One thing we strongly believe at EQUAL-SALARY Foundation is that it’s not enough to say you support equal pay for all. You need to prove it.
Putting your values into action involves having an equal pay policy. You need a structured approach to business remuneration practices that eliminates bias and promotes equality.
Why?
If you want to attract and retain top talent, it’s absolutely essential that everyone is being paid fairly. The topic of equality is only becoming more prevalent, and people are getting bolder in their discussions around pay.
If you have two employees doing the same role and one finds out they are being paid less than the other, they are likely to:
- lose faith in you as an employer
- feel undervalued and underappreciated
- become detached and disengaged
- stop putting in as much effort and energy
- start looking for another role elsewhere
Creating Your Policy
Here are some important things to consider when putting together an equal pay policy:
Conduct a Pay Audit.
What does pay look like across your organization right now? Start here. Identify where there may be inconsistencies and gather the data on what you need to change and improve.
Be Specific
What are your intentions? Clearly state your organisation’s commitment to equality and define the purpose of the policy. How do you intend to provide and maintain equal pay in your organisation? What will the framework to support pay decisions, including base pay and incentives look like?
Create Systems
How will you gather reliable, up-to-date and validated benchmarking data to verify what you’re going to pay for a particular role? What process and frequency will you follow to undertake regular equal pay audits? How will you address any instances of discrimination in pay? How will you respond to complaints or breaches? How will you monitor starting salaries for new staff and make sure that any irregularities are flagged? What training and guidance can you provide for those involved in determining pay?
Make It Happen
Who will be responsible for implementing this new equal pay policy? Identify the people involved and specify what their individual roles will be. You will need to regularly review your equal pay policy and assess your progress in delivering the action plan, so schedule this for the future. Hold yourselves accountable by including plans for communicating the results of your equal pay audit to staff and further afield.
If you have questions or want to learn more about how EQUAL-SALARY Foundation can support you, please get in touch.
