REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE Report on the implementation of Commission Recommendation on strenghtening the principle of equal pay between men and women through transparency
Date: 2017-11-20
Institutions: Directorate-General for Justice and Consumers, European Commission
Subjects: EU employment policy, audit, collective bargaining, equal pay, equal treatment, gender equality, remuneration of work, sexual discrimination, women's rights, worker information

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 20.11.2017  COM(2017) 671 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE Report on the implementation of Commission Recommendation on strenghtening the principle of equal pay between men and women through transparency  
 
 
Report on the implementation of the Commission Recommendation on strengthening 
the principle of equal pay between men and women through transparency 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

The  principle  of  equal  pay  has  been  enshrined  in  the  EU  treaties  since  1957  and  is 
incorporated  in  Directive  2006/54/EC  on  the  implementation  of  the  principle  of  equal 
opportunities  and  equal  treatment  of  men  and  women  in  matters  of  employment  and 
occupation  (recast)  (‘the  Directive’).1  In  line  with  Article  157  of  the  Treaty  on  the 
Functioning  of  the  European  Union  (TFEU),  the  Directive  states  that  for  the  same  work  or 
work to which equal value is attributed, direct and indirect discrimination on grounds of sex 
with regard to all aspects and conditions of remuneration must be eliminated. This principle 
also applies to job classification systems used for determining pay and has been incorporated 
into the national legal systems of all Member States.  

Although the equal pay principle has been an integral part of the Treaties for almost 60 years 
and has since been further developed in EU and national laws, the 2013 Commission Report 
reviewing  the  application  of  the  Directive  in  Member  States2  concluded  that  the  practical 
application  of  equal  pay  provisions  in  Member  States  is  one  of  the  Directive’s  most 
problematic areas. The Report stated that the main obstacles to effectively implementing the 
equal  pay  principle  are:  the  lack  of  transparency  in  pay  systems;  the  lack  of  legal  certainty 
with regard to the concept of work of equal value either because that term is not defined or 
because  there  are  no  clear  assessment  criteria  for  comparing  different  jobs;  and  procedural 
obstacles.  

The  lack  of  proper  implementation  of  the  equal  pay  principle  feeds  into  the  persistent  high 
gender pay gap, which currently stands at 16.3 % across the EU.3 Gender pay discrimination, 
i.e. women being paid less than men for the same work or for work of equal value, is one of 
the  important  factors  contributing to  the  overall  gender  pay  gap,  together  with  other  factors 
such as occupational and vertical segregation.4  

In March 2014, the European Commission adopted a Recommendation on strengthening the 
principle  of  equal  pay  between  men  and  women 
(‘the 
Recommendation’).5 It provides guidance aiming to help Member States implement the equal 
pay  principle  more  effectively  in  order  to  combat  pay  discrimination  and  contribute  to 
tackling  the  persistent  gender  pay  gap  focusing  on  but  not  exclusively  limited  to  measures 
enhancing pay transparency.  

transparency 

through 

Member  States  were  invited  to  notify  the  Commission  of  measures  taken  to  implement  the 
Recommendation  by  31  December  2015.6  This  report  is  largely  based  on  information 
provided  by  them.7  It  also  includes  information  from  key  stakeholders,  in  particular,  the 

1 
2  
3 
4  

5     
6     
7  

OJ L 204, 26.7.2006, p. 23-36. 
COM(2013) 861 final. 
Eurostat 2015. 
The  gender  pay  gap  is  caused  by  several  complex  factors,  such  as  discrimination,  occupational  and 
vertical segregation, low representation of women in leading positions, traditions and stereotypes as well 
as unequal sharing of family responsibilities between women and men. 
C(2014) 1405 final. 
In line with Section 18 of the Recommendation. 
26 Member States (AT, BE, BG, CZ, CY, DK, EE, FI, FR, DE, EL, HR, HU, IT, LV, LT, LU, MT, NL, 
PL, PT, RO, SK, SI, ES, SE) provided information on the Recommendation’s implementation. 

1 

 
 
                                                            
European Social Partners8 who were consulted on the Recommendation’s implementation at 
national level in October 2015. 

