Article 1 Subject matter
This Directive lays down minimum requirements to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women (the ‘principle of equal pay’) enshrined in Article 157 TFEU and the prohibition of discrimination laid down in Article 4 of Directive 2006/54/EC, in particular through pay transparency and reinforced enforcement mechanisms.
Article 2 Scope
1. This Directive applies to employers in public and private sectors. 2. This Directive applies to all workers who have an employment contract or employment relationship as defined by law, collective agreements and/or practice in force in each Member State with consideration to the case-law of the Court of Justice. 3. For the purposes of Article 5, this Directive applies to applicants for employment.
Article 3 Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply: (a) ‘pay’ means the ordinary basic or minimum wage or salary and any other consideration, whether in cash or in kind, which a worker receives directly or indirectly (complementary or variable components) in respect of his or her employment from his or her employer; (b) ‘pay level’ means gross annual pay and the corresponding gross hourly pay; (c) ‘gender pay gap’ means the difference in average pay levels between female and male workers of an employer expressed as a percentage of the average pay level of male workers; (d) ‘median pay level’ means the pay level at which half of the workers of an employer earn more and half of them earn less; (e) ‘median gender pay gap’ means the difference between the median pay level of female and median pay level of male workers of an employer expressed as a percentage of the median pay level of male workers; (f) ‘quartile pay band’ means each of four equal groups of workers into which they are divided according to their pay levels, from the lowest to the highest; (g) ‘work of equal value’ means work that is determined to be of equal value in accordance with the non-discriminatory and objective gender-neutral criteria referred to in Article 4(4); (h) ‘category of workers’ means workers performing the same work or work of equal value grouped in a non-arbitrary manner based on the non-discriminatory and objective gender-neutral criteria referred to in Article 4(4), by the workers’ employer and, where applicable, in cooperation with the workers’ representatives in accordance with national law and/or practice. (i) ‘direct discrimination’ means the situation in which one person is treated less favourably on grounds of sex than another person is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation; (j) ‘indirect discrimination’ means the situation in which an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice would put persons of one sex at a particular disadvantage compared with persons of the other sex, unless that provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified on the basis of a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary; (k) ‘labour inspectorate’ means the body or bodies responsible, in accordance with national law and/or practice, for control and inspection functions in the labour market, save that, where provided for in national law, the social partners may carry out those functions; (l) ‘equality body’ means the body or bodies designated pursuant to Article 20 of Directive 2006/54/EC; (m) ‘workers’ representatives’ means the workers’ representatives in accordance with national law and/or practice. 2. For the purposes of this Directive, discrimination includes: (a) harassment and sexual harassment, within the meaning of Article 2(2), point (a), of Directive 2006/54/EC, as well as any less favourable treatment based on a person’s rejection of, or submission to, such conduct, when such harassment or treatment relates to or results from the exercise of the rights provided for in this Directive; (b) any instruction to discriminate against persons on grounds of sex; (c) any less favourable treatment related to pregnancy or maternity leave within the meaning of Council Directive 92/85/EEC ( 24 ) ; (d) any less favourable treatment, within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 25 ) , based on sex, including with regard to paternity leave, parental leave or carers’ leave; (e) intersectional discrimination, which is discrimination based on a combination of sex and any other ground or grounds of discrimination protected under Directive 2000/43/EC or 2000/78/EC. 3. Paragraph 2, point (e), shall not entail additional obligations on employers to gather data as referred to in this Directive with regard to protected grounds of discrimination other than sex.
Article 4 Equal work and work of equal value
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that employers have pay structures ensuring equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. 2. Member States shall, in consultation with equality bodies, take the necessary measures to ensure that analytical tools or methodologies are made available and are easily accessible to support and guide the assessment and comparison of the value of work in accordance with the criteria set out in this Article. Those tools or methodologies shall allow employers and/or the social partners to easily establish and use gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems that exclude any pay discrimination on grounds of sex. 3. Where appropriate, the Commission may update Union-wide guidelines related to gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems, in consultation with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). 4. Pay structures shall be such as to enable the assessment of whether workers are in a comparable situation in regard to the value of work on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria agreed with workers’ representatives where such representatives exist. Those criteria shall not be based directly or indirectly on workers’ sex. They shall include skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions, and, if appropriate, any other factors which are relevant to the specific job or position. They shall be applied in an objective gender-neutral manner, excluding any direct or indirect discrimination based on sex. In particular, relevant soft skills shall not be undervalued.
