Category of Workers vs Pay Ranges (in larger organizations)

What if your category of worker* is not aligned to your pay range set up?

The goal of the brainstorm session is to discuss different options for defining the ‘category of worker’ (COW) in your organization. Key question is how important it is to align the COW to the level at which you have established pay ranges.
In the session Bram will explain the set-up of pay ranges in GE Healthcare and the choice they are leaning towards for the COW. As these might not be aligned it will lead to expected challenges in communication to Woco’s and employees.
Bram is keen to understand thoughts and potential experiences from other Total Reward professionals in other larger multinational companies.

*The ‘category of worker’(COW) in the EU Pay Transparency Directive is a term that refers to groups of workers performing the same work or work of equal value. These categories are central to the Directive’s goal of enabling gender-neutral pay comparisons. The employer can define the level of COW after consultation with formal employee representation.

• Define COW at Job Level: GE Healthcare uses comp grade as the basis for COW, ensuring equal value across functions and enabling broader regression analysis
• Engage Auditors Early: Early involvement of auditors helps validate methodology and avoid costly revisions. Sharing audit questions within the network is encouraged
• Use Job Family as Regression Control: Including job family in regression models accounts for market-driven pay differences and supports fair analysis
• Create Basis of Preparation Document: A structured document outlining data sources and methodology supports audit readiness and internal alignment
• Plan Transparency in Phases: Organizations are rolling out transparency gradually, starting with internal visibility and progressing to broader disclosures