1
Collect job evidence
Use job descriptions, questionnaires, interviews, organisation charts and committee review to capture the actual content of work.
Methodology • Work of equal value • ISCO-08 × Band
ACLASA MethodologyCategorising work of equal value
ACLASA uses gender-neutral analytical job evaluation as the primary basis for determining work of equal value. ISCO-08 is then used as a structured occupational classification layer, and the ACLASA band architecture is used to form consistent worker categories for pay-gap analysis, explainability and reporting.
Publication position: this is an ACLASA methodology and reporting overlay. It should not be described as an official EIGE methodology. EIGE Tool 5 remains the reference analytical job-evaluation framework; the ISCO-08 × band logic is the ACLASA operational layer for classification, reporting and category formation.
Core equation
Worker category = ISCO-08 level × equal-value band
The selected ISCO hierarchy level must be fixed before analysis, applied consistently across the reporting perimeter, and justified by headcount, confidentiality and statistical robustness.
✓Job value is assessed through objective criteria first.
✓ISCO organises occupations; it does not replace job evaluation.
✓Band architecture supports reporting, comparison and remediation.
Methodological flow
From job evidence to audit-ready worker categories
The ACLASA method separates job evaluation from occupational classification. Job content is evaluated first. ISCO-08 and the ACLASA band overlay then make the results scalable, explainable and suitable for pay transparency reporting.
2
Evaluate the role
Assess work using gender-neutral factors: skills, responsibility, effort and working conditions, with documented factor weights and evidence.
3
Assign equal-value band
Convert the analytical score into an equal-value grouping. Any ACLASA 15-band extension must be version-controlled and justified.
4
Code to ISCO-08
Code each role at 4-digit unit-group level where feasible. Any fallback to 3-digit or 2-digit coding must be documented.
5
Apply ACLASA overlay
Combine ISCO-08 and band logic to create consistent reporting categories for pay-gap analysis and transparency.
6
Review comparability
Check category robustness, disclosure risk, headcount thresholds, statistical reliability and documented exceptions.
7
Analyse pay outcomes
Review raw gaps, explainability, justified drivers, unjustified residuals and any required remediation logic.
8
Retain audit trail
Keep the codebook, thresholds, fallback rules, version history, governance approvals and impact assessments.
Job evaluation layer
Work of equal value starts with job content
ACLASA treats the evaluated job score as the primary determinant of work of equal value. Occupational coding alone is not sufficient. The methodology must be anchored in objective, gender-neutral criteria and supported by evidence.
Skills + Responsibility + Effort + Working Conditions
These factors frame the analytical review of work value. Additional factors may be considered only when they are relevant, objective, transparent and gender-neutral.
Classification layer
ISCO-08 provides the occupational scaffold
ISCO-08 gives an internationally recognisable hierarchy for organising occupations. ACLASA uses it to structure reporting categories, communicate comparability logic and support consistent analysis across larger organisations.
✓4-digit ISCO unit group is preferred where feasible.
✓Fallback coding must be justified and retained.
✓The hierarchy level must not be mixed within the same reporting cycle unless an exception rule is documented.
Worker-category formation
ISCO-08 × ACLASA band architecture
The following corridor map is a reporting overlay. It helps make category formation reproducible, but it must not be used as a shortcut for job-specific evaluation.
| ISCO-08 major group | ACLASA reporting corridor | Interpretation rule |
|---|---|---|
| 0 Armed forces occupations | Pragmatic extension | Handled separately where included; the treatment must be documented. |
| 1 Managers | B10–B15 | Reserved for true managerial / director-level governance roles, not team-lead titles alone. Seniority requires explicit evidence. |
| 2 Professionals | B8–B9 | Professional work with higher knowledge requirements and differentiated seniority profiles. |
| 3 Technicians and associate professionals | B6–B7 | Technical and associate-professional roles, segmented only where evidence supports higher responsibility or complexity. |
| 4–7 Clerical, service, sales, agriculture, craft and trades | B4–B5 | Operational occupational families with band differentiation based on evaluated role value. |
| 8 Plant and machine operators, assemblers | B2–B3 | Operator and assembler categories with documented differentiation where role scope or complexity requires it. |
| 9 Elementary occupations | B1 | Elementary work category; further segmentation should be avoided unless the job-evaluation evidence supports it. |
Downloadable methodology workbook
ACLASA ISCO-08 × EIGE × 15-band mapping workbook
The workbook combines the standard EIGE equal-value job-evaluation exercise with the additional ACLASA methodology tabs for ISCO-08 classification, band mapping and audit-ready summarisation.
Standard EIGE exercise content
- Welcome
- 1. Employer information
- 2. Job roles information
- 3. Gender representation
- 4. Factor and subfactor plan
- 5. Additional subfactors
- 6. Assign levels to the jobs
- 7. Scores
- 8. Job grouping
- 9. Gender and score
- 10. Gender and group
- 11. Pay structure
Additional ACLASA tabs
- 12. Methodology
- 13. ACLASA band map
- 14. ISCO unit evaluations
- 14A. ISCO single-eval backup
- 15. ISCO code map
- 16. Summary
- 17. Unit band options
Seniority rules
Seniority must be evidence-based
Seniority sub-bands are assigned only through explicit, pre-defined criteria. Years of service alone are not enough. The rule set must be retained in the methodology pack.
✓Organisational span of control
✓Decision autonomy
✓Budget or financial accountability
✓Strategic impact
✓Complexity and risk of decisions
✓Supervisory responsibility
Governance
Reproducibility is part of the method
The methodology pack should retain the full codebook, ISCO mapping rules, fallback rules, band thresholds, seniority criteria and version history. Any amendment should include rationale, date of change and impact assessment.
Fix → Apply → Document → Review
The selected hierarchy level and band rules must be fixed before analysis, applied consistently, documented clearly and reviewed for reliability.
Publication sources
External reference frame
These sources support the public-facing methodology description. ACLASA’s own overlay should be presented as an adaptation and reporting architecture, not as an official extension authored by EIGE.
- EIGE / European Commission — EU-wide guidelines on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification
Core reference for the practical, gender-neutral job-evaluation framework and supporting Tool 5 materials. - ILO / ILOSTAT — International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO)
Reference for the ISCO-08 occupational hierarchy used as the classification scaffold. - Directive (EU) 2023/970
Legal context for equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms.
ACLASA Compensation Intelligence • Methodology layer
Work of equal value should be explainable before it becomes reportable.
ACLASA combines analytical job evaluation, ISCO-08 classification and a controlled band overlay to help organisations create worker categories that are structured, transparent and reproducible.