The Risk of Complying Without Making Changes in the Area of Equal Pay

In the context of the debate on so-called “apparent transparency” regarding pay equity, Enrique Ceca, managing partner of the labor law practice, analyzes in Cinco Días the persistence of leeway for companies that allows them to “comply without changing.” Among the most common practices, he points to “organizational segmentation” and excessive job specification, along with the intensive use of discretionary variable compensation—mechanisms that, when used to hinder comparability, may constitute indications of circumvention.

It also emphasizes that the difference between legitimate and fraudulent compliance lies in the purpose and actual objectivity of the system. In this regard, it warns that if the criteria are not verifiable, are inconsistent, or result in a systematic gender impact, “the directive is violated,” highlighting the risk that some companies may keep wage gaps hidden under the guise of compliance.

For this reason, he advocates for the need to establish objective salary ranges and reduce discretion in decision-making, warning that, otherwise, compliance could become “merely a formality.” Finally, he insists that transparency requires “auditable systems, not opaque decisions justified after the fact,” warning of the risk that the new framework could become nothing more than a formality.