Why track your pay gap between two reports
By the Equaudit team · Updated · 2 min read
The report required by the EU Pay Transparency Directive is a snapshot of one reporting period. It tells you where you stood, after the fact. Tracking is the complement: the same indicators computed more often, so that you see a gap moving while you can still act on it.
Tracking is not a legal requirement and it does not replace the report. Think of it as a steering tool between two official reports.
What a snapshot hides
A pay gap rarely appears overnight. It builds through ordinary decisions: starting salaries of new hires, promotions, the distribution of raises and bonuses, departures of long-tenured staff. Each is small. Together they move the gap, and a yearly report only shows the sum.
A category that sits at 3% in January and drifts to 4.8% by September is a different situation from one that has been stable at 4.8%. Only the first needs action now. You cannot tell them apart from a single yearly figure.
How often to measure
| Cadence | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Yearly | The official report | No early warning |
| Quarterly | Most companies of 100–500 employees | Needs a payroll export each quarter |
| Monthly | Fast-growing teams, frequent hiring | Small categories fluctuate; read the trend, not one month |
Quarterly is a sensible default. Monthly makes sense when you hire a lot. Keep the same job categories and the same pay definitions from one period to the next, otherwise the curve compares different things.
How to read the curve
- Direction matters more than level. A gap that widens three periods in a row deserves a look even if it is still under 5%.
- Compare like with like. Use the mean and the median together: they diverge when a few high salaries distort the picture.
- Look at categories, not only the total. The directive's 5% test applies per category of workers. A stable overall gap can hide one category getting worse.
- Mind small samples. With few women or men in a category, one hire swings the figure.
In Equaudit, each analysis you upload for a month, a quarter or a year is stored as aggregates only, and the evolution chart plots the mean and median gap with the ±5% band. Past periods can be imported one by one to build the curve retroactively. See how Equaudit works.
From curve to decision
A trend is only useful if someone owns it. Agree who reviews the figures each period (HR, finance or the person in charge of payroll), what level triggers a discussion (for example a category above 4%), and which levers are available. The levers are covered in closing a pay gap: a practical plan.
Frequently asked questions
Does the directive require me to track the gap during the year?
No. The directive requires reporting at the frequency set by your headcount. Tracking is a voluntary management practice.
Can I import last year's data to see a trend?
Yes, on plans with tracking you can import past periods one by one, as long as you can export the payroll data for them.
Do tracking figures replace the official report?
No. The official report remains the annual analysis built on your reporting period and your job categories.