The right to equal pay between men and women for equal work or work of equal value has been a founding principle of the European Union since the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Despite the legal framework, the effective implementation of this principle remains a major challenge in the European Union.
As a measure to address this matter, the European Parliament and Council reached a political agreement specifically to propose measures that ensure pay transparency. The proposed directive also has the objective of improving access to justice for workers who are victims of pay discrimination.
The proposed directive provides that employers will be required to provide information about the initial pay level or its range in the job vacancy notice or before the job interview and will not be allowed to ask prospective workers about their pay history. On the other hand, employees will have the right to request the employer to provide information about their individual pay level and on the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for categories of workers doing the same work or work of equal value.
Furthermore, employers with at least 100 employees will be obliged to publish information on the pay gap between female and male workers. In the event that such pay reporting reveals a gender pay gap of at least 5% which cannot be objectively justified, employers will have to carry out a pay assessment together with workers’ representatives.
In terms of access to justice, workers who suffered gender pay discrimination may receive compensation including full recovery of back pay and related bonuses or payments in kind. The burden of proof rests with the employer to prove that there was no discrimination in this regard. In cases of infringement of the equal pay rule, the proposed directive also provides that Member States should establish specific penalties including fines.
Once formally approved, the Directive will enter into force 20 days after publication in the Official Journal. As a result, Member States will then need to transpose the new elements of the Directive into national law within three years.
