An equal pay audit is an examination of pay data to determine if all employees are being paid fairly or whether some groups are being treated more favourably than others.
After taking account of variables like job role, part time status and length of service, a comparison is then made between the pay packages belonging to employees from different groups.
In essence, the audit is trying to determine whether women (or people with other protected characteristics) are engaged in activity in a workplace that can be deemed as ‘equal work’ when compared with the work of other groups who are paid more. This includes situations where, although men and women in the workplace are broadly segregated (e.g. men are in warehousing and driving; women are in catering and cleaning) they are engaged in ‘like work’ in that their jobs and skills are the same or similar. The audit can also determine whether their work is of ‘equal value’ in that, for example, the level of training required or responsibility is similar.
