Equality Reform (2): control of gender pay gap arrives to Spain: obligation to register and report salary information

In this second post on Royal Decree-Law 6/2019, of March 1, on urgent measures guaranteeing equal treatment of men and women and equal opportunities in employment and occupation (RDL 6/2019), we focus on the new obligations regarding (i) equality plans; and (ii) equal pay, and registering and reporting salary information. Read our previous posts on the gender pay gap in an international context here and on a summary of the reform here. 

In relation to the equality plans: obligation for companies with over 50 workers, preparation of diagnosis and registering of plan.

• Extension of obligation to prepareequality plans in companies with 50 workers, compared to the current 250.
• The deadlines for approving the equality plan for the new obliged companies will vary depending on the size of the workforce:
• Companies with a workforce of between 150 and 250 have one year, until March 7, 2020.
• Companies with a workforce of between 100 and 150 have two years, until March 7, 2021.
• Companies with a workforce of between 50 and 100 have three years, until March 7, 2022.
• Before designing the plan, companies must prepare a diagnosis, negotiated with the workers’ legal representatives, specifically with the equality plan’s negotiating committee.
• That negotiated diagnosis will include, at least, an analysis of a number of items, including a salary audit for men and women, the sharing of family responsibilities and the underrepresentation of women in the company.
• The obligation is established for all companies to registerthe equality plan in the register that will soon be created for this.

In relation to registering and reporting salary information and equal pay: creation of a company register and equating salaries for work of equal value.

• Companies must keep a register containing the average salary values, additional salary elements and non-salary compensation of the workforce, disaggregated by gender and distributed by professional group; professional category; and positions that are equal or of equal value.
• That register can be accessedby the company’s workers through the workers’ legal representatives.
• The register must be submitted to the workers’ legal representativesin line with article 64 Workers Statute, as well as to the equality plan’s negotiating committee.
• The definition of professional groupswill comply with criteria and systems that, based on a correlative analysis of gender bias, work positions, and the criteria for assignment and remuneration, are intended to guarantee the absence of any direct or indirect discrimination against women or men. These criteria and systems must establish the same remuneration for work of equal value.
• RDL 6/2019 defines the concept of work of equal valuefor the purpose of the obligation to pay the same remuneration, establishing that two positions will be considered to have the same value if the following aspects are the same in each one: (i) the nature of the duties or tasks effectively carried out; (ii) the educational or professional background, or training required for a position; (iii) the factors strictly related to the job performance; and (iv) the working conditions in which the activities are carried out.

To these obligations introduced by RDL 6/2019, we must add that Act 11/2018 on non-financial information and diversity, in force since December 30, includes the obligation for some companies to provide information about: average remuneration and evolution, disaggregated by gender, age, professional classification or equal value; the pay gap; and the remuneration for equivalent job positions.

Therefore, cmpanies must, from March 8, 2019, have established appropriate procedures for analyzing their remuneration systems, to prevent, avoid, and if applicable, detect and correct any possible direct or indirect discrimination.

They will also need this analysis to meet the obligations to register and report information to the workforce and the workers’ legal representatives, and to meet the non-financial information obligations.