Skip to content
Directive (EU) 2023/970

EU Pay Transparency Directive by country

Where every member state stands, and when employees gain the right to ask what their colleagues earn. Verified against official gazettes and ministry sources.

Last checked 6 November 2026 27 countries tracked

Subscribe to country updates

The darker the country, the further its law has moved. Hover to preview, click a country for its details. The darker the country, the further its law has moved. Tap a country for its details.

Austria Partly in force Austria has only implemented the EU Pay Transparency Directive's procurement rules; core employer obligations remain pending. Track progress here. Obligations start Pending Last update 4 Nov 2026 Belgium Partly in force In Belgium, covered workers can request pay information and get a reply within two months. See what's in force and what's still pending nationally. Obligations start Pending Last update 4 Nov 2026 Bulgaria Published draft Track Bulgaria's proposed EU Pay Transparency Directive rules: draft law status, employer obligations, and how to prepare before final adoption. Obligations start Pending Last update 4 Nov 2026 Croatia Published draft Croatia's pay transparency rules are still in official preparation. No draft law is published yet, and employer obligations remain pending. See what to track. Obligations start Pending Last update 3 Nov 2026 Cyprus Published draft Cyprus's pay transparency law is still a published draft. Employee pay information rights and reporting deadlines are not yet defined or in force. Obligations start Pending Last update 5 Nov 2026 Czechia Partly in force Czechia's pay-secrecy ban is in force since June 2025; a wider pay-transparency proposal covering pay ranges and reporting is still pending. Obligations start 1 Jun 2025 Last update 4 Nov 2026 Denmark Published draft Denmark's proposed Equal Pay Act reform would let employees request their pay level and sex-based averages, with employer reporting from 2028. Obligations start 1 Mar 2027 Last update 16 Oct 2026 Estonia Partly in force Estonia requires employers to disclose salary ranges and bans salary-history questions from 13 July 2026, while reporting rules remain paused and undefined. Obligations start 13 Jul 2026 Last update 4 Nov 2026 Finland Published draft Finland's proposed law would give employees a right to request pay information, with a two-month employer response deadline under HE 129/2026 vp. Obligations start 1 Jan 2027 Last update 4 Nov 2026 France Published draft France's pay transparency law is still in draft form. See what's confirmed, what's proposed, and how the existing 50+ employee Equality Index applies now. Obligations start Pending Last update 3 Nov 2026 Germany In preparation Employees in Germany already have a right to pay information under existing law, while EU Directive transposition remains in official preparation. Obligations start Unclear Last update 3 Nov 2026 Greece In force From 1 Nov 2026, employees in Greece can request their pay level and average pay by sex. See what Law 5316/2026 means for your reporting and hiring timeline. Obligations start 1 Nov 2026 Last update 4 Nov 2026 Hungary In preparation Hungary has no Directive-specific measure yet. Employee pay information rights and salary range rules remain undefined; the Labour Code baseline still applies. Obligations start Pending Last update 3 Nov 2026 Ireland Published draft Ireland runs gender pay gap reporting for employers over 50 staff today, while recruitment transparency rules remain a proposed, not yet binding, draft. Obligations start Pending Last update 4 Nov 2026 Italy In force In Italy, employees can request average pay levels by sex for equal-value roles, with a two-month written reply. Here's what employers need to know now. Obligations start 7 Jun 2026 Last update 4 Nov 2026 Latvia Published draft Latvia's pay transparency law is still a draft; employee pay information rights aren't yet defined. Track Cabinet and Saeima stages to prepare early. Obligations start Pending Last update 3 Nov 2026 Lithuania Partly in force Employees in Lithuania can already request their own and average pay by sex for their job category, with a two-month employer response deadline. Obligations start 7 Jun 2026 Last update 3 Nov 2026 Luxembourg In preparation Luxembourg has no public bill transposing the EU Pay Transparency Directive yet. See what's confirmed, what's pending, and how to prepare. Obligations start Pending Last update 4 Nov 2026 Malta In force Employees in Malta can request individual and average pay data; employers must respond within 8 days. See what Malta's in-force rules mean for you. Obligations start 5 Jun 2026 Last update 3 Nov 2026 Netherlands Published draft Track the Netherlands' proposed EU Pay Transparency Directive rules: reporting thresholds, timelines and what HR teams should watch before the bill becomes law. Obligations start 1 Jan 2027 Last update 5 Nov 2026 Poland Partly in force Poland's pay information right is still proposed, but recruitment pay transparency rules are already in force. Check what applies now and what's next. Obligations start 24 Dec 2025 Last update 4 Nov 2026 Portugal Published draft Employees in Portugal could gain the right to see their own pay and average pay by sex, once a draft law amending Law 60/2018 is adopted by parliament. Obligations start Pending Last update 3 Nov 2026 Romania Published draft Romania's pay transparency law is still a draft in Senate committee, with a 5% pay gap trigger proposed. See what HR teams should track and prepare now. Obligations start Pending Last update 3 Nov 2026 Slovakia In force In Slovakia, employees can request their pay level and sex-disaggregated pay averages; employers must respond within 2 months under the in-force law. Obligations start 7 Jun 2026 Last update 4 Nov 2026 Slovenia In preparation Slovenia has no Directive-specific transposition measure yet. See what the existing ZDR-1 equal-pay baseline requires and what remains undefined. Obligations start Unclear Last update 3 Nov 2026 Spain Published draft Spain's draft law would give employees a right to pay information within two months, on top of existing pay-register rules. Here's what to prepare. Obligations start Pending Last update 4 Nov 2026 Sweden Paused Sweden's Pay Transparency Directive implementation is paused pending EU renegotiation. Learn what employers must still track and prepare for now. Obligations start Postponed Last update 4 Nov 2026

