Complying with local regulations and reporting
Pay equity regulation is growing globally and ensuring pay equity and transparency has become a key focus for organizations seeking to maintain ethical standards, foster diversity and inclusion, and meet legal obligations.
However, the complexities of pay equity compliance are amplified by the fact that each region, country, and even state or province may have its own set of requirements. These laws are generally designed to address gender and racial pay gaps but also to ensure that all workers are compensated fairly and without discrimination.
For companies operating in multiple jurisdictions, staying up to date with the latest local, regional, and national pay equity laws is not just a matter of corporate social responsibility—it is a legal necessity. Failure to comply with these requirements can lead to financial penalties, reputational damage, and even legal action.
The articles from Local requirements section in our Help Center highlights how you can use the PayAnalytics platform to fulfill various local requirements related to pay equity reporting.
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Please keep in mind that the articles in the PayAnalytics Help Center do not offer legal advice.
In this article, you will familiarize yourself with:
1. Types of pay equity requirements and certification
Requirements for conducting pay analyses and reporting their results differ throughout the world. PayAnalytics provides support for the three main methods used for pay equity analyses:
Equal pay for equal work - addresses identical jobs or tasks, ensuring equal pay for the same role at the same level in the same location etc.
Equal pay for substantially similar work - applies to jobs that are different but share significant similarities in terms of skills and responsibilities.
Equal pay for work of equal value - ensures that employees in different jobs but of comparable value (in terms of skill, effort, and responsibility) are paid equally.
2. Our framework to break down each local requirements
Understanding local pay equity requirements can be complex, but by breaking down the framework into key components, organizations can more easily navigate the compliance landscape. Here’s a helpful guide to understanding any local pay equity law:
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Who does it apply to?
Before delving into local requirements, it is imperative to understand whether the requirement is applicable to your organization. Per local regulatory requirements, we help identify the specific organizations and industries subject to the law. This will often depend on the number of employees (e.g., companies with 250 or more employees), revenue thresholds, or industry type (e.g., government contractors).
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What is the requirement?
Examine the specific obligations for pay equity and transparency. Some laws focus on reporting (e.g., gender pay gap reporting), while others focus on ensuring equal pay for equal work or require proactive audits and adjustments to compensation. We help to break down each legislation into a list of concrete requirements.
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How can PayAnalytics help you to meet the requirement?
PayAnalytics plays a crucial role in helping organizations meet their pay equity and transparency requirements by:
Enabling organizations to conduct internal pay equity analyses to identify pay disparities,
Facilitating compensation adjustments to address pay inequities on an ongoing basis,
Supporting pay equity across multiple demographic groups beyond just gender,
Incorporating value-based comparison to meet "equal pay for work of equal value",
Embedding your benchmark and pay band data to demonstrate compensation practices,
Generating built-in reports that support local regulatory requirements.
3. Key local requirements
To effectively navigate the complex landscape of pay equity and transparency requirements, organizations must familiarize themselves with the most critical pieces of legislation. Below is a list of some of the most important laws and frameworks across different regions. This is not an exhaustive list and we support other requirements, this list provide an overview of built-in reports in PayAnalytics.
The date registered with each description of a country requirement is the date at which the description was last updated. We monitor changes around the world to keep this information up to date and are happy to receive comments from you if you find any text in this section that needs to be updated.
European requirements
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EU: EU pay transparency directive, refer to Complying with EUPTD
Who it applies to: All EU member states and organizations operating within them.
What it requires: Requires employers to be transparent about pay ranges and ensure gender-neutral jobs and equal pay for equal work or work of equal value.
How PayAnalytics supports: Facilitates pay transparency by ensuring companies can track and report on pay equity across different demographic groups, identifying potential pay gaps by gender, ethnicity, and more.
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UK: Gender pay gap reporting, refer to Complying with UK Gender Pay Gap Reporting
Who it applies to: Companies with 250 or more employees in the UK.
What it requires: Companies must publish annual reports on the gender pay gap, including mean and median pay and bonus gaps.
How PayAnalytics supports: Automatically generates gender pay gap reports and helps companies track progress over time.
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Ireland: Gender Pay Gap Information Act (2021) refer to Complying with Ireland Gender Pay Gap Reporting
Who it applies to: Employers with 250 or more employees in Ireland (with a phased extension to all companies by 2025).
What it requires: Employers must publish details about their gender pay gap, including differences in average hourly wages, bonus payments, and gender distribution across various pay bands. The law aims to promote transparency and encourage action to reduce gender pay disparities.
How PayAnalytics supports: PayAnalytics can help Irish employers analyze pay data and generate detailed gender pay gap reports, ensuring compliance with Ireland’s Gender Pay Gap Information Act. It can also track progress over time, helping companies implement corrective actions where needed.
