Pay structure example: this is what a complete pay structure looks like
This is an example for a installation engineering company. One consistent salary ladder in which all functions rise logically, ready for the pay transparency directive.
Installation company (example, ~25 employees)
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Scale
1
Supporting roles, secondary-vocational level, limited independent responsibility.
Band (gross/yr)
EUR 28,000 – EUR 36,000
median EUR 32,000
Scale
2
Hands-on technical execution, secondary vocational 3-4, works independently on site.
Band (gross/yr)
EUR 33,000 – EUR 43,000
median EUR 38,000
Scale
3
Preparatory and analytical, secondary vocational 4 to higher vocational, project responsibility.
Band (gross/yr)
EUR 38,000 – EUR 50,000
median EUR 44,000
Scale
4
Leads a team, planning and quality, higher-vocational working and thinking level.
Band (gross/yr)
EUR 45,000 – EUR 59,000
median EUR 52,000
Scale
5
End responsibility for projects, budget and client, higher vocational and up.
Band (gross/yr)
EUR 54,000 – EUR 70,000
median EUR 62,000
Job evaluation per role
Each function is weighed on the four legal factors. Every factor has its own, traceable rationale, so the placement in the scale is defensible.
Office Manager
Scale 1- Knowledge and skills
- Secondary-vocational level with knowledge of office software and administrative processes.
- Effort
- Mostly routine work with occasional peaks around scheduling.
- Responsibility
- Keeps the office running and decides independently on small matters.
- Working conditions
- Works in the office under regular conditions.
Administrative Assistant
Scale 1- Knowledge and skills
- Secondary-vocational training with knowledge of administration and invoicing.
- Effort
- Accurate and repetitive work with limited mental load.
- Responsibility
- Responsible for their own administration, no supervision of others.
- Working conditions
- Works in the office under regular conditions.
Service Engineer
Scale 2- Knowledge and skills
- Secondary vocational 3-4 in installation engineering plus relevant certifications.
- Effort
- Physical work on site with independent problem solving.
- Responsibility
- Works independently at the client and is responsible for the execution.
- Working conditions
- Varying locations and weather conditions, sometimes on-call duty.
Work Planner
Scale 3- Knowledge and skills
- Secondary vocational 4 to higher vocational with technical insight and costing knowledge.
- Effort
- Analytical and planning work under the time pressure of projects.
- Responsibility
- Prepares projects and safeguards feasibility and planning.
- Working conditions
- Mostly office work with the occasional site visit.
Estimator
Scale 3- Knowledge and skills
- Secondary vocational 4 to higher vocational with strong calculation and cost-price knowledge.
- Effort
- Detail-oriented analytical work with tight deadlines during tenders.
- Responsibility
- Determines calculations that directly affect the quote and the margin.
- Working conditions
- Office conditions with periods of high peak load.
Installation Team Lead
Scale 4- Knowledge and skills
- Higher-vocational working and thinking level plus broad hands-on experience.
- Effort
- Continuously switches between planning, quality and people management.
- Responsibility
- Leads an installation team and safeguards planning and quality.
- Working conditions
- Split between the office and project sites.
Project Manager
Scale 5- Knowledge and skills
- Higher vocational and up with broad technical and commercial project knowledge.
- Effort
- Runs several projects at once under budget and client pressure.
- Responsibility
- End responsibility for project result, budget and client satisfaction.
- Working conditions
- Combines office, client sites and meetings.
Example job substantiation
Alongside the pay structure, the package delivers a separate substantiation per function: the band, the reasoning, the placement per step and the sources used.
Download this function substantiation (PDF)
Technical Product Owner (Data & AI)
IT services · 100-249
Band (gross/yr)
EUR 58,800 – EUR 84,000
median EUR 70,200 · confidence: high
Reasoning behind the band
The IT sector has no mandatory collective agreement; the market sets the range. Benchmark data from Intermediair Salariskompas 2025 and WageIndicator NL for a technical product owner in IT services at companies of 100-249 employees place the median at around EUR 5,850 gross per month (EUR 70,200 per year) for a mid-to-senior profile with a data and AI specialisation. The minimum of EUR 58,800 (about EUR 4,900 per month) fits an entry-level higher-vocational or academic profile with basic knowledge of product ownership and Python. The maximum of EUR 84,000 (about EUR 7,000 per month) is in line with the market for an expert with proven impact on data and AI strategy. The source data (reference year 2025) is indexed to 2026 based on market trends in the IT sector (about +3%).
