Pay Transparency

Overview

The Pay Transparency Directive strengthens the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women, through transparency measures and enforcement mechanisms. The transposition deadline was 7 June 2026. By then, only a few Member States had completed transposition, and Portugal launched a public consultation on draft transposing legislation in August 2026. Employers should prepare now, because the first pay gap reports are due in 2027.

Key obligations

• gender-neutral pay structures: pay structures based on objective criteria, such as skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions (Article 4);

• transparency before employment: candidates must receive information on the initial pay or its range, and employers may not ask about pay history (Article 5);

• transparency of criteria: the criteria used to determine pay, pay levels and pay progression must be accessible to workers, although Member States may exempt employers with fewer than 50 workers from the progression criteria (Article 6);

• right to information: workers may request their individual pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for categories of workers doing the same work or work of equal value, with a reply within two months (Article 7);

• no pay secrecy: workers cannot be prevented from disclosing their pay for the purpose of enforcing equal pay;

• joint pay assessment: required where reporting shows a gap of at least 5% in any category of workers that is not justified by objective criteria and is not remedied within six months (Article 10).

Gender pay gap reporting (Article 9)

• 250 or more workers: first report by 7 June 2027, then every year;

• 150 to 249 workers: first report by 7 June 2027, then every three years;

• 100 to 149 workers: first report by 7 June 2031, then every three years.

National laws may set lower thresholds.

Enforcement

Workers who suffer pay discrimination are entitled to full compensation. The burden of proof shifts to the employer when transparency obligations have not been met, and Member States must set effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties.

How we can help

• Compliance Assessment: a review of job architecture, pay criteria and data readiness;

• Implementation Kits: pay-policy, job-evaluation and information-request templates;

• Training & Capacity: training for HR, recruiters and managers;

• Alerts & Repository: monitoring of national transposition.

Related domains: Corporate Governance · Sustainability (CSRD/CSDDD) · Data Protection · Whistleblower Protection

Official text: Directive (EU) 2023/970 on EUR-Lex

General information as of October 2026; it does not constitute legal advice. Confirm the applicable requirements with the competent authorities.