⚖️ Pay Equity

Quebec's Pay Equity Act was adopted by the National Assembly in 1996 and came into force in November 1997. Its goal is clear: to correct salary gaps that result from systemic discrimination against predominantly female job classes. The Act recognizes that, historically, jobs mostly held by women have been undervalued compared to jobs of comparable value held by men — secretarial work, care, early-childhood teaching, cashier work, housekeeping, and so on.

Pay equity is not the same as equal pay. Equal pay requires that for the same work, the same salary be paid — a man and a woman doing the same job must receive the same compensation. Pay equity goes further: it requires that for work of equivalent value, compensation be equivalent, even when the jobs are different. A licensed practical nurse and a factory mechanic don't do the same job, but their positions may have equivalent value once measured against neutral criteria.

The Act is administered by the Commission des normes, de l'équité, de la santé et de la sécurité du travail (CNESST). The CNESST publishes guides, provides a free evaluation software tool, receives complaints from employees, and may impose administrative fines on uncooperative employers.

Every Quebec business with 10 or more employees must complete a pay-equity exercise. The headcount is calculated as the average number of employees during the 12-month reference period. Businesses with fewer than 10 employees are not required to complete the formal exercise, but remain subject to the general prohibition on salary discrimination set out in the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms.

The Act distinguishes three size tiers:

• 10 to 49 employees — the employer must complete the exercise without a mandatory pay-equity committee. A simplified procedure is available.
• 50 to 99 employees — the full exercise is required; a pay-equity committee is optional but recommended.
• 100 or more employees — a formal pay-equity committee must be set up, with representation of employees and of predominantly female job classes.

Once the initial exercise is completed, the employer must conduct a maintenance evaluation every five years. This periodic review checks that changes that have occurred (new positions, task modifications, mergers, restructurings, collective agreements) have not reintroduced a discriminatory gap. The maintenance results must be posted and visible for 60 days in workplaces.

The pay-equity exercise follows four major methodological steps:

1. Identify job classes — group positions that share similar duties, qualifications, responsibilities and compensation.
2. Determine predominance — a class is said to be female- or male-predominant if at least 60 % of incumbents belong to the same gender. The others are mixed (or neutral) classes.
3. Evaluate each class against the four legally prescribed factors.
4. Compare compensation across classes of equivalent value and compute required adjustments.

The four mandatory evaluation factors are:

• Qualifications required — education, experience, skills, dexterity, judgment autonomy.
• Responsibilities assumed — staff supervision, financial or material resources, internal and external communications, impact of decisions.
• Efforts required — intellectual efforts (sustained concentration, attention) and physical efforts (handling, postures, fine dexterity).
• Working conditions — physical environment (noise, temperatures, hazards), psychosocial risks, travel, atypical schedules.

Each factor is broken into sub-factors weighted in percentage. Jobs receive a total point score that places them on a comparison grid. The method must be free of gender bias: a "physical strength" sub-factor cannot weigh disproportionately unless typically female sub-factors (e.g., relational demands, attention to detail) are equally recognized.

Take a 30-employee architecture firm in Trois-Rivières. The business falls within the 10–49 tier. Here is how the exercise unfolds:

Adjustments are not limited to base salary: compensation-related benefits (premiums, allowances, pension plans, bonuses) must also be considered when conditions differ significantly across classes. The employer posts results for 60 days, during which employees may submit written questions or requests for review.

What happens if a business does not complete the exercise?

The CNESST may levy administrative fines exceeding $45,000 per infraction and issue an order requiring the exercise to be completed. Owed adjustments become payable with interest from the date they should have been paid. Repeat offences double the penalty.

How is the posting done?

The posting must include a summary of the process, the list of job classes, the gap percentages found, adjustments owed and payment schedule. It is visible for 60 days in an area frequented by employees (intranet acceptable if all have access) and accompanied by the contact information of someone responsible for answering questions.

What if there is no female class to compare with?

When no comparable male-predominant class exists in the business, external comparison classes defined by regulation are used. The CNESST publishes two reference classes (e.g., office clerk and production-equipment operator) with reference salary data.

Is the 5-year maintenance mandatory?

Yes, without exception. Even if no major change appears to have occurred, the maintenance evaluation must be documented and posted. Modifications introduced through collective agreements, classification plans or major restructurings must be analyzed from the equity standpoint.

Is there a CNESST tool?

Yes — the CNESST provides the PRES software (Progiciel pour réaliser l'équité salariale), a free package that guides SMEs through every step: identifying classes, choosing factors, weighting, computing gaps. Our Calculix calculator complements that tool with quick per-professional visualizations and Excel export.