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Pay transparency in Bulgaria

Published draft Last verified 7 August 2026 High confidence

  • Pay information requests Pending

    Employees can ask for their own pay level and the averages for colleagues doing equal or equal-value work, broken down by sex.

Bulgaria is still at the draft stage of implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive. The government published draft amendments to the Protection against Discrimination Act, which would carry the directive’s requirements into national law, and ran a public consultation on the text in May and June 2026.

No final, enacted measure has been identified yet. That means the core employer obligations you’ll eventually need to meet, like pay information rights, salary ranges in job postings, and gender pay gap reporting, are proposed but not yet in force.

The proposed scope is nationwide and covers both public and private employment. Until Parliament adopts a final version, treat everything in the draft as subject to change.

The measure

Law or measure
Draft amendments to the Protection against Discrimination Act implementing Directive (EU) 2023/970
Core obligations start
Pending
Who is covered
Proposed rules cover public and private employment

What the law requires

We are still verifying the detailed requirements against official sources. The confirmed facts appear in the summary above and under Sources.

How Bulgaria differs from the Directive

A government draft was publicly consulted in May-June 2026; no enacted final measure was identified.

What this means for employers

Because Bulgaria’s rules are still a draft, you are not yet legally required to act. But the direction is clear enough that waiting until a final law appears is risky, especially since several specific rules (the pay information right, salary range requirements, and any salary history ban) haven’t been confirmed in detail yet.

  • Track the consultation outcome: the draft went through public consultation in 2026, and revisions are possible before adoption.
  • Start mapping your recruitment process: if a salary-range disclosure rule is confirmed, you’ll want job postings and interview scripts ready to adjust.
  • Review what you tell employees about pay: an eventual pay information right would let workers ask about pay levels, so it helps to know now what data you could produce.
  • Watch the two enforcement bodies: the Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Commission for Protection against Discrimination are both named in connection with this measure, and the Commission is Bulgaria’s equality body.
  • Don’t set a reporting calendar yet: first reporting deadlines for larger and mid-size employers have not been researched or confirmed, so avoid committing to dates that aren’t yet defined.

The most useful thing you can do right now is prepare the groundwork, recruitment practices, pay data, and internal communication, without assuming the current draft text is final.

Enforcement and open questions

Competent authority
Ministry of Labour and Social Policy; Commission for Protection against Discrimination
Equality body
Commission for Protection against Discrimination
What could still change
The consultation page is official but the final parliamentary/adoption status remains unresolved.

Common questions

Is Bulgaria's pay transparency law already in force?

No. It is a published draft amendment to the Protection against Discrimination Act, which would implement EU Directive 2023/970, and it went through public consultation in May and June 2026. No final enacted measure has been identified, so core employer obligations remain pending.

Who will enforce pay transparency rules in Bulgaria?

The Ministry of Labour and Social Policy and the Commission for Protection against Discrimination are both named as relevant authorities. The Commission also serves as Bulgaria's equality body. Their specific enforcement roles will depend on the final adopted text.

What will Bulgaria's pay transparency rules cover once adopted?

The proposed rules would apply nationwide, across both public and private employment. Details on the pay information right, salary ranges in job postings, and any salary history ban have not yet been researched or confirmed in the published draft.

When do gender pay gap reporting deadlines start in Bulgaria?

First reporting due dates for employers with 250 or more staff, and for those with 100 to 149 staff, have not been researched yet. The overall start date for core obligations is currently listed as pending, so no deadlines can be confirmed.

Is Bulgaria going further than the EU directive requires?

It's currently unclear whether Bulgaria's draft goes beyond the minimum requirements of the EU Pay Transparency Directive. This will only become clear once a final law is adopted and its text can be compared against the directive.

Author

Julius Aho

Co-founder, CTO

Julius Aho is the co-founder and CTO of Evenpay. At Evenpay he is responsible for product, engineering and AI, building the tools that make fair pay the default.