“The legislation is very prescriptive, not just in terms of the technical aspects of pay equity… but also in terms of the process you have to follow [which] has ended up taking longer for many employers.”
This includes getting a committee together that meets the composition requirements, providing training for the committee to fulfill its duties under the Act, and using external resources, if needed, says Hodgins.
“Many employers found they did need the assistance of external pay equity consultants, particularly given how technical pay equity can be… and then [needed] the committee to meet again and go over any information or outcomes that the consultant was helping with — all of that just takes time.”
‘Deadlines might have snuck up on people’
The pay equity plans are a lot of work, agrees Alyssa Johnson, associate at Filion Wakely in Hamilton — especially if you’re a larger employer that has to look at all the job classes and figure out job-based information, conduct the analysis, put the plan together, and then allow a 60-day window for employees to review the pay equity plan before it’s published.
“It’s a lot of work to meet the components, and deadlines might have snuck up on some people, but it’s good that these employers are reaching out to the commission and requesting the extensions to meet those deadlines — and it does seem like the commission was receptive to those requests.”