17 September 2021.

Magda Bargalló

The 6 differences between Pay Registration and Pay Audit.

Often, as both tools are in the process of being developed, the Pay Register and the Pay Audit are often mixed up and confused. Although both have been regulated to detect pay inequality in companies, there are notable differences that are always important to bear in mind.

Detecting the differences between these tools allows us to understand the object of study, processes and scope of each one and to implement them correctly and efficiently in the company.

 

1st Obligation

The Remuneration Register is compulsory for all companies, regardless of the size of their workforce and the existence of an equality plan.

On the contrary, companies that draw up an equality plan must include in it a Remuneration Audit (art. 46.2.e) LOI), after the prior negotiation required for such equality plans, i.e. the audit is only compulsory for companies with more than 50 workers and must be part of the equality plan.

 

2nd Purpose

The Wage Register aims to ensure transparency in the setting of remuneration, in an accurate and up-to-date manner, and to guarantee adequate access to remuneration information for companies, regardless of their size, through the documented production of averaged and disaggregated data. Staff will have access to the information through the LTR.

However, the purpose of the Remuneration Audit is to check whether the remuneration system complies with the principle of equal pay, and to define an action plan to correct any possible inequalities, with the setting of objectives, specific actions, timetable and person or persons responsible for implementation and monitoring.

 

3rd Term

The Salary Register is valid for one calendar year, being necessary its modification in case of substantial alteration of any of the elements that comprise it. The Remuneration Audit will be valid for the duration of the equality plan of which it forms part (maximum 4 years), unless a shorter period is determined in the same plan.

 

4th Registration

The results of the Wage Audit are an integral part of the minimum content of the equality plan that must be registered in the public register (REGCON), allowing public access to its content. This does not imply that the individual salaries of the workforce must be published, something that could compromise the retention of talent in companies in sectors with highly demanded profiles and with less permanence.

Once the Wage Register has been drawn up, the company must not register it, nor register it with the labour authority, the register must be handed over to the RLT.

 

5th Formality

 

Prior to drawing up the Pay Register, the company must inform and consult the workers' legal representatives (RLT), and once it has been drawn up, the latter will have access to its full content. On the other hand, the Salary Audit, as part of the Equality Plan, will be consulted, worked on and negotiated with the Equality Committee.

 

6th Content

The Compensation Register shall include the average values of salaries, salary supplements and non-wage payments of its staff, disaggregated by gender and distributed by occupational groups, occupational categories or jobs of equal or equal value (or any other applicable classification system).

In order to develop the Salary Audit , it will be compulsory to carry out a Job Evaluation, with the aim of assessing the remuneration system, as well as the internal promotion mechanisms.

Job evaluation must be carried out taking into account the functions and tasks related to each job. It must also be appropriate to the type of company, its sector of activity and other relevant characteristics, regardless of the type of contract under which the workers carry out their activity. Once the job evaluation has been carried out, we must also link the result of this evaluation with the economic data of the wage register.

 

We can conclude that, although both tools have been regulated to detect pay inequality in companies, each of them has an individual nature, and it is essential to study them in depth in order to properly comply with legal obligations.

 

For further information contact 93 872 69 44