Pay-discrimination evaluator BETA

Project drafting and/or site supervision by architects · public tender or private commission · based on the PEM

Scope: this tool evaluates a single type of commission — an architect's project drafting and/or site supervision, in a public tender or a direct private-sector commission — comparing the amount offered or awarded against two reference floors (cost and MEF). It is not a general fee calculator and does not replace any fee scale.

Commission details

Reference year (economic data) Year

Determines which collectively-bargained salary, SMI and utilization-rate (Deltek) figures are used for the MEF floor and the cost floor. See the technical methodology for the origin and limitations of each year.

Building PEM — Execution Cost Budget (€)

Used as a contextual reference (% of PEM) and as the base V for the hour estimate.

Building type Degree of complexity

The building type and degree of complexity determine parameter G (*grado di complessità*), read directly from Table Z-1 of DM 17/6/2016 — see Legal Framework. It is an indicative categorisation by broad group, not the decree's full subcategory table.

Scope of the commission Type of commission Includes health and safety coordination (design + execution) Procedure

Commission hours — HME

Estimated hours (calculated)—

Estimated from the PEM, the building type/complexity (G) and the scope of the commission (ΣQ), applying the DM 17/6/2016 formula (CP = V·G·ΣQ·P) and converting the result to hours using the reference rate of €60.5/h. You do not need to enter your own estimate of hours: it is derived from objective facts about the works, not the evaluator's subjective judgement. This is the same method used for the reference case (Ripollet / Sta. Margarida) below.

Adjust the hours manually (professional judgement)

Amount to evaluate Amount offered or awarded (€)

MEF floor — calculation base

Collective agreement (— €/h)

SMI (— €/h)

Collective agreement = the salary under the engineering and technical consultancy agreement. SMI = the Spanish national minimum wage. The collective-agreement figure is the main reference floor; the SMI is the absolute threshold.

Result

% of PEM represented by the evaluated amount—

€/h of the evaluated amount—

Cost floor (reference)—

MEF floor (anti-discrimination threshold)—

Reference tables (manual check)

Model	Item	PEM bracket	% PEM
SEGIPSA (BOE 27/5/2015) Project drafting		Up to €1,000,000	6.65%
		€1,000,001 – €3,000,000	5.61%
		€3,000,001 – €6,000,000	4.63%
		€6,000,001 – €10,000,000	4.11%
		Over €10,000,000	3.60%
SEGIPSA (BOE 27/5/2015) Site supervision		Up to €1,000,000	5.68%
		€1,000,001 – €3,000,000	4.77%
		€3,000,001 – €6,000,000	3.97%
		€6,000,001 – €10,000,000	3.53%
		Over €10,000,000	3.08%
Italy, DM 17/6/2016	Hourly rate, art. 6.2		€50 – 75/h (2016)
Italy, DM 17/6/2016	Formula (Tables Z-1/Z-2)		CP = Σ(V·G·Q·P), P = 0.03 + 10/V^0.4

The SEGIPSA brackets are verified directly against the text of the Resolution of 11/5/2015 (BOE 27/5/2015) — see Legal Framework. Even so, they are shown for manual reference and are not applied automatically, because SEGIPSA prices commissioned work of the Administration itself, not any commission evaluated here. The G/Q parameters of the Italian DM (Tables Z-1 and Z-2, by category and complexity of the works) are likewise not applied automatically: they require identifying the specific building category in the full official table. Use them to check your own HME estimate or the evaluated amount, not as an automatic calculation of the floor.

Reference case (model validation)

Item	Ripollet (Library)	Sta. Margarida (Police station)
PEM	€2,966,214	€1,287,888
Awarded drafting fee	€196,950 (6.64% of PEM)	€40,597 (3.15% of PEM)
Implicit design hours	≈ 3,493 h	≈ 1,432 h
€/h actually paid	€56.4/h	€28.3/h
MEF floor	€31.08/h	€31.08/h
Diagnosis	Adequate	Indicator of discrimination

Source: COAM Fee Observatory (26/5/2025). Implicit hours derived from the Italian drafting reference at €60.5/h (lower end of art. 6.2 DM 2016, updated by Italian CPI 2016→2024).

This tool is not legal advice or a fee scale. Monetary values (SMI, collective agreement, rates) should be updated periodically in line with CPI. The admissible vehicle for a remuneration floor is state regulation or public-procurement oversight (abnormally low tenders, art. 149 LCSP) — never a professional-association-set table. A result showing an "indicator of discrimination" does not, by itself, prove an infringement: it is a starting point for reviewing the case.