This  report  is  furthermore  based  on  information  on  the  Recommendation’s  implementation 
received  from  national  equality  bodies  set  up  under  the  Directive9,  as  well  as  information 
provided by the Commission’s network of legal experts in the field of gender equality.  
A  mutual  learning  seminar  on  the  gender  pay  gap,  held  on  20-21  October  2016,10  provided 
further  insight  into  the  Recommendation’s  practical  implementation  and  the  impact  of 
national measures in tackling pay discrimination and the gender pay gap, including measures 
on pay transparency. 

Reducing  the  gender  pay  gap  is  an  important  priority  for  the  Commission,  as  set  out  in  the 
Strategic Engagement for gender equality 2016 – 2019.11 As one of the key actions to achieve 
this objective, the Strategic Engagement lists improving the implementation and enforcement 
of  the  equal  pay  principle  by  carrying  out  an  assessment  of  the  Directive  and  considering, 
inter  alia,  improving  pay  transparency  based  on  a  report  on  Member  States’  measures  to 
implement the Recommendation.  

The Commission notes that pay transparency is not the only measure that could contribute to 
reducing the gender pay gap. In order to tackle the gender pay gap from all possible angles, 
this report is part of a broader Action Plan in which the Commission translates its commitment 
to tackle the gender pay gap. The Action Plan includes a broad and coherent set of activities to 
tackle the gender pay gap, both legislative and non-legislative initiatives, mutually reinforcing 
each other. 

In addition, the Commission monitors the economic situation in Member States through the 
European Semester exercise and supports Member States’ work to tackle the gender pay gap, 
by recommending eventually to a Member State to address this specific issue or some of its 
root causes, such as lack of investment in childcare or fiscal disincentives preventing second 
earners – mainly women – from working or working more. In 2017, the gender pay gap and 
problems contributing to it were addressed in the country reports of nine Member States.12 In 
May 2017, the Commission issued country specific recommendations focusing on investment 
in  childcare  facilities  and  fiscal  disincentives,  as  well as  on  other  measures  that address  the 
gender pay gap.13 

This  report  assesses  Member  States’  implementation  of  the  measures  proposed  in  the 
Recommendation and the effectiveness of its application.  

8  

9  
10  
11  
12  
13  

European  Trade  Union  Confederation  (ETUC),  European  Centre  of  Employers  and  Enterprises 
providing  Public  Services  (CEEP),  the  Confederation  of  European  Business  (BusinessEurope)  and 
European Association of Craft, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (UEAPME). A technical workshop 
to  further  discuss  their  comments  and  the  implementation  of  the  measures  proposed  in  the 
Recommendation took place in June 2016. 
As collected by the Network of European Equality Bodies (Equinet). 
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/other-institutions/good-practices/index_en.htm 
http://ec.europa.eu/justice/gender-equality/files/documents/160111_strategic_engagement_en.pdf  
DE, EE, IE, ES, IT, AT, PL, RO, SK. 
Notably in Estonia. 

2 

 
 
 
                                                            
2. 

IMPLEMENTATION OF MEASURES ON PAY TRANSPARENCY IN MEMBER STATES 

Pay  transparency  is  instrumental  in  the  effective  application  of  the  equal  pay  principle  in 
practice. It reveals a possible gender bias or discrimination in the pay structures of a company 
or industry. It can enable employees, employers or social partners to take appropriate action. 
An awareness of different pay levels within a company can make it easier for individuals to 
challenge pay discrimination before national courts. 

The  Recommendation  presents  a  toolbox  of  specific  measures  to  help  Member  States  and 
other  stakeholders  design  a  tailor-made  approach  to  improving  wage  transparency.  Its  four 
suggested  core  measures  related  to  pay  transparency  are:  individuals’  entitlement  to  request 
information  on  pay  levels;  company  level  reporting;  pay audits;  and equal  pay  addressed  in 
collective  bargaining.14  Member  States  are  encouraged  to  implement  the  most  appropriate 
measures in view of their specific circumstances and should include at least one of these core 
measures. 

