The aim of job evaluation systems is to ensure, as far as possible, that employees are paid in a fair and objective manner. This should lead to a base salary system where jobs of equal value are given the same ranking, regardless of gender, origin, job position, union membership, or other variables. Since the turn of the last century, the Association of Icelandic Local Authorities and the City of Reykjavík have based the salary setting of an increasingly large portion of their jobs on the job evaluation system SAMSTARF. The system is an analytical tool used to systematically and consistently assess the demands that jobs make on employees. The system is based on objective criteria that are used to compare jobs in accordance with the demands that the jobs entail, regardless of the qualifications of those who perform them.
The use of job evaluations makes salary decisions clear, visible and accessible to employees and is therefore an important part of fulfilling the equal pay provisions of the law that employees are paid the same salary for comparable and equally valuable work.
The staff of the Job Evaluation Project Office prepares proposals for the evaluation of jobs according to the job evaluation system. These proposals are submitted to the relevant committees of the City of Reykjavík and the Association of Icelandic Local Authorities for processing.
The committees include representatives of the relevant trade unions in addition to employers. All approvals for job evaluations must be unanimous. Further information about the job evaluation system can be found on the website of the Icelandic Job Evaluation Agency.