Article 5 Pay transparency prior to employment
1. Applicants for employment shall have the right to receive, from the prospective employer, information about: (a) the initial pay or its range, based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, to be attributed for the position concerned; and (b) where applicable, the relevant provisions of the collective agreement applied by the employer in relation to the position. Such information shall be provided in a manner such as to ensure an informed and transparent negotiation on pay, such as in a published job vacancy notice, prior to the job interview or otherwise. 2. An employer shall not ask applicants about their pay history during their current or previous employment relationships. 3. Employers shall ensure that job vacancy notices and job titles are gender-neutral and that recruitment processes are led in a non-discriminatory manner, in order not to undermine the right to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value (the ‘right to equal pay’).
Article 6 Transparency of pay setting and pay progression policy
1. Employers shall make easily accessible to their workers the criteria that are used to determine workers’ pay, pay levels and pay progression. Those criteria shall be objective and gender neutral. 2. Member States may exempt employers with fewer than 50 workers from the obligation related to the pay progression set out in paragraph 1.
Article 7 Right to information
1. Workers shall have the right to request and receive in writing, in accordance with paragraphs 2 and 4, information on their individual pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for categories of workers performing the same work as them or work of equal value to theirs. 2. Workers shall have the possibility to request and receive the information referred to in paragraph 1 through their workers’ representatives, in accordance with national law and/or practice. They shall also have the possibility to request and receive the information through an equality body. If the information received is inaccurate or incomplete, workers shall have the right to request, personally or through their workers’ representatives, additional and reasonable clarifications and details regarding any of the data provided and receive a substantiated reply. 3. Employers shall inform all workers, on an annual basis, of their right to receive the information referred to in paragraph 1 and of the steps that the worker is to undertake to exercise that right. 4. Employers shall provide the information referred to in paragraph 1 within a reasonable period of time but in any event within two months from the date on which the request is made. 5. Workers shall not be prevented from disclosing their pay for the purpose of the enforcement of the principle of equal pay. In particular, Member States shall put in place measures to prohibit contractual terms that restrict workers from disclosing information about their pay. 6. Employers may require workers who have obtained information pursuant to this Article, other than information concerning their own pay or pay level, not to use that information for any purpose other than to exercise their right to equal pay.
Article 8 Accessibility of information
Employers shall provide any information shared with workers or applicants for employment pursuant to Articles 5, 6 and 7 in a format which is accessible to persons with disabilities and which takes into account their particular needs.
Article 9 Reporting on pay gap between female and male workers
1. Member States shall ensure that employers provide the following information concerning their organisation, in accordance with this Article: (a) the gender pay gap; (b) the gender pay gap in complementary or variable components; (c) the median gender pay gap; (d) the median gender pay gap in complementary or variable components; (e) the proportion of female and male workers receiving complementary or variable components; (f) the proportion of female and male workers in each quartile pay band; (g) the gender pay gap between workers by categories of workers broken down by ordinary basic wage or salary and complementary or variable components. 2. Employers with 250 workers or more shall, by 7 June 2027 and every year thereafter, provide the information set out in paragraph 1 relating to the previous calendar year. 3. Employers with 150 to 249 workers shall, by 7 June 2027 and every three years thereafter, provide the information set out in paragraph 1 relating to the previous calendar year. 4. Employers with 100 to 149 workers shall, by 7 June 2031 and every three years thereafter, provide the information set out in paragraph 1 relating to the previous calendar year. 5. Member States shall not prevent employers with fewer than 100 workers from providing the information set out in paragraph 1 on a voluntary basis. Member States may, as a matter of national law, require employers with fewer than 100 workers to provide information on pay. 6. The accuracy of the information shall be confirmed by the employer’s management, after consulting workers’ representatives. Workers’ representatives shall have access to the methodologies applied by the employer. 7. The information referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) to (g), of this Article shall be communicated to the authority in charge of compiling and publishing such data pursuant to Article 29(3), point (c). The employer may publish the information referred to in paragraph 1, points (a) to (f), of this Article on its website or make it publicly available in another manner. 8. Member States may compile the information set out in paragraph 1, points (a) to (f), of this Article themselves, on the basis of administrative data such as data provided by employers to the tax or social security authorities. The information shall be made public pursuant to Article 29(3), point (c). 9. Employers shall provide the information referred to in paragraph 1, point (g), to all their workers and to the workers’ representatives of their workers. Employers shall provide the information to the labour inspectorate and the equality body upon request. The information from the previous four years, if available, shall also be provided upon request. 10. Workers, workers’ representatives, labour inspectorates and equality bodies shall have the right to ask employers for additional clarifications and details regarding any of the data provided, including explanations concerning any gender pay differences. Employers shall respond to such requests within a reasonable time by providing a substantiated reply. Where gender pay differences are not justified on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria, employers shall remedy the situation within a reasonable period of time in close cooperation with workers’ representatives, the labour inspectorate and/or the equality body.