Despite  the  adoption  of  the  Recommendation,  only  Eleven  Member  States  have  currently 
legislation  on  pay  transparency  in  place15.  Among  those  Member  States,  only  six  of  them 
have either adopted new pay transparency measures or improved existing measures following 
the adoption of the Recommendation.16 Most of them included one of the Recommendation’s 
four core pay transparency measures. Five of them17 have included more than one of the core 
measures,  with  only  one  Member  State18  having  all  four  measures  enshrined  in  its  national 
legal  framework.  In  three  Member  States,19  new  measures  on  pay  transparency  are  under 
preparation, with some at the initial stages of negotiation and others close to being adopted by 
the national parliaments.  

2.1. 

RIGHT OF EMPLOYEES TO OBTAIN INFORMATION ON PAY LEVELS 

Enabling  employees  to  request  information  on  pay  levels  for  categories  of  employees 
performing  the  same  work  or  work  of  equal  value,  broken  down  by  gender,  including 
complementary  or  variable  components  such  as  payments  in  kind  and  bonuses,20  makes  the 
wage  policy  of  a  company  or  organisation  more  transparent21.  Such  information  is  valuable 
for employers, trade unions and workers, helping them identify unexplained gender pay gaps 
and to resolve them through dialogue. It also makes it easier for employees to put their salary 
levels in perspective within their own category and in comparison with similar categories. In 
cases of discrimination, this improves the prospects for success of legal action before national 
courts and would consequently have a dissuasive effect.   

14  

15  
16  
17  
18  
19  
20  
21  

The Recommendation stipulates that disclosure of any information comprising personal data pursuant to 
these measures should be provided in accordance with national data protection laws, in particular those 
implementing  Directive  95/46/EC.  As  of  25  May  2018,  data  will  be  protected  based  on  Regulation 
(Regulation  (EU)  2016/679)  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  27  April  2016  on  the 
protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of 
such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation). 
AT, BE, DE, DK, FI, FR, IE, IT, LT, SE and UK. 
E.g. DE, FR, FI, LT, UK, SE. 
AT, BE, FI, FR, SE. 
Sweden. 
IE, IT, NL. 
Section 3 of the Recommendation. 
Where  information  provided  involves  the  disclosure  of  personal  data,  it  should  be  provided  in 
accordance with national data protection laws 

3 

 
 
 
                                                            
Entitlement to pay information for individual employees 

In  cases  of  alleged  pay  discrimination,  in  three  Member  States  the  employer  is  obliged  to 
provide the employee with information on pay. In Finland and Ireland, individuals have such 
a right to information, but the employer must have the consent of the individual(s) whose pay 
data  are  disclosed.  In  Ireland,  the  right  to  information  may  be  sought  on  the  basis  of  a 
standardised questionnaire in which a complainant states that there has been a breach of the 
equal pay principle.  
In  Germany,  a  recent  law22  introduced  an  individual  right  to  information  for  employees  of 
companies with more than 200 employees.   

In Estonia and Portugal, although there are national employee information rights that oblige 
employers to inform employees about the main terms of their employment contract, including 
the  amount  of  payment,  the  pay  information  that  can  be  obtained  is  limited  to  one's  own 
remuneration.  

Entitlement to pay information for certain bodies 

In some Member States, employee representatives and trade  unions have the right to access 
information on the pay and terms and conditions of employment of a group of employees, or 
of an individual employee with their  consent.23   
In  several  Member  States,24  equality  bodies  are  entitled  to  request  information  on  pay,  in 
cases of alleged pay discrimination.  

Other related measures 
In some Member States, the legal minimum wage must be indicated when advertising jobs.25  

In  the  United  Kingdom,  it  is  unlawful  for  an  employer  to  prevent  employees  —  through 
contractual clauses or penalties — from disclosing or seeking to disclose their pay to others, if 
the purpose of such disclosure is to determine gender pay discrimination.  

2.2. 

REPORTING ON PAY AT COMPANY LEVEL 

The  Recommendation  encourages  Member  States  to  put  in  place  measures  ensuring  that 
employers  in  companies  and  organisations  with  at  least  50  employees  regularly  inform 
employees,  workers’  representatives  and  social  partners  of  the  average  remuneration  by 
category  of employee or  position, broken down by gender.26 Such reporting improves  wage 
transparency  and  constitutes  a  reliable  basis  for  discussions  on  measures  to  implement  the 
equal pay principle.  

