Pay Equity: Are You Really in Compliance? Let’s find out in 5 questions.

In Quebec, pay equity is a legal requirement for all businesses with 10 or more employees.
But let’s be honest , between regulations, administrative tasks, and day-to-day operations, it’s not always easy to know where you stand.

Here are 5 simple questions to help you assess your compliance and understand how to meet your obligations… without losing your sanity. (That’s where InfoRH comes in!)

1. What exactly is pay equity?

Pay equity isn’t about paying everyone the same salary.
It’s about ensuring that men and women in different jobs of equal value receive fair and comparable pay.

For example:

If in your company the administrative assistant position is mostly held by women, and the IT technician role is mostly held by men but both require similar skills, responsibilities, and effort . Then their salaries should be comparable.

This is different from equal pay, which compares salaries for the same job.

Pay equity compares different jobs that have equal value.

2- When must a company complete its pay equity exercise?

The Pay Equity Act in Quebec applies to all businesses with 10 or more employees, including part-time and on-call workers.

Once you reach that threshold, you have 4 years to complete your first pay equity exercise.

After that, you must conduct a maintenance review every 5 years. Even if your workforce later drops below 10 employees, you must continue to maintain pay equity.

Key timelines to remember:

• First exercise: Within 4 years of reaching 10 employees
• Maintenance: Every 5 years after the first exercise

3- How do I know if my salaries are equitable?

Completing a pay equity exercise can become complex, especially when evaluating job values using the legal criteria.
That’s why many businesses choose to work with an HR expert — to make sure everything is done right from the start.

Here are the main steps to understand the process:

1. Identify your job categories (e.g., welder, administrative assistant, accounting technician)
2. Evaluate each job’s value based on the four recognized factors :
   • Required skills
   • Responsibilities
   • Effort
   • Working conditions
3. Compare wages between male-dominated and female-dominated categories to identify any unjustified pay gaps.

Make salary adjustments if necessary, including retroactive corrections. Everything must then be documented and posted for employees to review.

4- What happens if I don’t comply with the law?

Ignoring your pay equity obligations can lead to serious consequences :

• Fines from the CNESST
• Investigations following employee complaints
• Internal tensions when employees discover pay gaps (and they always do…)

In short, prevention is far easier (and cheaper) than damage control.

5- How can InfoRH help your business stay compliant?

We know the process can seem overwhelming, especially if you don’t have a dedicated HR department.

At InfoRH, we guide you step-by-step through the entire pay equity process:

• Evaluation of job categories
• Job value analysis with simple, user-friendly tools (no headaches!)
• Recommended pay adjustments when gaps are identified
• Compliance posting and communication to employees
• Five-year maintenance planning

Remember , pay equity isn’t just a legal requirement, it’s a commitment to fairness and transparency within your organization.
With the right tools and the support of InfoRH, achieving compliance becomes simple and accessible for every business.