The EU Pay Transparency Directive

How the directive works across 27 countries

Directive (EU) 2023/970 sets a common framework across 27 member states. Each country implements its requirements through national legislation, which may be stricter than the directive’s baseline. All member states were subject to the same implementation deadline.

Four areas matter most for employers. Review each against the national rules in the countries where you employ people.

1. Transparency in hiring, for every employer. Candidates must receive the starting pay or pay range before the interview, subject to the applicable national rules. You cannot ask about their current or past pay, and job ads and titles must be gender-neutral. These hiring requirements apply across employer sizes under national implementation.
2. A worker’s right to pay information, at any employer size. Employees can request their own pay level and average pay levels, broken down by sex, for workers performing the same work or work of equal value. Employers must respond within two months.
3. Gender pay-gap reporting, phased by headcount. Employers at and above set sizes calculate and publish gender pay statistics on a schedule that starts in 2027. Reporting requirements depend on employee headcount.
4. When a pay gap requires further review. A reported gap of at least 5% in a worker category can require a joint pay assessment when the employer cannot justify the difference and has not corrected it within six months. Pay has to rest on objective, gender-neutral criteria: skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.

Hiring transparency and employee pay-information rights apply to employers of any size. Headcount determines which employers must report. The 5% joint pay assessment requirement applies to employers subject to reporting. Each requirement is implemented through national law, which may set lower thresholds or impose additional obligations.

Implementation across EU countries

EU member states were required to implement the directive by 7 June 2026. The European Commission confirmed in April 2026 that the deadline would remain in place.

Implementation has varied by country. The figures below come from the Lockton tracker dated 23 September 2026 and the Eversheds Sutherland snapshot dated 28 September 2026.

Fully transposed 5 of 27 countries

Italy, Lithuania, Malta, and Slovakia had implementing legislation in force on 7 June 2026. Greece followed with Law No. 5316, effective 6 July 2026.

Partly transposed 2 of 27 countries

Estonia and Poland had legislation covering part of the directive, with further implementation expected.

Published draft legislation 13 of 27 countries

Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, and Sweden.

No published draft 7 of 27 countries

Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, and Slovenia. Germany had prepared a draft that had not been made public.

Several countries expected to implement the directive after the deadline. The Netherlands indicated around January 2027, while France indicated late 2026.

After 7 June 2026, a precise and unconditional provision of the directive can be relied on directly against the State or a public body, even where national implementation is late. This is known as direct effect. A claim between a private employer and a worker still runs on the national law once it exists.

Build your plan country by country. Review pay structures, hiring practices, employee request procedures, and reporting information. Use the September 2026 figures as a reference point and confirm implementation status wherever you employ people.

Pay ranges and hiring

The directive’s hiring-transparency provisions apply to employers of any size. Three requirements matter:

• Candidates must receive the starting pay or pay range before the interview.
• Employers may not ask about current or past pay.
• Job advertisements and job titles must be gender-neutral.

Share the starting pay or pay range early enough for candidates to consider it before the interview.

Several national drafts require the pay range in the job advertisement, going beyond the directive’s baseline requirement. Check the disclosure requirement in each country where you recruit.

Responding to employee pay requests

Employees can request their own pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for the category of workers doing the same work as them or work of equal value to theirs. Employers must respond within two months.

Jobs can qualify as work of equal value even when their titles differ. Comparisons must use objective criteria: skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions.

Employers must group workers using those criteria rather than job titles or reporting structures. The resulting categories support employee pay-information requests and gender pay reports.

Reporting deadlines by employer size

Gender pay reporting begins at different times depending on employee headcount. National legislation may establish additional requirements.

The first reporting deadline is in 2027 for employers with at least 150 employees and in 2031 for employers with 100 to 149 employees.

Headcount is counted within each member state. For example, a company headquartered outside the EU with 150 employees in one member state reports under that country’s law. National law may set reporting thresholds below 100 employees.

Gender pay reports include several measures of pay differences. They set out the mean and median gender pay gap in base pay, and the mean and median gap in variable or complementary pay. They also show the share of women and men who receive variable pay, the share of women and men in each pay quartile, and the gap between categories of workers doing equal work or work of equal value. The report is submitted to the national authority and is made public. These figures are available to employees, candidates, and the public.

Reviewing a 5% pay gap

A reported gender pay gap of 5% or more in a worker category can require further assessment. The first question is whether the employer can justify the difference on objective, gender-neutral grounds.

If the employer cannot justify the difference and has not corrected it within six months, a joint pay assessment with worker representatives is required. The employer must take the required action based on the assessment findings.

Use objective pay criteria to explain lawful differences and identify those that need correction. Base comparisons on skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions. Document the reasons for reported pay differences and address those that require correction.

Enforcement and documentation

The directive strengthens employees’ ability to challenge pay discrimination and changes the burden-of-proof rules.

When a worker presents facts suggesting pay discrimination, the employer must prove there was none. Where the employer has not met its transparency duties, it carries that burden from the start.

Compensation under the directive is uncapped and may include full recovery of back pay and related amounts. National enforcement measures can include administrative penalties and consequences for public procurement. Keep records of job evaluation criteria, compensation decisions, pay progression practices, and the reasons for differences between comparable roles.

Where employers should start

• Review the legislation in each EU country where you employ people. The directive establishes a shared framework across 27 member states, but national laws may impose stricter requirements.
• Organize your pay structures, job categories, and supporting records for each country. After the deadline, a precise provision of the directive can be relied on against the State even where national implementation is late. Review pay practices and assemble the records needed for national requirements.
• Distinguish requirements that apply to every employer from those based on headcount. Gender pay-gap reporting thresholds depend on employer size. Pay transparency in hiring and the worker’s right to pay information apply at any headcount, including small teams in a single member state.
• Account for employees throughout your EU operations. The rules follow employees who are based in the EU, at subsidiaries, branches, and remote roles, and, once incorporated into the EEA Agreement, they reach Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway too. A company headquartered outside the EU with enough employees in a member state is in scope for that location.