Equal Pay Insight

Different Types of Job Evaluation

There are two main types of job evaluation:

Analytical methods, where jobs are broken down and compared with criteria or factors; and

Non analytical methods, where whole jobs are examined and compared.

Only analytical methods are capable of determining whether work is of equal value. An employer may use non-analytical methods such as simple ranking or market pricing, but will not be able to use this as a justification for pay differentials.

Job evaluation can act as a shield to an employer because if an employer can show that a claimant’s job does not equate with her comparator because of a valid non-discriminatory job evaluation study, then in practice the claim will come to an end. Note that there are two qualifications to this defense; the job evaluation scheme must be valid and it must be properly implemented.

Commonly used methods of job evaluation in the UK include the Hay Group Methodology, HERA, FEDRA and the Local Government Single Status Job Evaluation Scheme. Each proprietary scheme uses different factors, and most commonly these factors include:

Knowledge and Experience: it may be necessary for the job holder to have an academic qualification or equivalent through experience. Knowledge can be deep, for example with specialist roles, or broad, for example for roles which require an operational overview.

Responsibility for End Results: This describes the impact of the role on the business, and the requirement to accept responsibility for the consequences of actions. It may be measured in monetary terms, or could be considered by way of a more general impact on operational outcomes. It can sometimes be helpful to think of accountability on what might happen if the person doesn’t achieve the key outputs of the role.

Communication – We all communicate in our jobs, so this factor is not about the frequency of communication, it is concerned with what we are trying to achieve when we communicate. It may be that we simply have to pass on information signpost people to services; at the other end of the scale there will be jobs where the role holder has to change hearts and minds, and inspire other staff and stakeholders.

Problem Solving – This is usually related to Knowledge and Experience, which powers up our problem solving skills. The level of problem solving will depend on the job itself. Perhaps the answers to problems are self-evident because we have to follow a specific work flow; or we could use our knowledge to apply principles, and still retain discretion. The highest level of Problem Solving is often blue sky thinking, where creativity and innovation is unconstrained.

Planning and Organising – This relates to the demand of the management task in terms of the complexity and diversity of the activities directed. It may be that the roleholder needs to co-ordinate with other functions, or alternatively it is not necessary for some independent workers to plan far ahead.