In  some  Member  States,  employers  are  obliged  to  regularly  provide  a  written  report  on  the 
gender  equality  situation  in  their  company  or  organisation,  including  details  on  pay.27  For 
instance,  in  Denmark  employers  with  at  least  35  employees  must  annually  compile  gender-
disaggregated  pay  statistics  for  groups  of  at  least  10  people  of  each  gender  with  the  same 
position. This information is provided to employees through their representatives.  

22  
23  
24 
25 
26  
27 

Law on the promotion of transparency as regards wage structures adopted on 30 March 2017. 
E.g. in FI or SE following an equal pay complaint by an employee.   
E.g. AT, EE, FI, NL, SE.  
E.g. in Austria. 
Section 4 of the Recommendation. 
E.g. AT, BE, DE, DK, FR, IT, UK. 

4 

 
 
 
                                                            
In France, companies must provide equal pay data to staff representatives in annual reports, in 
particular in the ‘gender equality report’ which is mandatory for companies with at least 300 
employees,  and  the  ‘report  on  the  economic  situation  of  the  company’,  which  is  mandatory 
for  companies  with  at  least  50  employees.  These  reports  must  include  pay  figures  broken 
down by gender and occupational category.  

In  Belgium,  companies  must  prepare  company-level  pay  gap  reports  every  two  years. 
Companies with at least 50 employees must carry out a detailed analysis of their company pay 
structure  every  two  years,  by  gender  as  well  as  status,  position,  seniority  and  level  of 
qualification  or  education.  Belgium  also  obliges  companies  to  prepare  a  gender-based 
breakdown  of  several  sections  of  their  annual  social  reports.  In  Italy,  companies  with  more 
than 100 employees  must report gender-related equality information,  with  explicit  reference 
to pay levels, every two years.  

In  Germany,  a  recent  law  introduced  a  general  reporting  obligation  for  large  companies 
related  to  women’s  career  advancement  and  equal  pay.  In  the  United  Kingdom,  employers 
with 250 or more employees must publish certain information about gender pay differences, 
in particular in the hourly rate of pay, bonuses and overall pay distribution.28 In Lithuania, a 
2017 law obliges companies with more than 20 employees to annually provide works councils 
and trade unions with anonymous data on the average pay of their staff, excluding managers, 
by occupation group and gender. In addition, companies with more than 50 employees must 
prepare  a  remuneration  report  which  specifies  the  remuneration  of  employees  by  category 
according to their position and qualifications, and must make this available to employees. 

Several  Member  States  have  a  more  extensive  obligation  for  employers  to  regularly  assess 
pay practices and pay differences in the wider context of their compliance with an obligation 
to draw up an action plan for equal pay.29 Such obligations include company reporting on the 
average  remuneration  of  different  categories  of  employees  or  positions  but  go  beyond 
reporting  by  also  requiring  a  more  in-depth  analysis  of  pay  structures  as  well  as  follow-up 
action to address pay inequalities. Such national measures are discussed in more detail in the 
pay audit section of this report. 

Several  Member  States  have  company  reporting  obligations  that  apply  exclusively  to  the 
public sector.30  
In  two  Member  States,31  new  legislative  measures  providing  for  company  reporting 
obligations are under discussions.  

2.3. 

PAY AUDITS AT COMPANY LEVEL 

The Recommendation encourages Member States to take appropriate measures to ensure that 
pay audits are conducted in companies and organisations with at least 250 employees. These 
audits  should  include  an  analysis  of  the  proportion  of  women  and  men  in  each  category  of 
employee  or  position,  an  analysis  of  the  job  evaluation  and  classification  system  used,  and 
detailed information on pay and pay differentials on grounds of gender. They should be made 
available to workers’ representatives and social partners on request.32 Pay audits should make 
it easier to analyse the gender equality aspects of pay, to reach conclusions on the application 

28  
29  
30  
31  
32  

Equality Act 2010 (Gender pay gap information) Regulations 2017. 
AT, BE, ES, FI, FR, SE. 
E.g. HU, FR, UK. 
IE, IT. 
Section 5 of the Recommendation. 