What the directive requires from employers

Directive (EU) 2023/970 makes pay structures visible and gives employees the means to check equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. Each member state writes it into national law, so the details below differ by country.

  • Pay in recruitmentStarting pay or its range in time to negotiate, and no questions about pay history.
  • Right to pay informationEmployees can ask for their pay level and the averages for their category, by sex.
  • Pay gap reportingSeven measures from 100 workers, yearly from 250.
  • Joint pay assessmentRequired when an unjustified gap of 5% or more in a category is not fixed within six months.
  • Work of equal valueRoles compared with objective, gender-neutral criteria: skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions.
  • Pay setting and progressionThe criteria for pay and pay progression must be accessible to employees.
  • EnforcementCompensation, a shifted burden of proof and national penalties.

The directive in more detail

The Pay Transparency Directive was adopted in 2023 to close the gender pay gap where it comes from: pay that is set without clear criteria and kept out of sight. It applies to employers in the public and private sectors and to all workers with an employment contract or relationship. The country pages above show how far each national law has moved.

Work of equal value

Equal pay covers identical jobs and different jobs of equal value. Roles are compared with objective, gender-neutral criteria such as skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions. Most obligations in the directive work per category of workers doing the same work or work of equal value, so grouping roles into such categories comes first.

Before employment

Applicants receive the starting pay or its range in time to negotiate on pay, for example in the job ad or before the interview, employers may not ask about pay history, and job ads and titles must be gender-neutral. Pay in recruitment, country by country.

During employment

Employees can see the criteria used to set their pay and pay progression, and they can request their own pay level and the averages for their category, broken down by sex. Employers answer within two months and remind everyone of the right once a year. Clauses that stop employees from disclosing their own pay are prohibited. Right to pay information, country by country.

Pay gap reporting and joint pay assessment

Employers with 100 or more workers report seven pay gap measures, every year from 250 workers and every three years below that. A gap of at least 5% in a category that is neither justified nor remedied within six months leads to a joint pay assessment with workers’ representatives. Pay gap reporting, country by country.

Enforcement

Workers who suffered pay discrimination have the right to full compensation, including back pay. When an employer has not met its transparency obligations, the burden of proof shifts to the employer, unless the breach was manifestly unintentional and minor. Limitation periods are at least three years, and member states set penalties, including fines, that must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

How to prepare

  • Build a job architecture that groups roles into categories of equal value.
  • Document pay criteria for setting pay and for progression.
  • Set ranges for every role so recruitment can share them.
  • Analyse gaps per category and record which ones you can justify.
  • Set up a process for pay information requests and the annual notice.
  • Follow your country’s law: the timing and details come from national transposition.

Questions about the directive

All employers in the public and private sectors. Some obligations depend on size: pay gap reporting starts at 100 workers, and member states may exempt employers with fewer than 50 workers from making pay progression criteria accessible.

Guides for employers

Get notified when a country moves

We verify every change against official sources before it reaches this tracker. Follow the countries that matter to you and the same updates land in your inbox.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Consent(Required)

Legislation updates only, no marketing. Unsubscribe any time.

Latest updates

All updates