This study examines to what extent job evaluation systems align with public views on fair pay. Using a Participatory Value Evaluation, over 3,700 Dutch citizens distributed extra salary among various jobs and explained their choices. The arguments were compared to criteria used in job evaluation systems. The dimensions prioritized by participants, such as required education, job complexity, and working conditions, are already well represented in current formal job evaluation systems. However, participants also stressed aspects often absent from such systems, including a job’s societal contribution and labour market scarcity. While job evaluation systems remain broadly consistent with public reasoning, we recommend initiating broader public and institutional discussions on the evolving values that underpin fair compensation.

Since the 1940’s, job evaluation methods are being used to establish the relative value of jobs within organizations in order to determine salaries. Job evaluation methods have been studied, but there has not been much systematic reflection on the research conducted so far. This scoping review of 199 articles demonstrates that topics changed over decades, starting with methodological questions in the 1940’s, reflecting a start-up period. Historic overviews on wage policies appeared in the 1960’s, and the topic of gender wage inequality in the 1980’s. Guidelines were published in the 1990’s. From 2000 onwards, the main topic was adapting job evaluation methods to specific contexts. Research declined since 2010. There was hardly any research on appending changes in job evaluation methods and criteria. Given the ever-changing nature of work and the upcoming demographic changes, we recommend to revive scientific research on job evaluation and propose an agenda with research questions.