Skills
Knowledge, abilities, training and experience the job requires.
Build your pay system · Job evaluation · Art. 4
Grade the role, never the person.
Job evaluation compares different jobs on the same four criteria. It is the only defensible way to show which work is of equal value.
The four criteria
Responsibility
For decisions, resources or people, and the severity of consequences of errors.
Effort
Sustained physical exertion, stress, work pressure, emotional strain.
Working conditions
Environment, hazard exposure, flexibility of hours, place and mode of work (on site, home office, travel).
How evaluation factors sit under the four categories
An analytical method uses more detailed factors. Each maps to one EU category, across all career paths.
| EU category | Specialist path | Project path | Leadership path |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skills | Expertise, education | Methods, coordination | Business knowledge |
| Responsibility | Impact of advice | Budget and deadlines | People, decisions |
| Effort | Complexity, focus | Pressure, stakeholders | Emotional strain |
| Working conditions | Place and mode of work | Travel, flexibility | Availability |
Original illustration. Factor names vary by method.
Common pitfalls
- Evaluating the person holding the role instead of the role.
- Using job titles as a proxy for value.
- Weighting factors so that typically male work scores higher.
- No written rationale for each rating.
The four criteria are the minimum
Employers may weight the criteria and add job-relevant factors, as long as they are justified, gender-neutral and proportionate.
Relevant soft skills – such as communication or care – must not be undervalued.
EU toolkit on gender-neutral job evaluation (free, voluntary) European Commission FAQ (via EU action for equal pay)
Job evaluation ranks the jobs; market data prices the grades.
Using market dataThree routes to a defensible basis
| Route | Best when | Effort |
|---|---|---|
| EIGE toolkit | Few role types, strong internal capacity | High effort · Free |
| Bespoke framework | Must fit a works council, sector or collective standard | Medium effort · Licence |
| gradar platform | Many roles, markets or evaluators | Lower effort · Subscription |