Directive (EU) 2023/970
EU pay transparency, country by country
Every EU country had to give workers the right to ask how their pay compares, and to make employers of every size answer, by 7 June 2026. Malta, Italy and Slovakia have that right in force, Greece from 1 November 2026 and Flanders for its public sector. Elsewhere the laws are still in parliament or we could not confirm them, and Germany still runs its 2017 law.
- 27 countries, each with its official source
- Checked on 8 October 2026
- Not confirmed means we could not verify it
For workers, free
Ask for your pay information
A letter asking for your own pay level and the average pay, by sex, of colleagues doing the same work or work of equal value. It uses the rule in force in your country, or asks politely where there is none yet.
- Copy it, or download it as a PDF or a text file for email
- Shows the answer deadline and what to do if none comes
Also in Deutsch and Nederlands.
For employers, Pro $99
Answer a request from your payroll
Drop a payroll export, pick the worker who asked, and get their pay level and the averages for women and men in their category, with the answer letter in English, German or Dutch.
- Flags averages that would disclose one colleague's pay
- Answer-by date, a request log, the yearly notice and a criteria template
Categories and headcounts are free; the figures and letters are Pro. Payroll files stay in your browser.
What changes
Before hiring (Article 5)
Applicants get the starting pay or its range, based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, and the relevant collective agreement terms, 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. Check a job ad.
Pay criteria (Article 6)
Workers can easily see the criteria used to set pay, pay levels and pay progression. Countries may exempt employers with fewer than 50 workers from the progression part.
The right to information (Article 7)
Any worker can ask in writing for their own pay level and the average pay levels, by sex, of the category doing the same work or work of equal value. The employer answers within two months at most, reminds all workers of the right every year, and may not stop anyone disclosing their own pay. The yearly notice.
Reporting and joint pay assessment (Articles 9 and 10)
Employers with 100 or more workers report seven pay gap indicators, the first ones by 7 June 2027. Where a category shows a gap of 5% or more that is neither justified on objective, gender-neutral criteria nor remedied within six months, the employer carries out a joint pay assessment with workers' representatives. The reporting rules.
Enforcement (Articles 16, 18 and 23)
Workers can claim full compensation, including back pay. Where an employer has not met its transparency duties, the burden of proving there was no pay discrimination shifts to the employer, and countries set penalties.
For whom
Employers in the public and private sectors, of every size (Article 2(1)), and all workers with an employment contract or relationship (Article 2(2)), including part-time, fixed-term and agency workers (recital 18). Applicants are covered for the rules before hiring (Article 2(3)).
When
- 6 June 2023The directive entered into force, twenty days after it was published on 17 May 2023.
- 7 June 2026The deadline for national law (Article 34). Each country's own law decides when the rights start there.
- 7 June 2027First pay gap reports, on 2026, from employers with 150 or more workers (Article 9(2) and (3)).
- 7 June 2031Employers with 100 to 149 workers report for the first time (Article 9(4)).
The right to pay information in all 27 countries
Status on 8 October 2026, with Lithuania read again on 9 October. Each row names its sources: the national official journal, parliament or ministry where we could read it, and the national transposition measures listed on EUR-Lex. Where we could not verify a country's position on an official source, it says not confirmed.
| Country | Transposed | National act | Right to information applies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austria | No | No federal transposing law. The Equal Treatment Act (GlBG) was last amended by BGBl. I Nr. 115/2023; Styria and Lower Austria notified changes for their own public service. | Not yet. Job ads must already state the collective-agreement minimum pay and any willingness to pay more (§ 9(2) GlBG).RIS, Gleichbehandlungsgesetz (consolidated); EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Belgium | Partly | Flemish Decree of 12 June 2026 on pay transparency, for the Flemish administration, local authorities and education. No federal act for private employers has been notified. | 7 June 2026 for Flemish public employers (Article 6, two months). Not yet for private employers.Flemish Government, decision of 12 June 2026 and decree text; EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Bulgaria | Not confirmed | Bulgaria lists Labour Code amendments (State Gazette No. 16, 10 February 2026) among its notified measures. We have not checked their content. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Croatia | Not confirmed | No measures notified on EUR-Lex. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Cyprus | Not confirmed | No measures notified on EUR-Lex. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Czechia | Not confirmed | Act No. 120/2025 Coll. amending the Labour Code is among the notified measures; full transposition is not confirmed. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Denmark | Not confirmed | No measures notified on EUR-Lex. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Estonia | Not confirmed | Amendments to the Employment Contracts Act (RT I, 03.07.2026, 34) are among the notified measures. We have not checked their content. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Finland | Not confirmed | No measures notified on EUR-Lex. