Job Evaluation - Friend or Foe?

Job evaluation - in theory at least - is about establishing a fair and sensible 'rank order' of jobs -based on an objective assessment of their relative skill and responsibilities.

So, the jobs with most skill and responsibility are at the top on the pay and grading structure - and those with less skill and responsibility end up lower down the pay ladder.

Job evaluation was a fundamental part of the 1998 Single Status agreement - which required UK councils to assess all their jobs under a new, modern and non-discriminatory job evaluation scheme (JES).

The agreement recognised that many female dominated jobs had been undervalued for years - and so they were expected to be the big winners from Single Status.

But things didn't work out the way they were intended - the employers and the unions lost their nerve because this meant tackling the vested interests inside their respective organisations.

Everyone expected that Single Status would lead to big pay increases for many female dominated jobs - but this also meant that the traditionally better paid male jobs would have to 'mark time' or stand still - while women workers caught in the pay stakes.

The unions and employers simply failed to implement this crucial part of Single Status - and the significance of what was happening was kept hidden from a largely female workforce.

Until Action 4 Equality and Stefan Cross arrived on the scene and let the cat out the bag - by explaining to women workers how badly they had been let down.

Now the employers are in a panic - across the UK they're trying to introduce job evaluation in a great rush and on the cheap - and often at the expense of female employees whom Single Status was supposed to help.

Many of the new JE schemes now being introduced are producing some decidedly odd results - many female jobs are faring badly compared to the traditional male jobs - which is the exact opposite of what you would expect.

The reality is that pay discrimination is still widespread - despite what the employers and unions say. So, if job evaluation is being bulldozed through by your council, get some proper advice and help - from Action 4 Equality London.