The EEA legislation and Regulations requires that companies and business ensure that the principle of equal pay is applied. The principle of equal pay for equal value is geared towards eliminating a particular form of workplace discrimination: differentiation in pay on the basis of a ground listed in section 6(1) of the Employment Equity Act, 1998 (the Act) or any other impermissible arbitrary ground.
In an attempt at providing clarity and practical guidance the draft Code of Good Practice on Equal Pay for Work of Equal Value (‘the Code’) was published as referred to supra.
The objective of the Code is “to provide practical guidance to employers and employees on how to apply the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value in their workplaces. This Code seeks to promote the implementation of remuneration equity in the workplace by employers, including the State, employees and trade unions through human resources policies, procedures, practices and job evaluation processes.”
EMPLOYMENT EQUITY ACT, 1998 (ACT 55 OF 1998 AS AMENDED)”
DRAFT CODE OF GOOD PRACTICE ON EQUAL PAY FOR WORK OF EQUAL VALUE, GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 29 SEPTEMBER 2014,
The question now is how compliant do you believe your business is? Have you evaluated you structures as required?The following would be an recommendation as part of ensuring the principle Do have an objective job classification system? In order to meet the requirements of the regulations, you need to be able to establish your job levels. You therefore either have to classify jobs in a broader job category as per EAA13, or you have to engage a Job Grading by means of an objective Job Evaluation System.