A study of equal pay for work of equal value through job evaluation in the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyse the perception of employees of KwaZulu­ Natal Department of Arts and Culture about job evaluation. The study was aimed at collecting and comparing employees' views and opinions regarding process of evaluating posts, and the functioning of job evaluation committees within the Department. The questionnaire was the primary tool that was used to collect data which was then analysed using SPSS version 24.0.

The study findings identified a high number of employees who do not understand job evaluation. The summary of the research findings statistics indicated that 66% of the people who participated in the study do not understand job evaluation, and this was not influenced by gender, age, race, and occupation of the respondents. Over and above that, employees are not really convinced that job evaluation promotes equal pay for work of equal value since there are existing inconsistencies in terms of salary levels, where the same jobs requiring similar set of skill are graded differently.

It was therefore recommended that, based on the study findings which revealed that 82% of the study population suggested that job evaluation process must be simplified and improved, this is probably one of the reasons why 66% of the study population indicated that they do not understand job evaluation. It is then recommended that, KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture Management and Organisational Development and Design unit analyse the proposed improved job evaluation process, and, if possible implement the process with the aim of improving the efficiency when delivering services. It is also recommended that training/workshops be facilitated to educate all KwaZulu-Natal Department of Arts and Culture staff about job evaluation.