You can handle part of the follow-up yourself: recording the signal, defining the affected category, organizing the figures, and preparing the internal discussion. What you do not enter yourself — and what no system enters for you either — is the assessment of whether a found difference is justified. That distinction between recording and assessing is the boundary this article addresses.
A gender pay gap signal arises when the report shows a difference of at least five percent between employees who fall into the same category according to the classification, without this difference being explained on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria. From that point on, a period of six months begins in which the situation is examined. What exactly is expected of you during that period depends on the chosen national implementation; this varies per member state.
What you can typically prepare yourself
The first step is factual: which roles fall into the category to which the signal points, which employees are in it, and which remuneration components were included in the calculation. This is administrative work that an HR department or office manager can usually do themselves, provided the underlying job classification is already in order. If that classification is still missing, it is often the first hurdle, before the signal itself can be discussed. In the knowledge base each step is explained as to what a signal means and which follow-up questions belong to it.
Internal communication about the process — to the works council, to managers, to the employees involved if there is cause for it — is also something an employer organizes itself. A system can help by making the figures clearly presented per category, but you conduct the discussion itself.
Where the boundary usually lies
Assessing whether a difference is justified requires an explanation that goes beyond the figures: experience, education, responsibility, labour market scarcity, and whether those factors have been applied consistently across the entire category. This is a substantive assessment, not a calculation. Regulators look at whether the explanation has been applied objectively and consistently, not at whether the outcome feels fair. In practice, this assessment is often made together with a lawyer or employment law advisor, precisely because a wrong judgment here can have consequences that extend beyond the single signal.
A second boundary lies with the calculation method itself. A calculation module can make a difference per category visible based on the data you provide, but does not calculate whether that difference is justified. This distinction is deliberately structured this way: a signal is called a signal at Payria, not a judgment. What the calculation module does for you and how it arrives at a result is explained in how the calculation is derived.
What recording actually delivers
Even if the final assessment is delegated elsewhere, recording the process itself is valuable. When was the signal noticed, what steps were taken, who was consulted, and what explanation was ultimately given — that paper trail is exactly what regulators ask about if the process comes up. An employer who keeps track of this in a structured way does not have to reconstruct afterwards what happened during those six months.
Weighing costs and time
Whether it's more advantageous to do it entirely yourself or outsource part of it depends on the size of the category, the complexity of the job classification underlying it, and whether a similar process has been completed before. For companies facing a signal for the first time, external support in the assessment is more often necessary than for an organization that has had the classification and remuneration policy in order for years. What this means in your situation cannot be determined in general terms; for that, a lawyer or the competent supervisory authority is the appropriate contact point.
Would you like to see where your organization stands before you make a decision between doing it yourself and outsourcing? The free duty check provides an initial indication in a few questions, and for those who prefer to first review the system setup, the explanation about subscriptions and what is included can be found on the page with pricing and what is included.