Companies can be responsible employers by focusing on equality plans and pay surveys and by increasing pay awareness at the workplace, reveal the conclusions of the project on work of equal value. Mandatum’s Reward and Compensation Services were responsible for implementing the project together with their partners Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences and Työelämän sopimus- ja lakipalvelut Sopla Ky, a company providing contract and legal services.
The results of the Project on work of equal value, which was financed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health and carried out in 2021–2022, are now available. The research and development project examined pay systems, the assessment of work requirements and the realisation of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value from a legal perspective in collective agreements and pilot organisations.
The final report of the project (link in Finnish), published on 16 December 2022, presents recommendations for measures to be taken at individual workplaces. The report looked into the matter also from the perspective of legislation and collective agreements.
“An individual company can actively promote equal pay by, for example, focusing on high-quality equality plans and related pay surveys or building their own company-specific pay system. Pay systems typically consider both the requirements of the job and the person’s performance,” says Sini Jämsén, Lead Consultant, Reward and Compensation at Mandatum.
Mandatum’s Reward and Compensation Services had overall responsibility for the project, partnering with Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences and Työelämän sopimus- ja lakipalvelut Sopla Ky, and for working in the pilot organisations. Prior to her career as a consultant, Jämsén, who acted as the principal expert for the project, worked as a researcher of pay systems in 2004–2010 and completed a doctor’s thesis on the topic at Aalto University.
Measures recommended by the project for individual workplaces:
- Put in place organisation-wide pay systems at the workplace level.
- Focus on high-quality equality plans and related pay surveys.
- Increase employees’ awareness of pay systems and pay criteria.
More information about the Project:
The project, financed by the Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, was carried out jointly by Mandatum Life Services, Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences and Sopla Ky. The principal experts for the project were Sini Jämsén (D.Sc., MSSc), Lead Consultant at Mandatum, Johanna Maaniemi (D.Sc., MSSc), Principal Lecturer at Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences and Harri Hietala (Master of Laws with court training), CEO of Sopla Ky.
Final report of the Project on work of equal value (pdf in Finnish)
For more information, please contact:
Sini Jämsén, Lead Consultant, Reward and Compensation, Project Manager for the Project on work of equal value, sini.jamsen@mandatum.fi, tel. +358 50 300 6578
Niina Riihelä, Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Mandatum Group niina.riihela@mandatum.fi, tel. +358 40 728 1548