The Equal Opportunities Commission

Equal Pay for Work of Equal

Value18th March 2000

Aon Consulting HK Ltd

The HR Perspectiveby

Patrick Maule

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Is there a problem?

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Is it a big problem?

• On the whole HK has a pretty good record of equal pay for equal jobs

• amongst female stereotyped jobs almost certainly there will be some pay inequality. *

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Some discrimination may occur by means of job classification

Male Title Female titleSalesman Shop assistantAdministrator SecretaryChef CookTechnician Operator *

The question is therefore:

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How would we safeguard against unequal pay for work of like value

• Needs an objective method of job evaluation

• ideally it needs a universal method of evaluation

• need to identify objective measurement criteria

• need skilled people to undertake it

• process needs to be free of sex bias at all stages

• need great wisdom and skill in applying it *

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Job Evaluation

Why do we currently have job evaluation• Mainly used as basis of establishing fair pay structure

and• for comparing (benchmarking) salaries company to

company• helps define job grades• helps cluster jobs of similar “size” into the same pay

range• is a necessary tool for companies who want open and

objective compensation system *

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Job Evaluation in HK

• There is no clear data on the extent to which HK companies adopt job evaluation techniques

• However, IHRM Survey of HR practices in HK (1998) revealed:– JE accounted for 3.4% of time spent by HR

practitioners (13th item out of 16)– JE ranked as 10th most important out of 15 items in

last 3 years– JE ranked 18th most important out of 25 in next 3

years *

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Job Evaluation

Common systems of JE:– Weighted factor points analysis eg Hay system– Paired comparison– Whole job ranking

• all depend on written job descriptions• all have set of rules or scoring methods• all require lots of personal judgement *

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The opportunities for sex bias

• The identification of the factors in the analysis– eg sustained physical effort, working conditions,

exposure to hazards• weighting between factors• definitions of the factors• scores assigned to each level • number of levels hence the steps in scores• maintenance procedures cont*

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• identification of benchmark jobs

• selecting grade boundaries

• dealing with boundary scores

• red circling

• sore thumbing

• appeals *

The opportunities for sex bias

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Potential impact of the legislation

• Companies without JE would be particularly exposed to being challenge

• Implementing a sufficiently thorough JE system is major undertaking

• Ensuring there is no bias in the system is even more complex

• Very few companies use JE at the moment• Responsible employers may feel forced to do it• Others would prefer to risk prosecution *

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Potential impact of the legislation

• In an environment where the general practice is not to have HR let alone JE it is unlikely to make much difference

• once you evaluate jobs far bigger problems of internal anomalies will appear

• it’s a very sophisticated tool • it would be a “wind fall” to consultants and a

nightmare to employers *

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There are more important HR issues that need to be tackled first

• the need for better/more training• need for greater man management skills• protection from unfair dismissal • inequitable salaries & closed systems of

determining salaries• favouritism & nepotism• bad working conditions• health & safety in the workplace *

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There are more important Female issues that need to be tackled

• Glass ceilings • Lack of objective selection for promotion• Male dominated management style

– behaviour is interpreted in male way– alien/hostile environment for women– if adopt same style, criticised by both men and women

• Lack of real partnership in developing the next generation

• Whilst need laws to support change, they cannot force changes in such deep rooted issues *

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Ultimately, those who believe they are underpaid have the option to change

employer

ConclusionOn a cost/benefit analysis basis: