The Directorate of Education and School Services’ equal pay policy covers all staff of the institution and takes into account the Equal Pay Standard ÍST85:2012, Article 6 of the Act on Equal Status and Equal Rights of the Sexes no. 150/2020, as well as relevant laws, regulations and institutional agreements. Decisions on wages and other benefits shall be based on reasonable grounds where equality is observed and the value of jobs is taken into account. The Directorate of Education and School Services’ policy is that all staff, regardless of gender, enjoy equal pay and equal conditions for the same or equally valuable work, so that no unreasonable wage difference exists.

The Director is the guarantor of the equal pay system of the Directorate of Education and School Services, which includes a commitment to continuous improvement, monitoring and response in accordance with the requirements of the Equal Pay Standard.

The human resource manager is the designated controller of the equal pay system of the Directorate of Education and School Services, therefore, there is a responsibility to follow up on operations and information sharing regarding performance towards goals.

To achieve these objectives, the Directorate will:

• Implement, document and maintain equal pay systems according to Equal Pay Standard ÍST 85:2012.

• Perform regular pay analysis comparing the same or equally valuable jobs and analyze employees’ salaries and benefits to determine whether there is a gender-based pay gap and present the main results to employees.

• React to unexplained wage gaps through continuous reforms and monitoring.

• Employees receive an annual presentation of the equal pay policy. The equal pay policy shall be accessible on the external website of the Directorate of Education and School Services.

• Review the processes and the assumptions that govern decisions on wages.

• Periodic reviews of the progress, internal audits and management reviews shall be carried out.

• Ensure compliance with relevant laws, regulations and collective agreements in force at any given time and confirm compliance.

Employees of the Directorate of Education and School Services are always permitted to disclose their remuneration if they choose and the head or others involved in the determination of wages are not permitted to request confidentiality of their remuneration.

June 2025