4 pay items counted for equal pay
Conveyance, house rent allowance, award or settlement pay and overtime are counted as wages for equal pay to all genders.
Source: Code on Wages, 2019, s.2(y), second proviso
Free Word file
Equal Remuneration Pay Audit Template for Indian Employers
Same work, same pay, whatever the gender. Check it the way the Code on Wages counts pay, allowances included, and fix a gap the lawful way.
- A same-work test on skill, effort and responsibility
- A pay comparison with HRA and conveyance counted
- Correction note, hiring checklist and policy clause
Instant download. No card needed.
Attendo presents
Equal Pay Audit Pack
For Indian employers
6
formats, test to policy
Attendo presents
What's inside
What is inside the pack
Six formats. Use it before your next increment round.
Format 01
Same-work comparison
Skill, effort, experience, responsibility and working conditions, role against role. Titles do not decide it.
Format 02
Pay comparison worksheet
Basic and DA, HRA, conveyance, overtime and award pay, component by component, on the base the Code uses for equal pay.
Format 03
Pay correction note
Raises the lower pay with arrears, and says in writing that no one's pay was reduced.
Formats 04 and 05
Hiring checklist and query reply
Five checks from the job advertisement to the job description, and a reply for an employee who asks why they are paid less.
Format 06 and guide
Policy clause and worked example
An equal pay clause to sit beside your disability equal opportunity policy, and a worked gap found only in the allowances.
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Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll) keeps every salary component for every employee, across branches, in one account.
Why this matters
Why equal pay is easy to get wrong
Because the gap rarely sits in basic pay. Section 3 of the Code on Wages forbids paying employees differently on the ground of gender for the same work or work of a similar nature.
For most purposes the Code's wages leave out HRA, conveyance and overtime. For equal pay they come back in, under the second proviso to section 2(y). Two people on the same basic can still be paid unequally.
Same work means the work: the same skill, effort, experience and responsibility under similar conditions. A machine operator in a factory, an analyst in an office or a nurse in a hospital is compared on what they do, not on the title.
A gap is fixed by raising the lower pay. Section 3(2)(i) forbids reducing anyone's wages to comply. And the duty reaches hiring and conditions of employment, not only the salary sheet.
The exception is narrow. Sex-based hiring is allowed only where a law prohibits or restricts women in that work, and the OSH Code now entitles women to all types of work, night shifts included, with their consent and safeguards.
Preview
Three things the pack settles
Each one is where a pay audit usually goes wrong.
- What to compare. Basic pay and the allowances the Code counts for equal pay, overtime included.
- Whether the work is the same. Five factors, and a difference only counts if it is of practical importance.
- How to fix it. Raise the lower pay, pay arrears, and never cut the higher.
| Duty | Applies to | Exception | Penalty | Section | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Equal pay | Same or similar work | None | ₹50,000, our reading | s.3(1) | 01, 02 |
| No levelling down | Every correction | None | Up to ₹20,000 | s.3(2)(i) | 03 |
| Fair hiring | Same or similar work | Women barred by law | Up to ₹20,000 | s.3(2)(ii) | 04 |
| Equal conditions | Conditions of work | Women barred by law | Up to ₹20,000 | s.3(2)(ii) | 06 |
| Claims | Within 3 years | Up to 10 times | s.45 | 05 |
Key stats
Three numbers behind equal pay
None headcount threshold
Section 3 applies to an establishment of any size. The Code on Wages sets no minimum headcount for it.
Source: Code on Wages, 2019, s.3(1)10x compensation on a claim, at most
The claims authority may add compensation of up to ten times the amount found due. A claim can be filed within three years.
Source: Code on Wages, 2019, s.45(2) and (6)
Common mistakes
6 Equal Pay Mistakes Indian Employers Make
Comparing basic pay only
For equal pay, HRA, conveyance, overtime and award pay count as wages too. A gap can hide in the allowances.
Cutting the higher pay
Section 3(2)(i) forbids reducing anyone's wages to comply. Raise the lower.
Comparing titles, not work
Compare skill, effort, experience and responsibility under similar conditions. Titles prove nothing either way.
Reading the exception widely
Sex-based hiring is allowed only where a law prohibits or restricts women in that work, and that is now rare.
Thinking only big firms are covered
The Code on Wages has no threshold. A ten-person office is covered.
Waiting for a complaint
A claim can carry compensation of up to ten times the amount. Audit before anyone asks.
Comparison
A basic pay check against this pack
A basic pay check
Basic against basic
- Allowance gaps missed
- Roles matched by title
- Gap closed by a cut
- Hiring left out
- Nothing in writing
Free either way
This pack
Six formats and a guide
- HRA and conveyance counted
- Roles matched by work
- Lower pay raised
- Hiring checked too
- A correction note on file
Compare, then correct
Fill Format 01 for each pair of roles, compare pay on Format 02, and raise the lower pay with Format 03. Attendo keeps it all in one place.
FAQ
Common questions
Is this equal pay audit pack really free? +
Yes, completely. No card and no trial. The form asks for your name, work email, phone and city, then the Word file downloads straight away. The Attendo team may follow up about payroll software, and you are free to say no thanks.
Is the Equal Remuneration Act still in force? +
No. Section 69 of the Code on Wages, 2019 repealed it, and section 3 of the Code now carries the rule: no pay discrimination on the ground of gender for the same work or work of a similar nature.
Does equal pay apply to small businesses? +
Yes. The Code on Wages has no headcount threshold, so a ten-person office is covered as fully as a large factory.
Do allowances count when comparing pay? +
Yes. For equal pay, the second proviso to section 2(y) counts conveyance, house rent allowance, award or settlement pay and overtime as wages, even though they are left out for most other purposes.
Can two people doing the same work be paid differently? +
Only for a reason other than gender. Our reading: a factor such as length of service or a documented performance rating, applied in the same way to everyone, is lawful. Write the reason down, and be careful with a previous salary, which can carry an old gap forward. And never close a gap by cutting the higher pay: section 3(2)(i) forbids it.
A
About Attendo
Attendo (formerly Petpooja Payroll) is payroll and attendance software used by 40,000+ businesses across manufacturing, corporate offices, retail, hospitals and education. General guidance, not legal advice. This pack is one of our free wage formats, each built from the law rather than from other templates.
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Get the equal pay audit pack
A same-work comparison, a pay worksheet, a correction note, a hiring checklist, a query reply and a policy clause, in Word. Free.
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