Press release from the EP
– Women in the European Union earn, on average, 13% less than men who occupy the same job;
– Salaries will no longer be secret: workers will have the right to information regarding salaries for their professional activity category;
– Dissuasive sanctions, including fines, for employers who do not comply with the rules;
Companies will have to take action if the pay gap between women and men exceeds 5%.
The new legislation will require EU companies to disclose information to employees useful in order to compare salaries and expose gender pay gaps.
The European Parliament adopted the new rules in plenary with 427 votes for, 79 once morest and 76 abstentions. Thus, salary structures that compare remuneration levels will have to be characterized by gender neutrality, both regarding the criteria that underlie them and the evaluation and job classification systems. Vacancy announcements and job titles will also need to be gender neutral and recruitment processes must be conducted in a non-discriminatory manner.
Where remuneration reporting indicates a gender pay gap of at least 5%, employers will need to assess wages with their workers’ representatives. Member States will have to put in place effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, such as fines, for employers who break the rules. A worker who has suffered an injury due to a violation of the rules will have the right to seek compensation. For the first time, multiple discrimination and the rights of non-binary people have been included in the scope of the new rules.
Prohibition of salary secrecy
The rules provide that workers and workers’ representatives will have the right to receive clear and complete information regarding individual and average wage levels, broken down by gender. Wage secrecy will be prohibited, as there should be no contractual clauses preventing workers from disclosing their pay or requesting information regarding the same or other pay categories of workers.
There is a transfer of the burden of proof
Regarding matters related to remuneration, the burden of proof is transferred from the worker to the employer. If a worker considers that the principle of equal pay has not been applied and goes to court, national law should oblige the employer to prove that there has been no discrimination.
Interventions in the debates
Samira Rafaela (Renew Europe, Netherlands), from the Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, said: “I have made it a priority to guarantee the most inclusive and effective wage transparency measures for workers. We won not only the introduction of mandatory measures to eliminate the gender pay gap, but also for all citizens of the European Union to benefit from new rights, recognition of their situation and protection once morest pay discrimination. Non-binary people have the same right to information as men and women. I am proud that with this directive we have for the first time defined multiple discrimination in European law and included it as an aggravating circumstance when setting sanctions.”
Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Greens/ALE, Denmark), from the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, said: “This legislation makes it clear that we do not accept any kind of pay discrimination between women and men in the European Union. Over time, women’s work has been undervalued and underpaid, and with this directive we are taking an important step to ensure equal pay for work of equal value. I am very proud that Parliament has succeeded in expanding the scope, strengthening the role of the social partners and ensuring strong individual and collective rights.”
Next steps
The Council will have to formally approve the agreement before the text is signed and published in the Official Journal of the European Union. The new rules will enter into force twenty days following their publication.
The principle of equal remuneration is provided for in Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. However, in the European Union there is still a pay gap between women and men of approximately 13%, with significant variations between member states. It has decreased only very slightly in the last ten years.
