What the directive says
Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2023/970 applies to employers that report pay gaps under Article 9. A joint pay assessment is required only when all three conditions are met:
- the pay reporting shows a difference in average pay between women and men of at least 5% in any category of workers,
- the employer has not justified that difference with objective, gender-neutral criteria, and
- the employer has not remedied the unjustified difference within six months of submitting the report.
The joint pay assessment shall be carried out in order to identify, remedy and prevent differences in pay between female and male workers which are not justified on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria […]
Directive (EU) 2023/970, Article 10(2)
Read the full article in the official text on EUR-Lex. National laws set the procedure, so check your country’s rules before you plan one.
What it means in practice
The 5% applies per category
The test is the difference in average pay level between women and men within one category of workers doing the same work or work of equal value. The organisation-wide gap does not trigger it on its own.
Justify or remedy first
A gap of 5% or more does not lead to an assessment if the employer justifies it with objective, gender-neutral criteria, or remedies it within six months of reporting. Statistically explained is not the same as justified.
What the assessment contains
The directive lists its content: the proportion of women and men in each category, their average pay and variable components, the differences, the reasons for them as established jointly with workers’ representatives, the proportion of workers whose pay improved after returning from leave, measures to address unjustified differences, and an evaluation of earlier measures.
Who sees it
The employer makes the assessment available to workers and their representatives and sends it to the national monitoring body. The labour inspectorate and equality body can see it on request.
After the assessment
The employer remedies unjustified differences within a reasonable time in close cooperation with workers’ representatives. This includes analysing or setting up gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems.
Country by country
The threshold, the procedure and any penalty for not carrying out the assessment depend on national law. The table comes from our tracker and changes when a country’s law moves.
| Country | Joint pay assessment trigger | Reporting threshold | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | 5.0% | 100 | Partly in force |
| Belgium | 5.0% | 100 | Partly in force |
| Bulgaria | 5.0% | 100 | Published draft |
| Croatia | No national rule identified | No national rule identified | In preparation |
| Cyprus | 5.0% | 100 | Published draft |
| Czechia | 5.0% | 100 | Partly in force |
| Denmark | 5.0% | 100 | Published draft |
| Estonia | No national JPA trigger identified | No national reporting threshold identified | Partly in force |
| Finland | 5.0% | 100 | Published draft |
| France | – | 50 | Published draft |
| Germany | – | More than 500 under existing EntgTranspG | In preparation |
| Greece | 5.0% | 100 | Adopted |
| Hungary | – | – | In preparation |
| Ireland | No national JPA trigger identified | 50 | Published draft |
| Italy | 5.0% | 100 | In force |
| Latvia | 5.0% | 100 | Published draft |
| Lithuania | 5.0% | 100 | In force |
| Luxembourg | – | – | In preparation |
| Malta | 5.0% | 100 | In force |
| Netherlands | 5.0% | 100 | Published draft |
| Poland | 5.0% | 100 | Partly in force |
| Portugal | 5.0% | 50 | Published draft |
| Romania | 5.0% | 100 | Published draft |
| Slovakia | 5.0% | 100 | In force |
| Slovenia | – | – | In preparation |
| Spain | No fixed percentage threshold identified in published draft | 50 | Published draft |
| Sweden | No percentage JPA trigger identified under current law | No Directive-specific reporting threshold identified; annual pay mapping applies under existing law | Paused |
How to prepare
- Run the category gaps before you report, so you see which categories are at or above 5%.
- Document justifications with objective, gender-neutral reasons for each gap you can justify.
- Plan corrections early for gaps you cannot justify, so they can be remedied within six months of reporting.
- Agree the process with workers’ representatives in advance, since the assessment is joint.
- Review your job evaluation: the remedy includes checking that categories rest on gender-neutral criteria.
Questions employers ask
Evenpay shows which categories pass the 5% line and keeps the justification for each gap with the figures, so you can see early where an assessment could follow. See how pay gap justifications work.