia’s &
Supervisor’s
comments
Bring
Forward
Jon V.
Referred
application to Pay
Equity Committee
– next meeting.
February 14
February
14
Jan. 27 Applicant is Systems
Technician – male job class.
Wants job re-evaluation.
Supporting documents
received, and approved by
Supervisor.
Patrick Y.
Re-evaluation at
next Pay Equity
Committee
meeting –
February 14
February
14
Feb. 9
Received updated
description for Receptionist.
Changes approved by
Supervisor.
Sonia G.
Re-evaluation at
next Pay Equity
Committee
meeting –
February 14
February
14
Feb.
14
Pay Equity Committee meets Sonia G.
to re-evaluate Receptionist
Patrick Y.
and Systems Technician jobs
and to resolve Business
All supporting documents
received.
Pay Equity Commission
Re-evaluation
Respond
complete. Results to results
and
by Feb.
recommendations
95
Date
What’s happening
Applicant
Analyst issue/pay equity vs.
equal pay question.
Action
Bring
Forward
to Sonia, Patrick,
Jon, Supervisor,
24th.
Sonia/supervisor
to meet with
committee at next
meeting and bring
supporting
documents or
arguments.
Final
appeal at
March 20
Pay
Equity
Committe
e meeting.
Resolution
Feb.
20
Sonia response – disagrees
with results & recommend.
Job value up by 32 pts.
Sonia feels should be 45 pts
– this would bring up to next
band. Supervisor unsure on
web editing tasks &
responsibility. Sonia to
appeal decision with Pay
Equity Committee.
Feb.
22
Patrick response – agrees
Patrick Y.
with results &
recommendations. Job value
up by 22 pts. No effect on job
rate – Patrick will move to
next level on the range.
To Human
Resources for
salary
adjustment. No
job rate change.
Adjustment to
next level to
show on pay.
Feb.
23
Patrick response – agrees
Jon V.
with results &
recommendations. Job value
up by 22 pts. No effect on job
rate – Patrick will move to
next level on the range.
To Human
Resources for
salary
adjustment. No
job rate change
Issue closed.
Pay Equity Commission
Sonia G.
96