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What Is Maintaining Pay Equity?

Maintaining pay equity refers to an employer’s obligation under Québec’s Pay Equity Act to ensure that pay equity continues to be respected after the initial pay equity exercise has been completed.

In Québec, employers subject to the Act must conduct a pay equity audit every five years. The purpose is to determine whether events that occurred since the previous exercise created wage gaps between predominantly female and predominantly male job categories of equal or equivalent value.

Maintaining pay equity therefore does not simply mean repeating the initial exercise. It involves examining how the organization has evolved since the previous work and determining whether certain changes have affected pay equity.

Why Must Pay Equity Be Maintained?

Organizations are constantly evolving. Positions may be created or modified, responsibilities may change, new compensation structures may be introduced and certain roles may become more significant within the organization.

These changes can affect the value of jobs or their compensation.

The maintenance evaluation, or pay equity audit, makes it possible to determine whether events within the organization have created wage gaps and, when necessary, identify the adjustments required to correct them.

How Often Must Pay Equity Be Reviewed?

A pay equity audit must be conducted every five years.

Each organization has its own deadline. The anniversary date generally corresponds to the date on which the results of the initial pay equity exercise were posted. If the initial exercise was completed late, the anniversary date is generally based on when the posting should have taken place. Certain situations may affect how this date is determined.

Organizations should therefore identify their applicable deadline and begin the work early enough to complete the required analysis and steps on time.

What Changes Can Affect Pay Equity?

Many events occurring during a five-year period may need to be considered when assessing whether pay equity has been maintained.

Examples include:

• The creation or elimination of jobs.
• Significant changes in the responsibilities associated with a position.
• A reorganization or restructuring.
• Changes in compensation for certain job categories.
• An acquisition or merger.
• Changes in duties or skills required for certain jobs.
• Changes to the organizational structure that may affect the relative value of certain positions.

The objective is to determine whether events since the previous pay equity exercise or audit created wage gaps between predominantly female and predominantly male job categories of equal or equivalent value.

What Does a Pay Equity Maintenance Evaluation Involve?

The process may vary depending on the organization’s situation and the work completed previously.

It generally involves reviewing job categories, changes that have affected them and relevant compensation information to determine whether pay equity has been maintained.

If wage gaps are identified, the employer must determine and make the required pay adjustments. The CNESST specifies that when a pay equity audit identifies a gap, it must be corrected through pay adjustments as of the date on which the gap was created.

The employer must also post the results of the pay equity audit so they are communicated to employees.

What Is the Difference Between the Initial Pay Equity Exercise and Maintaining Pay Equity?

The initial pay equity exercise is intended to establish pay equity within the organization. It involves identifying and comparing predominantly female and predominantly male job categories and correcting wage gaps where necessary.

Maintaining pay equity comes afterward.

Its purpose is to periodically determine whether events occurring since the previous work have created new wage gaps and, where applicable, correct them.

This is a separate obligation that must be fulfilled every five years. The CNESST describes the maintenance evaluation as a distinct and recurring obligation under the Pay Equity Act.

What Is the DEMES?

The Employer’s Pay Equity Declaration (DEMES) is separate from the pay equity work itself.

It allows employers to report their situation regarding their pay equity obligations to the CNESST. Employers subject to the requirements must file the declaration to indicate whether the required pay equity work has been completed.

It is therefore important to distinguish between completing the required pay equity work and filing the declaration with the CNESST.

What Documents Must Be Kept?

Employers must retain the information and documents used for their pay equity work for at least six years.

This documentation may include job descriptions, compensation information, payroll records, job evaluation tools, evaluation results and required postings.

Maintaining clear documentation can also make future pay equity audits easier by providing the organization with a reliable record of the work completed and the decisions made.

Why Should Organizations Prepare Before the Deadline?

Waiting until the anniversary date to begin the work can make the process more difficult, particularly when an organization has undergone several changes during the previous five years.

Historical information may need to be retrieved, changes to positions may need to be reviewed and events that affected pay equity may need to be identified and analyzed.

The CNESST recommends beginning the work several months before the anniversary date so that the organization can meet its obligations on time.

In Summary

Maintaining pay equity means ensuring that pay equity continues to be respected within an organization after the initial exercise has been completed.

In Québec, employers subject to the Pay Equity Act must conduct a pay equity audit every five years. The process examines events that have occurred since the previous exercise, identifies wage gaps that may have emerged and determines the adjustments required to correct them.

Organizations must also comply with requirements related to posting results, retaining documentation and filing the Employer’s Pay Equity Declaration.

Leduc RH’s pay equity services can support organizations with both the initial pay equity exercise and maintenance work, including job-category evaluation, wage-gap calculations, required postings and declarations. The service page specifically confirms support for initial exercises, maintenance and declarations.