Manage and edit pay zones
Manage Pay Zones
Pay zones allow you to structure compensation by geographic location or cost of labor. This guide covers how to configure and edit pay zones in your band set.
Table of Contents
- What Are Pay Zones?
- Viewing Pay Zones
- Editing Pay Zones
- Pay Zone Differentials
- HRIS Location Matching
- Related Articles
What Are Pay Zones?
Pay zones are geographic or location-based groupings that structure how compensation varies by location.
Pay zones enable you to:
- Organize employees by location - Group employees into pay zones based on their HRIS location data (metro, city, country)
- Structure location-based comp - Create separate compensation bands for each pay zone
- Apply differentials (optional) - Optionally set relative value percentages to adjust bands by or benchmarks
Important: Pay zones do not automatically adjust compensation. They are a way to structure and organize bands by location. You can optionally configure differentials, which can then be applied to bands or benchmarks to update the values.
Adding Pay Zones
Pay zones are added when you add bands to your band set. There is no separate "Add Pay Zone" functionality in the Pay Zones view.
To add new pay zones:
- Go to the Bands tab
- Click Add bands
- Select the pay zones when adding jobs
See Add Bands article for the complete workflow.
Viewing Pay Zones
Access Pay Zones
- Navigate to Market Pricing in the main navigation
- Open your band set
- Click the Pay zones tab
The Pay Zones view shows:
Pay zones are grouped by region (e.g., Asia, Europe, LATAM, United States) for easier organization.
Editing Pay Zones
Click on any pay zone to open the edit modal.
Pay Zone Configuration
Pay zone name
- The display name for this pay zone (e.g., "Spain", "United States - Tier 1")
Description (optional)
- Additional details about this pay zone
Group (optional)
- Use this field to group related pay zones (e.g., "Europe", "Asia", "United States")
- Groups appear as section headers in the pay zones list
Cash currency
- Currency for cash compensation bands (USD, EUR, GBP, INR, BRL, etc.)
Equity currency
- Currency for equity compensation (typically USD)
Relative value (optional)
- Percentage used when applying a pay zone differential
- Expressed as "X% of [reference pay zone]"
- Example: "50% of United States - Tier 1" means this zone is 50% of US Tier 1
- Note: "This percentage will be used whenever you apply a pay zone differential"
HRIS location
- Rules that determine which employees match to this pay zone
- Define rules using Metro, City, Country, or custom HRIS fields
- Use AND/OR logic to combine multiple rules
- Click + Add clause to add more location criteria
Make this pay zone a catchall
- Check this box to match all employees who don't match other pay zones
- Only one catchall pay zone is allowed per band set
Employee Preview
The right side of the edit modal shows employees currently matched to this pay zone:
- Employee name and job title
- Manager
- Country, City, Metro
- Total count of employees matched (e.g., "25 rows per page, 1 of 5")
This helps you verify your HRIS location rules are working correctly.
Pay Zone Differentials
Pay zone differentials are optional. They provide a way to define relative compensation levels between locations, which can then be applied to bands and benchmarks via the "edit" features in the band set.
How Differentials Work
Relative value represents how this pay zone's compensation compares to a reference pay zone.
Example:
Reference: United States - Tier 1 (no differential set, or 100%)
Other pay zones:
- United States - Tier 2: 95% of United States - Tier 1
- United States - Tier 3: 84% of United States - Tier 1
- London: 65% of United States - Tier 1
- Spain: 50% of United States - Tier 1
- India: 20% of United States - Tier 1
HRIS Location Matching
HRIS location rules determine which employees are assigned to each pay zone.
Setting Up Location Rules
In the HRIS location section of the edit modal:
- Select location field - Choose Metro, City, Country, or custom HRIS fields
- Set matching logic:
- IN - Matches if employee's location is in the list
- = (equals) - Matches if employee's location equals the value
- Enter values - Type or select location values (e.g., "Spain", "Madrid, ES", "London")
- Combine rules - Use AND/OR logic to create complex matching rules
- Add more criteria - Click + Add clause for additional rules
- Delete rules - Click Delete group to remove a rule set
Catchall Pay Zone
If an employee's location doesn't match any pay zone rules, they won't have a pay zone assigned.
To ensure all employees are assigned:
- Create a catchall pay zone (e.g., "Other" or "Remote")
- Check "Make this pay zone a catchall"
- This pay zone will match any employees who don't match other zones
Related Articles
- Add Bands: Add jobs to pay zones
- Job Architecture Overview: Understanding pay zones in your job structure
- Edit Bands (Jobs-Based): Apply pay zone differentials to bands
- Match Employees: How employees are assigned to pay zones
Need help? Contact Pave support at support.pave.com.