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Sweden: Swedish Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, refer to Complying with the Swedish Lönakartläggning
Who it applies to: All employers operating in Sweden.
What it requires: The act mandates that all employers must ensure equal pay for equal work, regardless of gender. In addition, Swedish law requires employers to conduct regular pay audits and address any pay disparities based on gender.
How PayAnalytics supports: Swedish employers can use PayAnalytics to analyze pay across genders, track, and audit pay data, and generate the necessary reports to prove compliance. This software also helps with proactive pay adjustments to address any discrepancies discovered through audits.
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Norway: Gender Equality Act (2013)
Who it applies to: All employers in Norway.
What it requires: Requires equal pay for equal work and mandates that employers ensure gender equality in all aspects of employment, including salary, benefits, and opportunities for promotion. Employers must also report on their gender pay gap annually.
How PayAnalytics supports: PayAnalytics helps Norwegian employers identify and rectify pay disparities by conducting gender-based pay analyses. It can also automate the generation of reports required for compliance, ensuring that employers are transparent about their pay practices.
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Spain: Law 3/2007 on Gender Equality (2007), refer to Complying with the Spain Remuneration Register report
Who it applies to: All employers in Spain with 50 or more employees.
What it requires: The law requires employers to develop and implement an equality plan, including provisions for equal pay for equal work. Employers with 50 or more employees must report on their gender pay gap and implement corrective measures if disparities are found.
How PayAnalytics supports: PayAnalytics can assist in performing gender pay gap audits and providing insights into compensation disparities. It can also generate the necessary reports to meet Spain's reporting requirements under the law.
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France: Gender Pay Transparency Law (2018), refer to Complying with the French Gender Equality Index
Who it applies to: Companies with 50 or more employees in France.
What it requires: France's law requires companies to publish a "Gender Equality Index" each year, which includes a gender pay gap score. Companies with a score below a certain threshold are required to take corrective actions to address the disparities.
How PayAnalytics supports: PayAnalytics can automate the calculation of the Gender Equality Index and track any gender pay gaps. It can also generate necessary reports and help organizations ensure that corrective actions are implemented promptly.
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Iceland: Gender Pay Gap Law (2018)
Who it applies to: Employers with 25 or more employees in Iceland.
What it requires: Requires companies to obtain certification for closing the gender pay gap.
How PayAnalytics supports: Helps companies measure and close pay gaps, and demonstrate gender pay equality through reporting, making it easier to obtain necessary certifications.
North American requirements
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US: EEO-1, refer to: Complying with the EEO-1 reporting
Who it applies to: US based private employers (and affiliates) with 100 or more employees and federal contractors with 50 or more employees.
What it requires: Workforce Demographics by Gender and Race/Ethnicity and by job category
How PayAnalytics supports: Workforce analytics reports are built-in to PayAnalytics with demographic and job category reporting included.
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US: California’s Pay Equity Reporting, refer to: Complying with the California Pay Data Reporting
Who it applies to: Employers with state contracts and 50+ employees
What it requires: Pay gap reporting by workforce demographics Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and by EEOC job categories.
How PayAnalytics supports: Pay gap and workforce analytics reports are built-in to PayAnalytics with multiple demographic and job category reporting included.
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Canada: Federal Pay Equity Act, refer to: [coming soon]
Who it applies to: Federally regulated employers with 10 or more employees
What it requires: Conduct periodic evaluations for pay inequality in jobs commonly held by women, form a pay equity committee, and all covered employers must develop a pay equity plan.
How Pay Equity Software Helps: Provides tools for conducting value-based comparison of jobs within majority gender groups as well as built-in reporting.
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Canada Quebec, refer to: [coming soon]
Who it applied to: All private and public employers in the province of Québec with 10 or more employees.
What it requires: Evaluations if wage gaps exists between comparable job roles.
How Pay Equity Software helps: Provides tools for conducting value-based comparison of jobs within majority gender groups as well as built-in reporting.
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Canada Ontario: Pay Equity Act (2018): [coming soon]
Who it applies to: All public sector employers regardless of size and to all private sector employers with 10 or more employees.
What it requires: Ensures that employers address and rectify any gender-based pay discrimination.
How Pay Equity Software Helps: Provides tools for conducting pay equity analyses, tracking adjustments, and ensuring compliance with pay transparency regulations.
Conclusion and next steps
As pay equity and transparency laws evolve, staying informed about local, regional, and national requirements is essential for maintaining legal compliance, fostering a positive workplace culture, and mitigating financial and reputational risks.
PayAnalytics’ platform can support the compliance and reporting processes, helping organizations ensure fairness and transparency in their compensation practices across different jurisdictions. From here, consider deep-diving into specific local requirements articles which are applicable to your organization.
If you would like further support around local requirements, please don't hesitate to reach out for assistance through the Help Center support channel or reach out to our pay equity consultants at clientservicespe@beqom.com.