Reward consulting · South Africa and Europe

Pay that is fair, competitive and ready for scrutiny, in South Africa and Europe.

Ignite Reward Consulting helps organisations design reward that attracts the right people, holds up to regulators and makes sense to employees. Specialist advice on pay transparency, reward strategy, pay analysis and market benchmarking.

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Chartered Reward Specialist Certified Senior Rewards Professional (WorldatWork) SARA Spokesperson SARA Thought Leadership Committee
Two markets, one standard

Local depth in South Africa. Regulatory fluency across Europe.

Many groups now run reward across both regimes at once. Ignite brings hands-on experience of each, so a single reward framework can satisfy King V and the Employment Equity Act in Johannesburg and the Pay Transparency Directive in Warsaw or Bucharest.

South Africa

Governance-led reward

Reward that stands up in front of the remuneration committee, shareholders and the Department of Employment and Labour.

Employment Equity Act
Income differential analysis (EEA4), equal pay for work of equal value and sector targets.
King V
Remuneration policies and disclosures that hold up to shareholder scrutiny under King V and the Companies Act.
Market benchmarking
Pay analysis based on your own market data, with support for your annual benchmarking survey submissions.
Fair and responsible pay
Wage gap analysis and minimum pay floors you can explain to employees.
European Union and UK

Pay transparency in practice

Implementation experience of the EU Pay Transparency Directive across Eastern European operations, plus years of UK reward work.

Pay Transparency Directive
Readiness assessments, gap analysis and phased implementation plans by member state.
Gender pay gap
Reporting by category of workers, and joint pay assessments where an unexplained gap of 5% or more is not corrected within six months.
Job architecture
Objective, gender-neutral criteria for work of equal value.
Candidate transparency
Starting pay or pay range information for candidates before interview, and processes for employees' right to pay information.

Running both from one HR team? Ignite designs a common job architecture and pay governance model, then layers in the local reporting each jurisdiction requires.

Services

Three ways Ignite works with reward teams

Engagements range from a focused diagnostic to a full programme. Each one ends with something your team can run without us.

EU Pay Transparency

Get ready for the Directive with a clear view of your exposure and a practical plan to close it.

  • Readiness diagnostic and pay gap analysis by worker category
  • Job evaluation and equal-value job architecture
  • Pay range and recruitment process redesign
  • Joint pay assessment support and remediation costing
  • Compliance and gap analysis toolkit

You get: a board-ready gap report and roadmap.

Reward strategy and design

Build a reward framework that supports the business strategy and that managers can apply consistently.

  • Total reward strategy and employee value proposition
  • Grading, job families and salary structures
  • Pay positioning against your chosen market
  • Short-term incentive and recognition design
  • Reward policy and remuneration governance

You get: structures, policies and costings ready to implement.

Pay analysis and benchmarking

We use your market data to analyse pay and support your annual benchmarking survey submissions.

  • Pay analysis against your salary survey data
  • Competitiveness review by role, grade and location
  • Job matching and data preparation for annual survey submissions
  • Annual pay review modelling and budgeting
  • Clear reporting for leadership and remuneration committees

You get: reliable pay insight and a smooth submission each year.

Approach

How an engagement runs

A clear sequence, fixed deliverables and senior attention at every stage. You work directly with Carmen Arico throughout.

  1. 1

    Discovery call

    We talk through your organisation, the problem and the deadline you are working to.

    30 minutes, free
  2. 2

    Diagnostic

    Pay data, policies and practices are reviewed against the market and the relevant regulation.

    2 to 4 weeks
  3. 3

    Design

    Options are modelled and costed, then refined with your leadership and governance forums.

    4 to 8 weeks
  4. 4

    Embed

    Implementation support, manager guidance and the tools your team needs to run it.

    As needed
Selected work and insights

Reward work in practice, and the thinking behind it

A sample of recent projects, and articles Carmen has written for the South African Reward Association and the business press.

Job evaluation

In-house job evaluation platform

Led the development of an in-house job evaluation platform, used to evaluate and grade roles consistently across reward projects.

Reward analytics · EMEA, USA and Latin America

Dynamic salary range dashboard across 28 countries

Designed and delivered an Excel-based dynamic salary range dashboard covering 28 countries, showing pay positioning against market ranges to support the annual pay review.

Policy and advocacy

Comment on the Fair Pay Bill

Contributed to a professional reward body's formal comment on the upcoming Fair Pay Bill, as a member of its Advocacy Committee.

Published articles

Credentials

Senior reward expertise, independently certified

Ignite Reward Consulting is led by Carmen Arico, a Chartered Reward Specialist with experience across South Africa, the United Kingdom and the European Union.

Carmen began her career in remuneration at Bausch + Lomb in 2007 and went on to hold regional and global reward roles with large multinationals in the UK, including Vodafone and S&P Global. Her work spanned Europe, the Middle East and North America, where she implemented reward strategies and designed pay frameworks.

Since returning to South Africa in 2019, Carmen has consulted for local and international organisations, including advising external clients on executive reward at PwC, and has held an in-house reward role at TMF Group.

Experience

  1. Ignite Reward ConsultingJohannesburg

    Founder and principal consultant.

  2. TMF GroupEMEA

    Senior Reward Manager. EU Pay Transparency implementation across Eastern Europe and reward business partnering across several regions.

  3. PwC South AfricaJohannesburg

    Executive reward consulting for external clients.

  4. Vodafone and S&P Global (formerly IHS Markit)United Kingdom

    Regional and global reward across Europe, the Middle East and North America.

  5. Bausch + LombFrom 2007

    Where Carmen began her career in remuneration.

Carmen Arico, founder of Ignite Reward Consulting
Carmen AricoFounder and Principal ConsultantLinkedIn profile
CRS

Chartered Reward Specialist

South African Reward Association

CSRP

Certified Senior Rewards Professional

WorldatWork, 2026

SARA

SARA Spokesperson

Speaker, Fair Pay panel, SARA Connect 2026

SARA

SARA Thought Leadership Committee

Committee member, South African Reward Association

EU

Pay Transparency practitioner

Hands-on Directive implementation across multiple member states

Let's talk

Book a discovery call and leave with a clear next step.

A short, no-obligation conversation about where your reward stands and what it needs.

  • Your current reward priorities and any regulatory deadlines
  • An initial view of risks and quick wins
  • A proposed scope, timeline and fee if you want to go further

Discovery call

30 minutesMicrosoft TeamsNo charge
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Prefer email? Write to Carmen directly:

Connect with Carmen on LinkedIn

Based in Johannesburg. Working with clients in South Africa, the UK and the EU.