HERA is a job evaluation scheme which was designed and developed by ECC in conjunction with higher education institutions (over 100 joined a consortium, along with representatives from national trades unions) specifically for use in higher education. HERA has been recognised by the Equal Opportunities Commission as a non-discriminatory job evaluation scheme. The majority of Higher education institutions have adopted HERA as their job evaluation scheme of choice.
A job evaluation scheme can ensure:
- A fair, equitable and transparent process for comparing the relative size of jobs
- Consistency and parity across the University
- A demonstration of the principle of equal pay for work of equal value
- The promotion of fairness and equality generally
HERA is an analytical factor-based job evaluation scheme. It aims to assess the relative value of roles in a consistent and equitable manner. HERA focuses on wider aspects of a role rather than on individual tasks and analyses roles based on 14 discrete elements covering a range of duties and responsibilities. Comprehensive information is gathered on roles by completing a role description, or through interview, and roles are then evaluated against each of the elements. Each element is scored, the scores for each element weighted appropriately, and then added together to give a total point score for each role. The total score indicates the relative size of the role.