Job grading, also called job evaluation, ranks roles against each other by their size and complexity - decision-making authority, impact, required skill - to determine where each one should sit in the pay structure relative to other roles. South Africa commonly uses the Paterson or Peromnes grading systems for this.
What it means
Grading evaluates the role described in the job description, not the person currently in it, applying a consistent methodology across the organisation so a role's pay relativity is defensible rather than ad hoc.
Where it fits in
The grade a role is assigned determines its pay grade, the band within which payroll-adjacent pay decisions for that role are expected to fall, linking the job description all the way through to what an employee can actually be paid.
Key rules
- Ranks roles by size and complexity, not by the individual filling them.
- Paterson and Peromnes are the systems commonly used in South Africa.
- Evaluates the job description's content with a consistent methodology.
- The grading result determines a role's pay grade.