5 

 
 
 
                                                            
of  the  principle  of  equal  pay,  and  to  identify  possible  options  to  address  the  problems 
identified.  They  could  provide  the  basis  for  discussion  between  employers  and  workers’ 
representatives on how to eliminate gender discrimination in pay. 

Pay  reports  are  often  used  as  a  basis  for  a  more  thorough  analysis  that  goes  considerably 
beyond providing statistical figures and builds on factual information about pay structures. As 
such, pay reports may feed into follow-up actions such as action plans to address the gender 
pay inequalities identified.  

For  example,  in  France  private  employers  with  more  than  50  employees  are  obliged  to 
produce  annual  reports  which  have  to  include  figures  broken  down  by  gender  and  by 
occupational category relating to actual pay. In addition, based on the information gathered, 
an  analysis  of  the  situation  of  men  and  women  has  to  be  carried  out  for  each  professional 
category  in  the  company  in  terms  of  job  classification  systems  and  wage  differentials. 
Collective agreements and unilateral action plans must set out gender equality targets and the 
specific measures that will achieve them.  

In Sweden, employers with at least 25 employees are obliged to carry out a pay survey every 
three  years,  assessing  pay  practices  and  the  gender  pay  gap  in  the  company.  Based  on  this, 
they have to draw up an action plan to remedy and prevent unfair gender differences in pay 
and  other  terms  of  employment.  In  Finland,  companies  with  30  or  more  employees  have  to 
prepare equality plans, including a pay survey aiming to establish whether there are gender-
based pay differences at the workplace; the equality plan must provide suggestions for how to 
remove unjustified differences. In Germany, companies with more than 500 employees have 
to carry out pay audits. 

In  the  United  Kingdom,  employment  tribunals  can  order  employers  to  conduct  equal  pay 
audits in cases where an individual brings a successful tribunal claim concerning a breach of 
the equal pay laws. 

In Denmark, employers have the option to set up a voluntary pay equity analysis or to report 
on wage statistics.  

In Estonia and Italy new measures in this area are under discussion. For instance, in Estonia, 
the government intends to propose a legal obligation to conduct periodical pay audits in the 
public sector and to prepare gender equality action plans based on the results.  

2.4.  MAKING  EQUAL  PAY,  INCLUDING  PAY  AUDITS,  PART  OF  THE  COLLECTIVE 

BARGAINING PROCESS 

Encouraging  or  obliging  social  partners  to  discuss  equal  pay  in  collective  bargaining  is 
another  way  of  increasing  wage  transparency  and  addressing  the  gender  pay  gap.  The 
Recommendation therefore encourages Member States to ensure that the issue of equal pay, 
including pay audits, is discussed at the appropriate level in collective bargaining.33  
The inclusion of equal pay in collective bargaining is strongly supported by trade unions.34  
Five Member States35 have legislative measures in place to ensure that the issue of equal pay 
is part of the collective bargaining process.  

33  
34  

35  

Section 6 of the Recommendation. 
As provided in ETUC’s 2015 Resolution ‘Collective bargaining – our powerful tool to close the gender 
pay gap’. 
BE, DE, FI, FR SE. 

6 

 
 
 
                                                            
In  Belgium,  cross-industry  agreements,  signed  by  management  and  employees' 
representatives every two years, have to include measures aimed at reducing the gender pay 
gap,  mainly  by  making  job  classification  systems  gender-neutral.  At  sectoral  level,  the  law 
also  makes  it  obligatory  to  negotiate  measures  aiming  to  reduce  the  gender  pay  gap  during 
collective  bargaining.  In  France,  companies  must  include  gender  equality  in  collective 
bargaining. Private employers are obliged to negotiate equal pay targets for men and women 
at  branch  level  every  three  years  and  at  company  level  every  year.  The  implementation  of 
these  measures  is  monitored  by  the  National  Collective  Bargaining  Commission  (CNNC). 
Swedish  law  states  that  employers  and  employees  should  cooperate  to  prevent  and  tackle 
differences  in  pay.  Since  2007,  when  the  social  parties  at  federal  level  negotiated  specific 
wage  frameworks  for  women,  the  gender  pay  gap  has  been  a  crucial  issue  during  each 
bargaining round. 
Three  other  Member  States36  provide  for  voluntary  measures  to  encourage  the  inclusion  of 
equal pay in collective bargaining. These measures include the publication of guidelines for 
collective bargaining and the provision of gender equality training to the social partners. 

