Public and Commercial Services Union

The following areas have been shown by Equal Pay reviews to be areas that can give rise to unfair discrepancies, and should therefore be given particular attention.

Starting pay

Men are sometimes appointed on a higher pay point because of their previous salary level rather than the skills needed for the job.

Women who have taken career breaks may not have reached the same salary levels on which to negotiate. It has been demonstrated that men are more likely to bargain on starting salary than women.

The link between previous salary and recruitment salary and the level of discretion allowed to recruiters should be reduced, and clear guidance given to recruiters on how to use discretion in this area.

Market-related pay and allowances

Basing pay or recruitment and retention allowances on market comparisons can risk importing imbalances into the pay system. If market comparisons are used, they should be appropriate, based on clear principles and guidance and reviewed regularly. The information on which comparisons are made should be equality-proofed by the provider.

Promotion

Research has shown that women are less likely to be promoted than men and that when they are they are often placed at a lower point on the pay scale.

Pay on promotion is often based on current salary so if there a problem with starting pay then it can be compounded on promotion, especially if the pay rate is calculated on a percentage increase. TUC advice is that organisations should have promotion to a fixed (standard) point on the scale rather than a percentage increase.

Progression

Progression rates are governed by the length of the grade/band and the mechanisms used for deciding advancement.

As with other elements, the more discretion that is involved, the higher the risk of discrimination.

PCS therefore recommends automatic rather than discretionary arrangements for progression to the maximum of the grade, which is identified as "the rate for the job" - i.e. what someone who if fully competent should be paid for doing that work.

Some grades have "bars" at a certain point, with automatic progression to the bar and discretionary progression beyond it.

The criteria for progression should be understood by the workers, be gender neutral and be monitored to ensure that equal proportions of male and female workers progress beyond the bar. Managers should make decisions based on clear rules and be trained in equal pay principles, gender awareness and avoidance of bias.

Length of pay scales

Long pay scales tend to disadvantage women and create pay differences between people doing the same work. PCS aims to set a standard of 5 years from minimum to maximum in grades, but this may vary slightly depending on the nature of the work being carried out and the learning profile required to reach levels of competence. Care must also be taken not to prolong discriminatory effects of previous pay systems.

Performance related pay/appraisal systems

Performance related pay has resulted in disparities within pay systems that have been shown to penalise women, disabled people and ethnic minority groups.

Management discretion has allowed subjective or arbitrary judgements to be made, often based on stereotyped assumptions. Systems based on pre-determined quotas can result in people having their performance markings forced down, which could be at the expense of women and minority groups.

If performance related pay is used, the system should be open and objective where the line manager is trained in equality issues in performance assessment.

Men and women should have equal access to opportunities to develop and acquire competencies, and care should be taken that the criteria used do not favour "male" attributes or "female" attributes. For example, leadership skills are sometimes perceived to be a "male" attribute while co-operation can be perceived as a "female" skill.

Targets should be equally achievable by men and women, and by full-time and part-time staff. Criteria relating to attendance or flexibility could be indirectly discriminatory.

Performance appraisal markings should be transparent so that it is easy for individuals to understand how their mark was arrived at, and how they have been assessed in relation to the performance criteria. There should be an appeal procedure to deal with any grievances.

A particular problem may arise with people taking career breaks. Best practice is now to presume the award of a satisfactory marking during the absence and to award increases in salary accordingly, so that when the worker returns, s/he will be on the same level as if s/he had continued to work.

Additional payments

Location and mobility could influence unequal pay. Bonuses, shift pay, overtime, annual and non-payment rewards should be looked at, especially those calculated as a percentage of base salaries, which reinforce existing differences.

Where possible such payments should be calculated as a lump sum. Men are often able to earn more unsocial hours payments than women.

In order to show that this is not based on discriminatory practices the employer would have to show that there is a real business need to create a system to encourage a particular group of employees to work unsociable hours, and; that the additional payments meet that need, and; the payments are an effective way of meeting that need and do not go beyond what is necessary to achieve it.

The TUC recommends that men and women should receive equal average payments for overtime, shift pay and other working time premia.

Part-time and temporary workers

Part-time workers are mainly women, and are mainly concentrated in lower graded jobs. They can often be excluded from pay enhancements such as bonus payments and unsocial hours payments.

Basic pay should be at the same rate as for full-time workers. There should be equal opportunities for part-timers to access all elements of the rewards system and training and development opportunities.

Career breaks

Women are still more likely than men to take time away from the workplace, particularly to care for small children.

This has an impact on the earnings they can expect when they re-enter the workforce. Agreements need to be assessed for possible detrimental effects to terms and conditions, grade, length of service and PRP entitlements, performance-related pay schemes and pension rights.

Long service awards

Women tend to have shorter periods in the workforce and take career breaks.

A number of civil service tribunal cases have drawn attention to the illegality of basing reward on length of service rather than skills and experience actually required for the job. The TUC advises that the aim should be to ensure that payments reward seniority and experience, not staying power.

Benefits

Company cars, medical insurance, extra annual leave and similar benefits must be provided for reasons that can be objectively justified and men and women should receive such payments on an equal basis.

Red/green circling

These practices are used to protect individual pay levels after organisational changes and can impact disproportionately on men and women.

If used, they should be objectively justified and be limited to a "reasonable" time. Such protections should be applied consistently and even-handedly, with as little management discretion as possible.

Training

Part-time staff may find courses difficult to access and people with family commitments may find it difficult to attend residential courses.