Equal pay is the principle that women and men should receive equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. Equal work concerns workers performing the same work. Work of equal value is broader: different jobs can still be comparable when their value is assessed using objective and gender-neutral criteria. Under Article 4 of Directive (EU) 2023/970, those criteria must include skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions, with other relevant factors used where appropriate. Employers therefore cannot rely only on job titles when assessing whether pay differences are justified.
Jurisdiction: European Union
Check applicable Member State law and guidance
Equal Pay Is the Governing Principle
Equal pay is the broader principle at the centre of the Directive. Article 1 describes the objective as strengthening the application of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between women and men. The phrase does not mean that every employee in an organisation must receive identical compensation. It means that sex should not create an unjustified difference in pay where workers perform equal work or work that is objectively determined to be of equal value. Employers can still recognise legitimate differences when those differences are based on objective, gender-neutral and bias-free factors rather than sex.
Equal Work Is the More Direct Comparison
Equal work is the easier concept to picture because the workers being compared perform the same work. They may hold the same role, carry out substantially the same functions or occupy positions whose actual work is directly comparable. Even here, employers should not assume that identical job titles automatically settle the issue. The practical content of the work, responsibilities and employment arrangements still matter. Once workers are appropriately compared, the employer can examine whether differences in compensation have an objective gender-neutral explanation or whether the difference requires further investigation.
Work of Equal Value Reaches Beyond Identical Jobs
Work of equal value addresses situations where jobs are not necessarily the same but can still be comparable in value. Two roles may have different titles, sit in different departments or involve different daily tasks while requiring comparable levels of skill, effort and responsibility or involving comparable working conditions. This prevents equal-pay analysis from being limited to obvious pairs of identical jobs. It is particularly important where occupational structures have historically separated work performed predominantly by women from differently labelled or organised work performed predominantly by men.
Skills, Effort, Responsibility and Working Conditions Matter
Article 4 requires pay structures to support comparison using objective and gender-neutral criteria. The Directive specifically identifies skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions. These factors should be applied according to their relevance to the job concerned, and employers may use additional criteria where those criteria are relevant and justified. The Directive also warns against undervaluing relevant soft skills. This matters because job evaluation can become biased if technical, physical or traditionally male-associated characteristics are recognised while communication, coordination, care, emotional demands or other relevant requirements are systematically given less weight.
Different Job Titles Can Still Be Comparable
Job titles are useful organisational labels, but they are not a complete measure of work value. A title can differ because of department history, local naming conventions or management preference while the underlying work remains comparable. Conversely, two employees with the same broad title may perform work at different levels of responsibility or complexity. A defensible assessment therefore looks beneath the label. Job descriptions, responsibilities, required skills, decision-making authority, working conditions and other objective factors provide a stronger basis for comparison than the name attached to the position.
Categories of Workers Depend on These Comparisons
The Directive defines a category of workers as workers performing the same work or work of equal value who are grouped in a non-arbitrary way using objective and gender-neutral criteria. This makes work-of-equal-value methodology important beyond an individual equal-pay dispute. Categories of workers are also relevant to worker information rights and employer reporting. If an employer groups jobs poorly, later pay comparisons can become misleading. Strong job architecture should therefore connect the actual work, the evaluation criteria, the resulting category and the compensation structure in a way that can be explained and reproduced.
A Pay Difference Is Not Automatically Unlawful
The Directive does not prohibit every difference between workers performing the same work or work of equal value. Its recitals recognise that employers may pay workers differently where the difference is based on objective, gender-neutral and bias-free criteria, such as relevant performance or competence. The important question is whether the employer can identify and support the reason for the difference and whether the criterion has been applied consistently. An undocumented explanation created only after a challenge is much weaker than a compensation system in which the criteria were established and recorded before individual pay decisions were made.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is equal pay the same as everyone earning the same amount?
No. Equal pay concerns unjustified sex-based pay differences between workers performing equal work or work of equal value. Objective and gender-neutral factors can justify some differences.
Can workers with different job titles perform work of equal value?
Yes. Work of equal value is assessed using objective criteria rather than job titles alone. Different roles can therefore be comparable in value.
Which criteria does the Directive identify for work-of-equal-value comparisons?
Article 4 identifies skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions, together with other relevant justified factors where appropriate.
Related Guides
Official Sources
Requirements and practices differ by jurisdiction and organisation. Check current local law, official guidance and professional advice for a specific situation.