Placement per step
Step 1 - Junior/Entry
Higher-vocational or academic level with demonstrable basic experience in product ownership and Python or SQL; limited independence in backlog prioritisation and technical tasks; needs guidance.
EUR 58,800
Step 2 - Medior
Manages the backlog independently, stakeholder management across multiple departments; demonstrable data-engineering experience (dashboards, pipelines) and knowledge of cloud platforms proven in practice.
EUR 67,200
Step 3 - Senior
Demonstrable contribution to Data & AI strategy and roadmap; broad technical depth (ML, cloud-native, DataOps); strong stakeholder management at management level and experience with team development.
EUR 76,800
Step 4 - Expert/Maximum
Full ownership of product ownership and hands-on development; proven leadership role in scaling a data or AI team; in-depth knowledge of IT architecture and demonstrable impact on product strategy.
EUR 84,000
Objective, gender-neutral criteria
- Education and technical depth (Knowledge and skills) — A higher-vocational or academic level in computer science, data science or software engineering, combined with demonstrable command of Python, SQL, cloud platforms (AWS/Azure/GCP) and ML frameworks, determines the entry step and the growth potential.
- Product ownership and agile experience (Knowledge and skills) — The degree of independence with which the employee manages a product backlog, prioritises on value and risk, and runs stakeholder management in an agile/scrum environment co-determines the placement in the band.
- Role breadth and multidisciplinary deployment (Effort) — The combination of strategic product ownership and hands-on technical development (two full task domains) requires higher cognitive and organisational effort than a single role.
- Strategic shared responsibility (Responsibility) — Shared responsibility for the Data & AI vision, strategy and roadmap together with management and product management places the employee higher as that responsibility is demonstrably taken on.
- Team development and leadership potential (Responsibility) — The expected growth of the Data & AI team increases the leadership responsibility and justifies upward progression towards the maximum.
- Hybrid work environment with international communication (Working conditions) — A regular hybrid work environment (2-3 office days per week) with periodic business contact in English with international colleagues and clients.
Sources used
CBS Loonstructuuronderzoek 2024 · Intermediair Salariskompas 2025 · WageIndicator NL salary benchmark 2025 · Mercer IT Benchmark Netherlands 2024
This range is published in line with the obligations of the EU pay transparency directive (2023/970) and the upcoming Dutch implementation as of 1 January 2027. The placement within the band rests solely on objective, gender-neutral criteria tied to the four legal factors: knowledge and skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions.
How is this built?
Each function follows the same step-by-step process. You make the choices that matter, the tool calculates and flags. That keeps the result yours and keeps it defensible.
Frequently asked questions about a pay structure
What is a job structure (functiehuis)?
A job structure is an ordered overview of all functions in your organisation, grouped into scales with salary bands that rise logically. Functions are weighed on four objective factors (knowledge and skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions), so equal work is paid equally. The example on this page shows what that looks like for an SME.
What does an example of a job structure look like?
A job structure example shows a salary ladder with several scales, the functions in each scale, the band from minimum to maximum and the median. Above is a complete example with five scales, plus the rationale per role on the four legal factors.
What is a job substantiation (functieonderbouwing)?
A job substantiation records, per function, why a salary band is correct: the band, the reasoning with market sources, the placement per step and the objective, gender-neutral criteria. That is exactly what the EU pay transparency directive requires and what you need when an employee asks for pay information.
Do I need a consultant for a job structure?
No. You build up your functions yourself and bundle them into a consistent job structure, substantiated with market sources and without needing your own pay data or an HR system. You see your own job structure in preview before you pay.
This is what you get for your whole company
Build up your functions and bundle them into this pay structure. The EU transparency package: from €395 one-off, no subscription. You see your own pay structure in preview before you pay.