In the world, the wage gap between men and women is estimated at around 20%, according to the United Nations. Difference that increased and became much more evident in the height of the pandemic, especially in Peru, going from 19% in 2020 to 25% in 2021, according to calculations by the Peruvian Institute of Economy (IPE) from the National Household Survey (ENAHO).
Therefore, the International Equal Pay Day It represents an opportunity for employers to consider working internally to accelerate the closing of this gap and, therefore, in the process of empowering women.
But, what are the main obligations that companies must take into account when dealing with this issue? Enrique Arias, Associate of the Labor Area at Miranda & Amadodetails that there are three main responsibilities to fulfill:
- Have a table of categories and functions with the jobs, the justification for the grouping by categories and the hierarchy of these according to their value.
- Have a salary policy that meets the criteria for the payment of remuneration, raises, promotions, among others.
- Communicate said salary policy to the staff.
Salary equality grants the same remuneration to people who, with their work, generate equal value, even when dealing with different positions or functions. However, there may be remuneration differences within the same category, provided there are objective and reasonable reasons.
How can an employer value jobs?
The evaluation recommended by the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion (MTPE) is the evaluation by points of each position, according to certain factors and subfactors of distinction.
For example, it may be made up of the qualifications or skills of the workers; and the subfactors, the adequacy or specific academic qualification, cognitive skills, work experience, among others, explains the labor specialist.
Fines to companies
Enrique Arias specifies that in case of non-compliance with the obligations, companies will be exposed to labor claims or lawsuits due to salary discrimination or arbitrary differentiation, seeking the reimbursement of remuneration differences and labor benefits that were calculated with a lower salary base.
In addition, if the labor inspection system detects that the employer does not comply with certain obligations, such as having a table of categories and functions and communicating the salary policy to the workers, it will incur in infractions considered very serious, punishable by fines that can be range between S/ 12,098 and S/ 241,638, depending on the number of workers affected, he mentions.
recommendations
The specialist also gives three recommendations to employers:
- The audit of compliance with the obligations in terms of equal pay and that they eliminate any difference based on discriminatory or subjective reasons.
- That they carry out a periodic diagnosis of the existing wage gaps or differences, determine the causes and draw up an action plan to deal with the situation.
- That they prepare to face the direct claims of the workers, the labor inspections or the labor demands that are processed in the judicial process.
It is essential to specify that Sunafil has been executing the “2022 Audit Campaign on Salary Equality”, which aims to promote a culture of equal pay, as well as carry out audits to safeguard decent work.
