Salary Structure
The formal framework of pay ranges associated with grade levels, used to guide consistent and defensible pay positioning decisions across the organisation.
A salary structure is the framework that defines the range of pay associated with each grade or level in a grade structure. For each grade, a structure typically defines a minimum, midpoint, and maximum — or range boundaries — that represent the pay envelope considered appropriate for roles at that level.
Salary structures are not rigid pay caps. They are governance tools: they provide a consistent basis for pay decisions, flag when individuals are paid outside normal parameters, and create the framework within which individual pay movement decisions (for new hires, promotions, or retention) can be made and explained.
Designing a salary structure requires decisions about range midpoints (what the market anchor should be for each grade), range spread (how wide each band should be, reflecting the variation appropriate across a grade), and range overlap (how much adjacent grades share, affecting promotion and progression logic). These design decisions should reflect the organisation's pay philosophy and its evaluation grade structure.
Usage note
A salary structure is only as coherent as the grade structure it is built on. If role grading has been inconsistently applied, the salary structure will inherit those inconsistencies — resulting in pay decisions that appear arbitrary rather than governed.
Doctrine boundary
This definition reflects how Evalio uses this term within its evaluation methodology. Usage may differ in other frameworks or contexts.
Terms used alongside this one.
Grade Structure
The defined hierarchy of grades used to classify roles across an organisation, each with associated anchors, boundaries, and decision implications.
Internal Equity
The principle that roles of comparable scope, complexity, and accountability should be compensated comparably, independent of who holds them or how long they have been in post.
Job Evaluation
A structured methodology for assessing the relative scope, complexity, and accountability of roles, producing a grade assignment that can be used for pay positioning and workforce decision-making.
Market Benchmarking
The process of comparing an organisation's role grades and pay levels against external market data to support salary structure design and pay positioning decisions.