Working and being paid less than another person for work of the same value is discrimination. This lesson explains the principle of equal pay and the tools that force employers to show the data.
The principle
- The Estatuto de los Trabajadores (article 28) establishes that the employer must pay the same remuneration for work of equal value, without discrimination on grounds of sex, in any component of pay.
- Ley Orgánica 3/2007 prohibits pay discrimination.
- Real Decreto 902/2020 develops equal pay between women and men and applies to all employers, whatever their size.
Jobs of "equal value"
Two jobs have equal value when their duties, the education required, the factors related to the post and the conditions in which they are done are equivalent. They can be very different jobs (for example, a cashier and a warehouse worker) and be worth the same.
The valuation of jobs must be:
- Adequate: it measures what really matters in the job.
- Total: it takes all factors and conditions into account.
- Objective: it is based on clear criteria, not on stereotypes.
Pay transparency
The instruments set by Real Decreto 902/2020 are:
- Pay register (registro retributivo): all employers must have one. For the whole workforce (management included), it records the average and median values of salary, supplements and non-salary payments, broken down by sex, and by group, category or level.
- Pay audit: employers that have an equality plan must include one in it. It checks whether the pay system complies with equality and, if not, what needs to be corrected.
- Job valuation: the method for comparing the value of jobs.
- Right to information: the workforce can see the register. Where there is legal representation, it does so through it; where there is none, each person can ask for the percentage differences between women and men.
The 25% rule
In employers that must carry out an audit, the register must justify the difference when the average or median pay of one sex is 25% or more above that of the other. It is an alert that requires an explanation, not a licence to pay less below that percentage.
What it means for the workforce
- You can ask the workers' representatives for your employer's pay register.
- A collective agreement cannot set categories that discriminate. The agreement's job groups must respect equal value.
- Part-time contracts carry the same rights as full-time ones, with the proportional reduction in pay that applies.
- The register data can serve as evidence in a claim.
Pay gap: common causes
- Fewer women in the best-paid posts.
- Supplements more often given to men: availability, overtime, targets.
- More part-time work among women, mainly because of caring duties.
- Low valuation of jobs seen as "female" (cleaning, care, customer service).
What remains the employer's responsibility
The employer must keep the register, carry out the audit if it applies and correct any differences that have no justification. This course explains your rights, but it does not replace your employer's pay analysis.