Introduction

The Job Evaluation staff can assist you in giving a presentation to employers explaining the highlights of the CUPE Job Evaluation Program. This document is a summary of the presentation and highlights of a job evaluation program.

CUPE is deeply committed to the goal of fair compensation for all our members and we feel strongly that proper evaluation of jobs is one way to achieve that goal without the necessity of numerous individual grievances or expensive arbitration. In the current climate of fiscal restraints, it is doubly important that workers know they are being compensated fairly in relation to the value of the work they do. Joint job evaluation can accomplish both these goals.

Program highlights

CUPE’s program is particularly effective because it is controlled by the parties involved, is easily adapted to any workplace, and can be easily understood by both the employees and management.

  • Joint Program Our program is designed to be implemented and administered jointly. The CUPE Terms of Reference indicates the procedures and mandate of the Joint Job Evaluation Committee.
  • Job Analysis and Job Descriptions CUPE recommends that those who know the jobs best (employees and supervisors) have direct input into the content of the job descriptions on the basis of the duties actually being performed. This job content information is verified and condensed by the job analysts who then prepare the job descriptions based on the information received from the incumbent and supervisor.
  • Gender-Neutral Job Evaluation Plan Our plan has no copyright. It can be tailored to any workplace. Our plan has been successfully fine-tuned to take into account the different workplaces we represent.
  • Joint Job Evaluation Committee(JJEC) CUPE recommends that the job evaluation committee, as well as alternates be composed of equals numbers of both union and management, and men and women as alternates.  Members are selected from a cross-section of jobs and departments throughout the organization.  Full training is given to the job evaluation committee and to alternate committee members on job evaluation procedures and the recognition of and elimination of bias.
  • Evaluation Process The rating process is designed to objectively evaluate the jobs and not the performance of the individuals, and to ensure consistency in the rating process.
  • Implementation Upon completion of the rating procedures, the work of the JJEC is then turned over to the negotiating committee to determine the wages.
  • Maintenance CUPE recommends maintenance procedures to be jointly developed and implemented in order to maintain the program. It is important that each party maintains accurate job descriptions and job ratings on an ongoing basis. At the conclusion of the project, you will have a basis for providing equal pay for work of equal value.

Gender neutrality

If a job evaluation program is fair it must be seen to be free of gender-bias - that is, it must recognize the value of all the work being done in the organization without regard to the gender of the persons doing the work. CUPE works closely with each organization to ensure that the program that is put in place is unbiased and covers all aspects of the jobs.

There are five major areas in any job evaluation program in which bias can appear:

  • Job analysis and job descriptions
  • Selection of subfactors
  • Rating
  • Weighting of factors and subfactors
  • Wage and salary setting

The CUPE Job Evaluation Program was developed to detect possible biases in those areas.

CUPE recommends that appropriate terms of reference be jointly developed so both parties understand and agree at the outset on the terms and conditions of the program.

CUPE gender-neutral job evaluation plan

The CUPE Gender-Neutral Job Evaluation Plan contains the four main factors: skill, effort, responsibility and working conditions. Each factor has been subdivided into subfactors which will measure elements of work that are present to a certain degree in all jobs.

Each job shall be rated, based on job description, in accordance with the job evaluation plan. The committee shall also use information obtained from the completed questionnaire, interviews and observations of the job.

What defines an effective job evaluation plan?

The essential characteristics of a job evaluation plan are:

  • It will be gender-neutral in its design, and will survive a test of its neutrality and freedom from associated biases;
  • It will be balanced, having an equal effect on women’s and men’s work;
  • It will be comprehensive, having a structure which will embrace as many aspects of the work done in the organization as possible;
  • It will be workable and comprehensible to those within the organization who will be in charge of making the job evaluation program work - management and union representatives;
  • It will be flexible enough to be tailored to the actual conditions of the workplaces concerned.

The CUPE Gender-Neutral Job Evaluation Plan meets these criteria.

Workplan

In the preparation of the job evaluation program, the parties shall agree on the procedure to follow which will lead to the successful completion of the program and will meet the proposed deadline.

CUPE Job Evaluation is committed to oversee the technical aspects, training and assistance of this project and to make sure that the appropriate measures are taken to ensure the fairness of the process.

The following will describe the steps involved in the project:

  • Program Planning
  • Training
  • Job Analysis and Job Description Writing
  • Job Evaluation Plan Validation
  • Rating
  • Implementation
  • Maintenance

The CUPE Job Evaluation suggested Workplan provides the detailed step by step procedures the parties would follow.

Communications strategy

Good communication is an essential part of any job evaluation program. At every step of the job evaluation program, it is important that the target audiences - employees, supervisors and management - are kept fully informed.

As a communication strategy, CUPE provides a package of sample newsletters for the joint job evaluation committee. Each of the nine samples guides the joint committee through the basics of keeping employees informed about the job evaluation process - one of the key responsibilities of the committee.

The success of the communications plan depends on the effectiveness of the committee in reaching its audiences through vehicles such as:

  • Newsletters
  • Information sessions
  • Meetings with employees

Wherever possible, feedback and information requests from all parties should be encouraged to ensure that everyone involved has the information needed to make the job evaluation program work.

CUPE’S computer capability

Our computer program was designed to apply the “weighted point method” approach to job evaluation for the purpose of providing a sound wage and salary administration program.

The program consists of a job class file and a weight file and will execute a computer analysis to determine if the subfactors are being applied consistently. The Job Evaluation Representative/Officer can perform further computer analyses such as regression analysis, banding, pay equity and correlation.

Costs

The CUPE job evaluation program is provided without cost.

This includes the following parts of the CUPE programs which are jointly established and will be implemented and administered by the parties.

  • job analysis and job description
  • training of the Joint Job Evaluation Committee
  • evaluation process
  • implementation process
  • maintenance process

All staff from the various CUPE branches will be provided on an “as needed” basis.

Conclusion

At the conclusion of the project, you will have…

  • A committee trained in how to evaluate jobs
  • An ongoing process for evaluating new jobs and reclassification requests
  • A group trained in job evaluation can administer the program in the future.