QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
EU Pay Transparency Directive FAQ
Short answers to the questions employers ask most often about Directive (EU) 2023/970. For more detail, read the full guide.
What is the EU Pay Transparency Directive?
It is Directive (EU) 2023/970, an EU law that strengthens equal pay for equal work through pay transparency. It gives workers and job applicants the right to pay information, requires larger employers to report their gender pay gap, and limits pay secrecy. It was adopted on 10 May 2023 and entered into force on 6 June 2023.
When does the EU Pay Transparency Directive take effect?
EU Member States must transpose the Directive into national law by 7 June 2026. Gender pay gap reporting is then phased in: employers with 150 or more workers report for the first time by 7 June 2027, and employers with 100 to 149 workers by 7 June 2031.
Which employers does it apply to?
The equal-pay and transparency rules apply to public and private employers of all sizes. Some duties, such as providing a salary range to candidates, apply regardless of size, while gender pay gap reporting applies to larger employers first. National laws may extend obligations to smaller employers.
What must be disclosed to job applicants?
Candidates have the right to know the starting salary or pay range for the role before the interview, either in the job advertisement or beforehand. Job ads and titles must be gender-neutral, and the recruitment process must not discriminate.
Can employers still ask about salary history?
No. Under the Directive, employers may not ask applicants about their current or previous pay. This is intended to prevent past pay gaps from following a worker into a new job.
What is gender pay gap reporting?
Larger employers must report the difference in average pay between female and male workers, including variable pay and the gap across categories of workers. The largest employers report annually; employers with 150 to 249 workers report every three years. If an unjustified gap of 5% or more in any category is not corrected within six months, a joint pay assessment is required.
What is a joint pay assessment?
It is a review an employer carries out together with workers' representatives when reporting reveals an average pay gap of at least 5% in a category of workers that cannot be justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria and has not been fixed within six months. It identifies the causes of the gap and the measures needed to close it.
What does 'work of equal value' mean?
Work of equal value is assessed using objective criteria — skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions — rather than job title alone. Two different roles can be of equal value, and therefore attract equal pay, if these criteria are comparable.
Ready to check your readiness?
Run the free assessment for a country-by-country summary and a downloadable PDF report.