Transparency of remunerations

1. The European Parliament and the Council of the European Union adopted the provisions on pay transparency, i.e. Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of May 10, 2023 on strengthening the application of the principle of an equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of an equal value through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (hereinafter referred to as “the Directive”).
2. The Directive was adopted to ensure greater effectiveness of the provisions prohibiting a pay discrimination on grounds of sex.
3. Pursuant to recital (18) of the Directive, the Directive is to apply to all workers, including part-time workers, workers employed on the basis of fixed-term contracts and persons employed under an employment contract or by a temporary employment agency or with such an agency in an employment relationship, as well as employees in managerial positions.
4. The Directive obliges EU countries to implement the provisions necessary to implement the Directive by June 7, 2026.

NEW RIGHTS OF WORKERS AND OBLIGATIONS OF EMPLOYERS UNDER THE DIRECTIVE

5. Obligation to provide job seekers with the starting salary level or the range for a given position in job advertisements or before a job interview.
6. Prohibition on asking candidates about the amount of their remuneration from their current or previous employers.
7. Employee’s right to be informed about the average pay levels and the criteria for determining pay, pay levels and pay progression, which criteria should be objective and gender neutral.
8. Ban on employees not disclosing the amount of remuneration they receive, including introducing clauses prohibiting the disclosure of the remuneration into contracts with employees.
9. Obligation for employers to have tools (remuneration structures, job classifications) enabling comparison of the value of a different job positions within the same organizational structure and ensuring an equal remuneration for the same work or work of the same value.
10. Obligation to archive the remuneration structures, because the comparative remuneration assessment may also cover employees employed at some other times.
11. Obligation to provide employees or their representatives with information on the gender pay gap and to explain the pay differences within a reasonable time.
12. Obligation – for certain employers – to submit the detailed reports on the pay gap to the public authority designated as competent in those matters.

In certain situations, joint salary assessment in cooperation with an employee’s representatives.