A pay gap signal of five percent or more opens a follow-up process of six months. That is the deadline that the regulations attach to it, but whether those six months actually last six months depends in practice on how quickly you have the data per category in order and how quickly consultation with workers' representatives gets underway. Companies that already have the job classification ready typically complete the process faster than companies that need to figure out which jobs are actually comparable at the time of the signal.
The six months are not processing time for a form, but the period in which employer and workers' representatives jointly examine what explains a signalled difference of five percent or more. That requires consultation, file building and sometimes a reassessment of how jobs are classified. Those who underestimate that process often discover halfway through that the six months are tighter than expected.
What exactly happens in those six months
The period starts at the moment the signal appears, so when the report shows that the compensation difference between men and women in a particular job category is at least five percent and cannot be explained by objective, gender-neutral criteria. From that moment on, the employer is expected to work with workers' representatives to investigate what explains the difference. That investigation quickly touches on the question of how jobs are classified and on what basis: precisely the field of job classification. Without a clear classification into comparable categories, it is difficult to provide a substantiated picture within six months of where the difference comes from.
What exactly that investigation must produce and what steps are mandatory in the process is stated in the legislation itself; we set that out clearly by subject in the knowledge base with obligations per situation. There you will also find the reference in the official text, so you do not have to rely on our summary.
Where the processing time gets stuck in practice
Three points come up most often in practice as delaying factors. First, an up-to-date, documented job classification is often missing at the time the signal appears, so the consultation begins with a discussion about which jobs are actually comparable to each other rather than with a substantive assessment of the difference. Second, internally collecting compensation data per category, including allowances and variable components, takes more time than expected if that data is not already recorded in a structured way. Third, consultation with workers' representatives is delayed when there is no fixed contact point or procedure for it and every step has to be organised again.
None of these bottlenecks is about whether a difference is justified — that is an assessment that lies with the employer and, where applicable, the supervisory authority. It is about the organisational side: do you have the classification, the data and the consultation channel in place before the clock starts running.
The role of job classification in speed
A gender-neutral job classification that already exists before a signal appears saves the most time in practice. You then no longer need to figure out which jobs are comparable; that classification is already there, with the underlying criteria and documentation. What exactly that work entails and what choices come into play, you can read in the knowledge base; if you want to know how far your organisation has come so far, then the obligation check gives an indication in a few minutes without requiring you to provide data on wages.
What you can prepare for now
The six-month period only begins when a signal is issued, but preparation can start earlier. A job classification that is ready, a fixed format for consultation with worker representatives, and compensation data already organized by category make the difference between a process that stays within the deadline and one that runs over. How the calculation module and the classification work together is explained at the page showing where the information comes fromand what it costs if you want to set it up systematically, you can find at the subscription overview.
Do you want to see where your organization stands right now without any obligations, or would you prefer to read more broadly first about what already applies and what only becomes relevant during reporting? The quick scan and the knowledge base are both free and can be consulted without an account.