
Question
Can two employees doing the same job have different salary levels?
The answer
The employer’s pay system should be designed in such a way that, among other things, the voluntary benefits in particular represent a sufficient motivational instrument for the employee. Although the proportion of remuneration components that give rise to entitlements should predominate, the remuneration components that do not give rise to entitlements can in principle ensure fair remuneration for work performance according to the basic criteria of complexity, responsibility and workload, promote the employee’s willingness to perform and commitment to the work results and at the same time ensure that atypical conditions of work performance are also remunerated at an appropriate level.
It follows that the resulting total remuneration of two employees performing the same work does not have to be identical in all circumstances, taking certain factors into account. However, a number of facts must be considered in order to answer such a question competently, as each case is unique.