3. 

IMPLEMENTATION  OF  OTHER  PROVISIONS  ON  EQUAL  PAY  PROVIDED  IN  THE 
RECOMMENDATION 

The  Recommendation  provides  for  several  other  measures  that  also  contribute  to 
improvements in pay equality beyond the strict realm of increased wage transparency37. This 
section  provides  information  on  the  implementation,  as  it  stands  today,  of  some  of  these 
measures in Member States.  

Improved statistics 

The  Recommendation  encourages  Member  States  to  improve  the  availability  of  up-to-date 
gender pay gap data by providing Eurostat with statistics annually and in a timely manner.   

Several  Member  States  reported  that  their  national  statistics  offices  provide  comprehensive 
data on the gender pay gap on an annual basis.38 In Spain, the obligation to provide statistics 
broken  down  by  gender  is  provided  for  by  law39  for  public  authorities,  while  Danish 
legislation contains rules on pay statistics disaggregated by sex applicable to companies40.  

Definition of the concept of ‘work of equal value’ 

The  Recommendation  encourages  Member  States  to  clarify  the  concept  of  ‘work  of  equal 
value’ in their legislation.  
Several Member States41 already provide a definition of the concept of ‘work of equal value’ 
in  their  legislation,  indicating  an  analytical  framework  or  the  most  important  criteria  for 
comparing the value of different jobs. In most of these cases, in line with the jurisprudence of 

AT, CY, PT. 
Sections 7 – 17 of the Recommendation.  
E.g. CZ, DK, EE, ES, FR, NL, PL, RO, SK.  
Article 20 of Organic Law No 3/2007 of 22 March 2007 on the effective equality of women and men 

36  
37  
38  
39  
provides that the gender perspective must be effectively integrated into statistics and studies 
40 The Equal Pay Act (Section 5a) contains rules on pay statistics disaggregated by sex. The Act requires 
companies with at least 35 employees, who at the same time have at least ten people of each sex employed in the 
same job function, to either annually compile pay statistics disaggregated by sex or agree with the employees to 
prepare a report on equal pay at least every three years.  
41  

E.g. CY CZ, DE, FR, HR, HU, IE, PL, PT, RO, SK, SE and UK.  

7 

 
 
 
                                                            
the  Court  of  Justice  on  the  concept  of  equal  pay,42  the  legislation  lists  skills,  effort, 
responsibility and working conditions as the main factors for assessing the value of work.  

Two Member States informed about their plans to introduce an explicit definition of ‘work of 
equal value’ in their legislation.43 

Job evaluation and classification systems  

The  Recommendation  encourages  Member  States  to  promote  the  development  and  use  of 
gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems.  

In  some  Member  States,  the  legislation  explicitly  provides  for  a  requirement  that  job 
evaluation  and  classification  systems  used  for  determining  pay  have  to  be  gender  neutral.44 
Some Member States have put in place practical tools, such as guides and checklists for job 
evaluation free of gender bias and training programmes for employers; these aim to support 
the 
job  evaluation  and  classification  systems  by 
companies.45  

implementation  of  gender-neutral 

Monitoring and enforcement 

The  Recommendation  encourages  Member  States  to  ensure  that  the  implementation  of  the 
equal  pay  principle  is  consistently  monitored  and  that  all  available  remedies  to  combat  pay 
discrimination are enforced.  

In  several  Member  States,  labour  inspectorates  at  the  regional  or  federal  level  monitor  pay 
discrimination46.  As  part  of  the  national  administration,  these  inspectorates  are  in  charge  of 
carrying out inspections to ensure compliance with legislation. In some countries, the labour 
inspectorates  can  impose  administrative  penalties  for  failure  to  comply  with  the  equal  pay 
principle.47  

In Belgium, a company with at least 50 employees can appoint a member of its workforce as a 
mediator  who  will  advise  on  drafting  and  implementing  the  plan  that  aims  to  develop  a 
gender-neutral  pay  structure  in  the  company,  as  well  as  on  possible  remedies  to  address 
claims of gender pay discrimination. 

