The European Commission has presented a proposal for a directive setting out pay transparency measures, such as pay information for job seekers, a right to know the pay levels for workers doing the same work, as well as gender pay gap reporting obligations for big companies.

The proposal also strengthens the tools for workers to claim their rights and facilitates access to justice. Employers will not be allowed to ask job seekers for their pay history and they will have to provide pay related anonymised data upon employee request. Employees will also have the right to compensation for discrimination in pay.  

The proposed new measures take into account the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The proposal will now go through discussions between the European Parliament and the EU Council. Once adopted, Member States will have two years to transpose the Directive into national law.

More Information

Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms.