The pay transparency directive, adopted in 2023, seeks to reduce the gender pay gap, the difference in salaries between men and women for the same type of work, as disparities remain across Europe.
The directive sets new obligations for employers, such as guaranteeing a fair and transparent recruitment process, using gender-neutral job descriptions and titles, and informing candidates about pay when they advertise positions or before the interview.
Employers can no longer ask job seekers about their previous salaries, to avoid that past discrimination influences future pay. People will have the right to request information about average pay levels where they work, and contractual clauses that forbid discussing salaries with colleagues are prohibited under the new law.
Discriminated workers can claim compensation.
Companies have to report to national authorities about the gender pay gap in their organisation, and remedy if this is above 5 per cent, or face penalties and fines.
According to research by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), however, most EU Member States are “dragging their feet” and have not brought national legislation in line with the EU directive.
Nearly half of EU countries have yet to publish a draft national law (Ireland, Germany, Spain, Austria, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Luxembourg, Portugal, Slovenia). About a quarter have drafts but won’t complete the process until next year (Netherlands, France, Denmark, Finland, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Romania, Greece).
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Sweden is totally opposed to transposition, while Poland, Czechia, Malta, Belgium have partially adopted new rules, ETUC said.
Only three countries have laws in place - Italy, Lithuania and Slovakia - but ETUC does not say whether it fully complies with the directive.
MEP Li Andersson, chair of the employment committee at the European Parliament, said: “It is high time EU countries lived up to the obligation set out in this directive and implemented its rules.”
MEP Lina Gálvez, chair of the gender equality committee, added: “The pay transparency directive was a proud moment for me as an MEP, as it aims to empower workers to achieve a fair and equal wage and to raise awareness of gender inequalities that go unnoticed… That most EU member states have failed to meet their own deadline on this is unacceptable.”
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