The gender pay gap by job group: how Atlygis calculates it

Atlygis compares the average pay of men and women in each job group. If the difference is 5 % or more, the group is flagged. This article explains how: what a group is, which payments count, the formula, and what to do when the gap is large. For an overview of all employer duties, see Pay transparency in Lithuania: what employers must do, and by when.

Only within the same job group

A pay system sorts jobs into groups by objective, gender-neutral criteria: skills, qualifications, effort, responsibility and working conditions (Labour Code (DK), Article 140(3)). The same work or work of equal value goes into the same group (Article 140(3)). Men and women must get equal pay for the same work or work of equal value (Article 140(5)).

So Atlygis does not compare all men in the company with all women. It compares men and women inside each group. The groups come from your pay system. See Job evaluation and grouping for a pay system: a practical guide.

Which payments count

The gap uses all gross pay: base pay plus supplementary pay, meaning allowances, supplements and bonuses. That is how Sodra’s method defines pay (Order No. A1-433, Description point 4.4). Sickness benefit, compensation for unused annual leave and severance pay are not included (point 4.4). Atlygis adds base and variable pay together, so bonuses change the gap.

A separate question is where a person sits in the group’s pay range (below the minimum, inside, or above the maximum). Atlygis places people by their current monthly base pay. It adds the variable part only when you mark it as included in average pay (VDU). So a one-off bonus does not move a person’s place in the range.

How the gap is calculated

Atlygis uses the formula of Sodra’s method, with one difference: Sodra uses the previous calendar year, Atlygis the last 12 months (Order No. A1-433, point 5.7).

1. It takes gross pay for the last 12 months.
2. In each group, it adds up all men’s pay and divides it by the sum of their paid hours. That gives men’s average pay per hour. The same is done for women (Order No. A1-433, points 5.21 and 5.22).
3. Gap = (men’s average − women’s average) ÷ men’s average × 100 % (Order No. A1-433, point 5.61).

If you provide paid hours, those are used. If not, Atlygis estimates them from months worked, the FTE and the weekly working-time norm. Until a person’s 12 months of data exist, their pay per hour is worked out from one month and their FTE.

People who have left or are on long leave also count, if you uploaded their 12-month totals. The second figure covers current staff only. A group is flagged if either figure reaches 5 %. The difference between them helps explain a gap, but is not in itself an objective justification.

Note: this is Atlygis’s calculation by Sodra’s method, not Sodra’s own figures.

Why 5 %

A group is flagged when the gap is 5 % or more, in either direction: whether men or women earn more.

The line is set by law. From 1 January 2027, employers with 100 or more insured persons must carry out a joint pay assessment with employee representatives when all three conditions are met (Article 23(11), edition from 2027-01-01):

1. Sodra’s data show a gap of at least 5 % in average pay between women and men in any job group.
2. The employer has not justified it by objective, gender-neutral criteria.
3. The employer has not remedied the unjustified gap within six months of receiving Sodra’s data.

Sodra will provide the first figures by 1 March 2028 to employers with 150 or more insured employees, and by 1 March 2031 to those with 100 to 149 and smaller employers who opt in (Order No. A1-433, point 3.1.1). So a joint assessment cannot be needed until six months after Sodra’s first data arrive.

The 5 % line is not permission to pay less. The duty of equal pay for the same work or work of equal value applies to every employer, also below 5 % (Article 140(5)).

What to do at 5 % or more

There are two routes.

Justify it. Give an objective reason unrelated to sex, such as more experience or better performance, if your pay system sets these criteria (Article 140(3)). In Atlygis you record the reason for each person who drives the gap. If you work with a Linden lawyer, the lawyer accepts or returns each explanation.

Remedy it. If you cannot justify the gap, record the date by which you will fix it. Atlygis lets you pick a date no more than 6 months after the day you record it. Once Sodra’s data arrive, check that the date is also within six months of receiving them.

The six-month limit is in the law. From 1 January 2027, employers with 100 or more insured persons must remedy an unjustified gap within a reasonable time, and no later than six months after receiving Sodra’s data, together with employee representatives (Article 23(10), edition from 2027-01-01). This implements Article 9(10) of the EU Pay Transparency Directive (EU) 2023/970; the six-month limit matches its Article 10(1)(c). In Lithuania it is already adopted by Law No. XV-969 but takes effect on 1 January 2027 (checked on e-TAR on 2026-11-02). It does not apply yet today.

Small groups

The employer sees every group’s figures in Atlygis. Employees get the gap by group only where a group has more than 2 workers of either sex (Article 23(5), edition from 2027-01-01). Atlygis hides a group’s gap from employees when either sex has only 1 or 2 people in it. Otherwise a figure could reveal one person’s pay.

Calculator without sign-up

For a quick check, use the pay gap calculator (in Lithuanian). It uses the same formula: total pay divided by total hours, and the gap as a share of men’s average. Without hours, it compares average monthly pay. That is accurate when everyone in the group works the same hours.

Related articles

• Pay transparency in Lithuania: what employers must do, and by when
• Job evaluation and grouping for a pay system: a practical guide
• Job evaluation found unjustified pay gaps: how to fix them
• An employee demands equal pay: what the employer should do
• Monthly SDUP report to Sodra from 2027: what to prepare with your accountant
• Fines and disputes: the risk of having no pay system in Lithuania

Check your company

In Atlygis you can now check for free whether men’s and women’s pay in your company differs by 5 % or more in each job group. Company data, the staff list, 12 months of pay and the job groups are part of the same first steps. Payment is needed only before the documents are prepared: the pay system and the order approving it. Sign up (the app is in Lithuanian).

More about this service: drafting labour law documents.