Independent expert technical report to ensure correct job grading through Job Evaluation (JE), in order to promote pay equity
Job evaluation to guarantee pay equity and organisational competitiveness
Initial situation
Nissan Motor Ibérica, S.A. (Nissan), a company in the automotive sector, operates several production facilities in Spain, all of which share a common salary management system based on Job Evaluation (JE).
The JE system used by Nissan is a “point-factor” method adapted from the American system (National Electrical Manufacturers Association), characterised by assigning numerical values to jobs according to predetermined factors.
At its production and logistics facilities in the province of Barcelona, internal discrepancies arose regarding the evaluation grade of the Supervisor position, and a large proportion of job holders filed a legal claim, considering that the current classification should be upgraded.
Nissan requested Itemsa to intervene as independent technical experts in order to prepare and issue a technical report that would objectively determine the Evaluation Grade corresponding to the Supervisor position and provide the technical justification for the allocation of points to the evaluation factors considered.
General intervention plan
The expert assessment and the corresponding technical report aimed primarily to determine whether the grade assigned to the job under study was the most appropriate for the Supervisor position or whether it should be reclassified, as requested by the job holders.
The applied Job Evaluation (JE) methodology, based on the current professional classification system and on objective technical evaluation criteria, guarantees internal consistency between jobs and alignment with the company’s remuneration structure.
Actions
- Technical visits and direct observation of the Supervisor position at the different Nissan facilities in the province of Barcelona in order to analyse the job and its operational context.
- Meetings with managers directly related to the Supervisor position to understand the functions, responsibilities and internal hierarchical and interdepartmental relationships of the job.
- Comprehensive documentary review of job descriptions, organisational charts and applicable job evaluation manuals.
- Technical interviews with job holders and their managers in order to collect, contrast and validate the information.
- Application of the Nissan Job Evaluation Manual, analysing the following eleven factors: education, experience, initiative, physical effort and mental and visual effort, responsibility for errors, confidential data, contacts and the work of others, working conditions and unavoidable occupational risks.
Objectives
- To verify whether the current grade assigned to the Supervisor position was correct or, where appropriate, to justify a possible reclassification based on the evaluation carried out.
- To guarantee internal consistency and pay equity among comparable positions within the corporate structure.
- To ensure a solid technical basis for business and legal decision-making.
- To strengthen transparency in Nissan’s job evaluation system and its acceptance by the workforce.
Results
- The independent technical evaluation carried out by Itemsa confirmed that the grade currently assigned by Nissan was appropriate.
- Issuance of an expert technical report signed by Albert Calvo, Technical Director of Itemsa, Industrial Technical Engineer and member of the Technical Commission for Work Organisation of the Labour Court of Catalonia, providing professional support in the field of labour law through an independent and conclusive technical assessment, determining that the grade assigned by Nissan’s management was correct and technically justified, with no grounds for a higher reclassification.
- The independent job evaluation confirmed the validity of Nissan’s organisational structure and job evaluation system by determining that the classification applied by the company was appropriate for employees holding this position.
