Employers are mandated to develop a pay equity plan within three years of the Pay Equity Act applying to them. This three-year period involves the following steps.
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Step 1: Posting a notice
As a first step in developing a pay equity plan, you must post a notice (107.42 KB) that sets out your responsibilities to:
- establish a pay equity plan
- inform employees that they may request the employer to put in place a pay equity committee
- put in place a pay equity committee, should they be required to do so, and
- inform non-unionized and unionized employees of their right to representation on the pay equity committee
It is important that employees understand what pay equity is and their role in the process.
Step 2: Establishing a pay equity committee
Establishing a pay equity committee is the second step of the pay equity process. Members of the committee will be responsible for carrying out the steps of the pay equity plan. This means that the pay equity plan is not truly started until the pay equity committee is struck.
This is mandatory for employers with 100 or more employees and if some or all employees are unionized.
Employee participation can improve employee knowledge, buy-in and perceptions about the fairness of results. Creating a pay equity plan with a pay equity committee enhances the confidence employees have in the pay equity process and plan.
Step 3: Creating a plan
Creating a pay equity plan is the third step of the pay equity process.
To create your pay equity plan, you must follow specific requirements for creating your plan. Consult the following pages to find out more:
Step 4: Posting a draft plan for input
Posting a draft plan for input is the fourth step of the pay equity process. This step helps to keep your employees up to date on the pay equity process in their workplace.
It's a requirement to consider employee comments when finalizing the plan. It is therefore recommended that you aim to post the draft pay equity plan in your workplace to address comments and review the draft pay equity plan.
Requirements
You must:
- post your pay equity plan on time
- include the date on which the posting was made
- post the plan in a format that is accessible to all employees, including those with a disability. For example, the plan can be posted:
- in print
- electronically
- using a digital accessible information system (known as DAISY)
- audio
- in braille
- ensure that printed versions of the plan are posted in a visible place
- provide employees with all the necessary information they need to access electronically posted plans, such as the location and passwords
Process
Both the draft pay equity plan and notice must be posted on the same day. These documents must remain posted for at least 60 days and they must be placed close together if they are printed.
You or the pay equity committee must consider any employee comments received during this 60-day period as they prepare the final version of the pay equity plan.
Post the draft pay equity plan
You can post your draft pay equity plan at any point during the three-year timeframe given to establish a pay equity plan.
If you are part of a group of employers, all members of the group must post their draft pay equity plan on the same day.
Posting the notice about the comment period
You must post a notice to employees of their right to provide comments on the draft pay equity plan. The notice must outline:
- how employees can provide their comments
- how much time they have to do so
Step 5: Posting the final pay equity plan and “Notice - Increasing compensation”
Posting the final pay equity plan and notice of increase in compensation is the fifth and last step of the pay equity process.
You must post the final version of their pay equity plan within three years of becoming subject to the Act. The final version of the pay equity plan must remain posted until a revised version of the plan is completed.
If you are part of a group of employers, all members of the group must post their final pay equity plan on the same day.
The final version of the pay equity plan is considered established when it meets the requirements outlined in the Act, and no objections have been filed.