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| France | No, bill before Parliament | Bill No. 944 (2025-2026) transposing the directive, tabled in the Senate on 10 September 2026 under the accelerated procedure. | Not yet. Under the bill, the right starts once the employer has grouped its workers into categories of equal value, and at the latest on a date set by decree; the answer deadline is set by decree, two months at most.Sénat, bill No. 944 (2025-2026); EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Germany | No | No transposing law yet. On 8 July 2026 the government said the bill was still being prepared (BT-Drucksache 21/7026). The Pay Transparency Act of 2017 (EntgTranspG) still applies. | Not yet under the directive. Today § 10 EntgTranspG gives a right to information in establishments with more than 200 employees.Bundestag, Drucksache 21/7026 (government answer of 8 July 2026); Entgelttransparenzgesetz, gesetze-im-internet.de; EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Greece | Yes | Law 5316/2026 (Government Gazette A’ 105, 6 July 2026), which adds Article 56A to the Labour Law Code. | 1 November 2026 (Article 48(2)); answer within two months.Law 5316/2026, Government Gazette A’ 105 (EUR-Lex copy); EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Hungary | Not confirmed | No measures notified on EUR-Lex. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Ireland | Partly | Pay gap reporting (Article 9) runs under the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021. On 30 September 2026 the Minister said legislation for the remaining provisions is still being developed (Dáil written answer). | Not yet in Irish law.Dáil Éireann, written answer 155 of 30 September 2026. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Italy | Yes | Legislative Decree No. 96 of 7 May 2026 (Official Gazette No. 125, 1 June 2026). | 7 June 2026 (Article 7); answer within two months, one request a year.Normattiva, Legislative Decree No. 96 of 7 May 2026; EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Latvia | Not confirmed | No measures notified on EUR-Lex. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Lithuania | Not confirmed | Labour Code amendment No. XV-969 of 21 May 2026 (Register of Legal Acts 2026-08785), in force from 7 June 2026, with some articles from 26 May 2026 and 1 January 2027. Its text is published as a scan, so we could not check which provision gives the right to information. | Not confirmedRegister of Legal Acts (e-TAR), Law No. XV-969; EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 9 October 2026. |
| Luxembourg | Not confirmed | No measures notified on EUR-Lex. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Malta | Yes | Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 173 of 2026). | 5 June 2026 (regulation 6); the employer answers within eight days.Legislation Malta, L.N. 173 of 2026; EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Netherlands | No, bill before Parliament | Bill 36 949 (Wet implementatie Richtlijn loontransparantie mannen en vrouwen), submitted to the House of Representatives on 21 May 2026. | Not yet. The government aims for 1 January 2027 if both chambers pass the bill.Tweede Kamer, bill 36 949; Rijksoverheid, plans for pay transparency. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Poland | Partly | Labour Code amendment of 4 June 2025 (Dz.U. 2025 item 807): pay information for applicants and no questions about pay history. The rest is in draft bill UC127. | Not yet. The applicant rules apply since 24 December 2025; the government plans to adopt the draft bill in the fourth quarter of 2026.Sejm, Dz.U. 2025 item 807 (Labour Code amendment); Chancellery of the Prime Minister, draft bill UC127; EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Portugal | Not confirmed | No measures notified on EUR-Lex. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Romania | Not confirmed | Only laws that predate the directive are among the notified measures. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Slovakia | Yes | Act No. 76/2026 Coll. on equal pay for men and women for the same work or work of equal value. | 7 June 2026 (section 6); answer within two months.Act No. 76/2026 Coll. (EUR-Lex copy); EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Slovenia | Not confirmed | Only laws that predate the directive are among the notified measures. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Spain | No | No transposing law notified; only existing laws such as Royal Decree 902/2020 on equal pay. | Not yet. Workers can already see the pay register through their legal representatives (Article 28(2) of the Workers’ Statute).BOE, Workers’ Statute, Article 28; BOE, Royal Decree 902/2020; EUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
| Sweden | Not confirmed | Only laws that predate the directive are among the notified measures. | Not confirmedEUR-Lex, national transposition measures for Directive (EU) 2023/970. Checked 8 October 2026. |
EUR-Lex lists what each country has notified to the Commission, which can include laws that predate the directive. A notified measure is not by itself proof that a country has transposed the directive in full, so the table reads the national text wherever we could open it. Not legal advice.
Questions
Does the directive apply to small employers?
Yes. It applies to employers in the public and private sectors of every size (Article 2). The pay information rules (Articles 5 to 7) cover all of them; countries may exempt employers with fewer than 50 workers from publishing pay progression criteria (Article 6(2)). Pay gap reporting starts at 100 workers (Article 9).
Is the answer always due within two months?
Two months is the longest the directive allows (Article 7(4)), and countries can set less. Malta gives employers eight days. Germany's current Pay Transparency Act, which is not the directive, allows three months.
Can a worker find out what a named colleague earns?
No. The answer gives averages for the women and the men in the worker's category. Where an average would reveal one person's pay, a country can route that figure only to workers' representatives, the labour inspectorate or the equality body (Article 12(3)).
What does 'not confirmed' mean in the table?
We could not confirm on an official source whether that country has put the right to information into force. We list what EUR-Lex shows the country has notified and do not guess. The request letter for those countries cites the directive and claims no national rule.
How often is the table checked?
Each row carries its sources, and the whole table was checked on 8 October 2026. EUR-Lex updates its list of national measures weekly; national parliaments publish their bills and acts as they pass.
The pay transparency kit
Sources: Directive (EU) 2023/970, OJ L 132, 17.5.2023, Articles 2 to 10, 12, 16, 18, 23, 34 and 37, recital 18; the national sources in each row of the table. Last checked 8 October 2026. This page explains the directive and national rules; it is not legal advice.