Two  Member  States  have  reported  the  introduction  of  specific  sanctions  to  discourage 
discrimination. In particular, France has a penalty of up to 1 % of the payroll for companies 
with  more  than  fifty  employees  if  there  is  a  breach  of  equal  pay  obligations.  In  the 
Netherlands,  companies  practising  discrimination  are  excluded  from  public  procurement 
procedures and their existing contracts with the government can be terminated.  

Equality bodies 
According  to  the  provisions  of  Directive  2006/54/EC,48  all  equality  bodies  provide 
independent  assistance  to  victims  of  pay  discrimination.  However,  the  tasks  and  powers  of 
equality  bodies  are  very  diverse  across  Member  States.  It  is  only  in  some  Member  States49 
that  the  role  of  equality  bodies  includes  representing/assisting  individuals  in  such  claims 

42 

43  
44  
45  
46  
47  
48  
49 

See Cases C-237/85, C-262/88, C-400/93, C-381/99, C-333/97, C-471/08, C-194/08. See also Recital 9 
of Directive 2006/54/EC. 
AT, LT. 
E.g. AT, BE, CY, IT, LT, PT, SI. 
E.g. BE, CY, EE, ES, FR, NL, SE. 
E.g. CY, CZ, ES, FR, LV, PL. 
This is for instance the case in Latvia.  
Article 20-2. 
E.g. AT, FI,  SE. 

8 

 
 
                                                            
before  the  national  courts.  In  some  other  Member  States,50  equality  bodies  have  a  further-
reaching  competence  to  hear  and  decide  on  gender  discrimination  complaints.  If  gender 
equality  bodies  would  exercise  more  of  their  power  to  provide  independent  assistance  to 
victims of discrimination, it would be easier for victims of discrimination to access justice and 
the effectiveness of the legal framework for equal pay would be ensured.  

The  Recommendation  therefore  encourages  Member  States  to  ensure  that  the  powers  and 
mandates of their national equality bodies cover issues related to gender pay discrimination, 
including transparency obligations. In addition, where applicable, Member States are asked to 
give equality bodies the right to access information on pay and pay audits.  
In  some  Member  States,51  the  equality  body’s  mandate  also  covers  employers  transparency 
obligations related to gender pay discrimination, notably the right to access pay information 
and pay audits.  

4. 

PRACTICAL  APPLICATION  AND  IMPACT  OF  PAY  TRANSPARENCY  MEASURES  AT 
NATIONAL LEVEL 

There  is  no  detailed  economic  analysis  available  of  the  precise  impact  of  introducing  pay 
transparency measures at national level. It is therefore difficult to provide quantifiable data on 
the impacts of each specific measure.  

However, research carried out at national level shows a relationship between such measures 
and the improvement of the overall situation on equal pay and equal opportunities of men and 
women  in  employment  at  large.  Some  examples  that  inspired  the  2014  Recommendation 
illustrate some of these impacts:52  

One example related to the issue of employees’ entitlement to pay information is Portugal, 
where an obligation for employers to provide employees with information on average salaries 
by  category  of  workers  was  introduced  in  2009.  Stakeholders  consider  this  a  significant 
reason behind the relatively small gender pay gap in that country. 

The  Swedish  equal  treatment  legislation  introduced  an  employers’  obligation  to  regularly 
issue  a  report  on  the  pay  situation  including  an  analysis  of  pay  practices  and  gender  pay 
differentials.  A  national  study  conducted  in  2011  states  that,  of  the  different  measures 
introduced  by  the  government,  the  wage  mapping  obligation  has  had  the  biggest  effect  on 
tackling  pay  discrimination.  In  addition,  a  review  carried  out  by  the  Equality  Ombudsman 
concludes  that  between  2006  and  2008  approximately  6000  people  have  received  wage 
adjustments following this obligation. 

France  is  an  example  of  equal  pay  being  included  in  collective  bargaining:  legislation 
introduced in 2006 obliges employers and trade unions to once a year discuss the gender pay 
gap issue during collective agreement negotiations at company and sector level. As a result of 
the  introduction  of  this  obligation,  the  proportion  of  collective  agreements  that  address  the 
gender pay gap has increased substantially (from 3 % in 2007 to 10 % in 2010). In addition, 
most of these collective agreements not only contain a brief diagnosis of the situation, but also 
present specific indicators and a list of measures to close the gender pay gap.  

