The Law

STC is obligated to maintain pay equity

The Pay Equity Act requires that pay equity be maintained. This means that wage gaps between female and male job classes cannot be re-opened once closed, or new gaps created.

How STC maintains pay equity

STC achieved pay equity using the Job-to-Job and Proportional Value comparison methods. Pay equity could be maintained using these two methods or STC could have decided to use PV only for all female job classes.

STC's "Pay Equity Maintenance Program"

The Act is not specific about "how" pay equity is to be maintained. STC and its employees felt a maintenance program was the best way to ensure pay equity maintainance in a practical and timely manner.

STC's responsibilities

Under the Pay Equity Act, the employer has the responsibility to maintain compensation practices that provide for pay equity. In a unionized establishment, the employer and the bargaining agent could develop an agreement on how to maintain pay equity and incorporate this document into the collective agreement.

The tools in this case study were developed to help the Committee in its work and to help employees when submitting requests for re-evaluation of their jobs.

Liability

There is no statute of limitations on the Pay Equity Act. A complaint can be brought to the Commission at any time. Keeping good and accurate records ensures that concerns brought forward by employees are dealt with promptly and with a minimum of conflict. Maintaining good pay equity records is simply good business for STC.