How Does Your Business Measure Up?

Take this quick quiz to measure your business:
 

  ISSUE QUESTIONS YES NO DON'T KNOW  
  Base Pay
  • Are women paid on the same base rate as men?

  • Are women appointed at the same point on the pay scale as men?

  • Where there are qualification requirements for determining starting pay, can you demonstrate that these requirements are relevant to the demands of the job?

  • Are there criteria to determine progress through the pay levels?

  • Can you demonstrate that they don’t disadvantage women?

  • Are women in female-dominated unskilled jobs paid the same as the lowest male-dominated unskilled job?

  • Are these jobs of equal value?

  • Are women paid the same as men who have equivalent entry qualifications and length of service?

  • Where workers are covered by different awards or agreements do those covering mainly women receive the same pay as those covering mainly men?

  • Can you demonstrate that similar jobs performed by men and women have the same gradings and titles, and similar pay?

  • Do part-time or temporary staff have the same earnings (pro rata) as full-time or permanent staff in the same job or level?

       
  Overtime Pay
  • Do men and women have equal access to work which is paid at a higher rate such as overtime or night shifts?

  • Do jobs performed predominantly by women receive the same rates for weekend work and non-standard hours as jobs done predominantly by men?

  • Are part-timers eligible for overtime?

       
  Discretionary or over award pay
  • Are men and women equally represented in occupations which receive discretionary payments?

  • Are the amounts received by men and women similar?

  • If not, do you know why not?

       
  Allowances
  • Do you keep statistics on which occupations receive allowances?

  • Can you demonstrate that there is no gender bias operating?

  • Are the amounts paid similar for men and women?

  • Do you keep statistics on the occupations which receive few or no allowances?

  • Can you demonstrate that there is no gender bias operating?

       
  Performance ratings and pay
  • Do you keep statistics on the jobs and classifications that are eligible for performance payments?

  • Can you demonstrate that there is no gender bias operating?

  • Do you keep statistics on the jobs and classifications that are excluded from the scheme?

  • Can you demonstrate that there is no gender bias operating?

  • Do women receive a share of payments proportional to their numbers in the workforce?

  • Is performance pay allocated to men and women in proportion to the performance ratings achieved?

  • Are part-time and casual staff eligible for performance payments?

       
  Superannuation
  • Do part-time staff receive pro-rate benefits on the same basis as full-time staff?

  • If access to superannuation is restricted to workers on a certain number of hours, does this impact equally on both genders?

       
  Any other aspect of remuneration
  • Do women and men performing jobs of equal value receive the same benefits, such as cheap loans, cars, computers, mobile phones, private telephone reimbursement, etc?

  • Do part-timers receive all the benefits and entitlements paid to full-time staff on a pro rata basis?

  • Are part-timers classified similarly to full-timers who do the same or similar work?

  • Are part-timers eligible for performance payments, training and development?

       
  Length of Service
  • Have you investigated pay gaps between men and women at the same level which have been justified because of the greater experience in the job of the men?

  • Are you sure there is no gender inequity?

       
  Qualifications
  • Is there a justifiable basis for the requirement for a qualification for some occupations?

  • Have you investigated whether the lack of a qualification is a barrier to woman in certain occupations, when they might otherwise meet the criteria?

       
Source : HREOC Equal Pay Handbook

If you answered YES to every question:

Your organisation is taking all reasonable steps to ensure that women are not discriminated against in the provision of reward for performance. To ensure that you stay on top of the situation, you may like to review the pay equity tools and other resources available on EOWA’s website at
http://www.eowa.gov.au/Information_Centres/Resource_Centre.asp.

If you answered NO to any of these questions:

Your organisation is running the risk of losing the ability to attract and retain talented women, as well as incurring a sex discrimination complaint. For further assistance in addressing your pay equity issues, see the other modules of the EOWA Pay Equity Tool.

If you answered DON’T KNOW to any of these questions:

A lack of information about pay equity could be putting your organisation at risk of incurring a sex discrimination complaint and may be reducing your ability to attract and retain talented women. To find out more about pay equity, you may like to review the pay equity tools and resources on EOWA's website at http://www.eowa.gov.au/Pay_Equity_Tool/Links.html.