On 17 May 2023 Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023 was published. By means of pay transparency and corresponding enforcement mechanisms, this Directive should now bring about a turnaround in the long-standing efforts to guarantee the principle of equal pay for equal work throughout the EU.
The Directive entered into force on 6 June 2023 and Member States must implement it within 3 years, by 7 June 2026.
This Directive aims to improve equal pay between men and women through greater pay transparency and better access to justice in the event of unequal pay.
The Directive provides for a reporting obligation on the gender pay gap between female and male workers in their organisation for large employers (100+ employees). Companies with more than 250 employees will be required to report annually to the relevant national authority. For smaller organisations (initially those with over 150 employees), the reporting obligation will take place every three years.
The Directive also provides for better access to information for job applicants, workers and their representatives, a shift of the burden of proof (of equal pay) to the employer in pay discrimination cases, and an obligation for Member States to introduce effective and appropriate sanctions for non-compliance, including fines.
For more information we refer to the website of the European Council and the website of the European Parliament. For information in Dutch we refer to this publication by the Dutch government.