50  
51  
52  

E.g. BE, FR, NL. 
E.g. EE, FI, SE. 
See also the impact assessment accompanying the Recommendation (SWD(2014) 59 final). 

9 

 
 
 
                                                            
These  specific  examples  of  the  implementation  in  line  with  three  out  of  the  four  core 
transparency measures suggested in the Recommendation and their impacts demonstrate that 
measures under Recommendation have the potential of contributing to an overall reduction of 
pay discrimination as well as of the gender pay gap.  

5. 

CONCLUSIONS AND WAY FORWARD 

The  Recommendation  provides  the  first  ever  toolbox  of  specific  pay  transparency  measures 
that  aim  to  tackle  pay  inequality  and  the  persisting  gender  pay  gap.  It  encourages  Member 
States  to  introduce  at  least  one  of  these  transparency-enhancing  measures  to  address  pay 
discrimination.  It  is  a  non-binding  legal  instrument  which  does  not  impose  any  formal 
obligations on Member States.  

The  analysis  of  the  information  provided  by  Member  States  and  other  stakeholders  reveals 
that  although  the  most  Member  States  have  some  measures  aimed  at  increasing  pay 
transparency in place, in a third of Member States such measures are entirely absent.  

Furthermore,  only  a  small  group  of  Member  States  have  used  the  opportunity  of  the 
Recommendation to review their national legal systems in order to strengthen the principle of 
equal  pay  between  men  and  women  by  introducing  pay  transparency  measures,  either  as 
suggested in the Recommendation or otherwise.  

Gender equality is one of the fundamental values of the European Union, but it is not yet a 
reality at work. Women in the EU earn on average almost 16 % less per hour than men do, 
across economic sectors. This gender pay gap has plateaued in the last five years and at the 
current  rate  of  change  would  only  close  at  the  start  of  the  next  millennium.  A  study  of  the 
European Institute for Gender Equality highlights that unequal pay does not just hurt women 
but is a cost for society in general. There is a strong link between the gender pay gap, child 
poverty and skills shortages. In  addition, underusing the skills of women’s in  a society also 
involves a cost to the economy in general.53 

Today, despite the equal pay principle, discrimination is still pervasive at work: a woman may 
be paid less than a man for exactly the same job, and work typically done by women is paid 
less than work typically done by men, even when it is of equal value. The secrecy around pay 
levels  makes  it  difficult  to  detect  discrimination  cases.  Even  if  most  Europeans  (69%)  are 
aware of the existence of a gender pay gap in the economy, employees do not think that such 
a  gap  exist  within  their  own  company,  and  only  26  %  of  Europeans  are  aware  of  the  legal 
guarantee of equal pay for equal work. A third of employees do not know the wages of their 
colleagues, and this figure is even less lower for women. A recent study shows that Europeans 
would support more transparency at work: almost two-thirds of people would be in favour of 
publishing  average  wages  earned  in  the  organisation  or  company  in  which  they  work  by 
gender and job type.54  

To tackle the gender pay gap and make the equal pay principle a reality, the Commission will 
continue  to  monitor  Member  States’  compliance  with  the  equal  pay  principle,  including  by 
enforcing  measures  where  appropriate  and  in  the  context  of  the  annual  European  Semester 
exercise.  

53 EIGE (2017), Economic Benefits of Gender Equality in the European Union. How closing the gender gaps in 
labour  market  activity  and  pay  leads  to  economic  growth,  available  at:  http://eige.europa.eu/rdc/eige-
publications . 
54 Eurobarometer 465. 

10 

 
 
 
                                                            
However,  the  lack  of  visible  progress  in  combating  pay  discrimination,  as  well  as  the 
persisting  gender  pay  gap  and  the  limited  follow-up  to  the  Recommendation  suggest  a 
possible  need  for  further  targeted  measures  at  EU  level.  Making  pay  transparency  a  reality 
will give citizens the tools to be aware of any discrimination they may suffer and will improve 
the application of the equal pay principle on the ground. 

11