Article 10 Joint pay assessment
1. Member States shall take appropriate measures to ensure that employers who are subject to pay reporting pursuant to Article 9 conduct, in cooperation with their workers’ representatives, a joint pay assessment where all the following conditions are met: (a) the pay reporting demonstrates a difference in the average pay level between female and male workers of at least 5 % in any category of workers; (b) the employer has not justified such a difference in the average pay level on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria; (c) the employer has not remedied such an unjustified difference in the average pay level within six months of the date of submission of the pay reporting. 2. The joint pay assessment shall be carried out in order to identify, remedy and prevent differences in pay between female and male workers which are not justified on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria, and shall include the following: (a) an analysis of the proportion of female and male workers in each category of workers; (b) information on average female and male workers’ pay levels and complementary or variable components for each category of workers; (c) any differences in average pay levels between female and male workers in each category of workers; (d) the reasons for such differences in average pay levels, on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria, if any, as established jointly by the workers’ representatives and the employer; (e) the proportion of female and male workers who benefited from any improvement in pay following their return from maternity or paternity leave, parental leave or carers’ leave, if such improvement occurred in the relevant category of workers during the period in which the leave was taken; (f) measures to address differences in pay if they are not justified on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria; (g) an evaluation of the effectiveness of measures from previous joint pay assessments. 3. Employers shall make the joint pay assessment available to workers and workers’ representatives and shall communicate it to the monitoring body pursuant to Article 29(3), point (d). They shall make it available to the labour inspectorate and the equality body upon request. 4. When implementing the measures arising from the joint pay assessment, the employer shall remedy the unjustified differences in pay within a reasonable period of time, in close cooperation, in accordance with national law and/or practice, with the workers’ representatives. The labour inspectorate and/or the equality body may be asked to participate in the process. The implementation of the measures shall include an analysis of the existing gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems or the establishment of such systems, to ensure that any direct or indirect pay discrimination on the grounds of sex is excluded.
Article 11 Support for employers with fewer than 250 workers
Member States shall provide support, in the form of technical assistance and training, to employers with fewer than 250 workers and to the workers’ representatives concerned, to facilitate their compliance with the obligations laid down in this Directive.
Article 12 Data protection
1. To the extent that any information provided pursuant to measures taken under Articles 7, 9, and 10 involves the processing of personal data, it shall be provided in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679. 2. Any personal data processed pursuant to Articles 7, 9 or 10 of this Directive shall not be used for any purpose other than for the application of the principle of equal pay. 3. Member States may decide that, where the disclosure of information pursuant to Articles 7, 9 and 10 would lead to the disclosure, either directly or indirectly, of the pay of an identifiable worker, only the workers’ representatives, the labour inspectorate or the equality body shall have access to that information. The workers’ representatives or the equality body shall advise workers regarding a possible claim under this Directive without disclosing actual pay levels of individual workers performing the same work or work of equal value. For the purposes of monitoring pursuant to Article 29, the information shall be made available without restriction.
Article 13 Social dialogue
Without prejudice to the autonomy of the social partners and in accordance with national law and practice, Member States shall take adequate measures to ensure the effective involvement of the social partners, by means of discussing the rights and obligations laid down in this Directive, where applicable upon their request. Member States shall, without prejudice to the autonomy of the social partners and taking into account the diversity of national practices, take adequate measures to promote the role of the social partners and encourage the exercise of the right to collective bargaining on measures to tackle pay discrimination and its adverse impact on the valuation of jobs predominantly carried out by workers of one sex.
Article 14 Defence of rights
Member States shall ensure that, after possible recourse to conciliation, court proceedings for the enforcement of rights and obligations relating to the principle of equal pay are available to all workers who consider themselves wronged by a failure to apply the principle of equal pay. Such proceedings shall be easily accessible to workers and to persons who act on their behalf, even after the end of the employment relationship in which the discrimination is alleged to have occurred.
Article 15 Procedures on behalf or in support of workers
Member States shall ensure that associations, organisations, equality bodies and workers’ representatives or other legal entities which have, in accordance with criteria laid down in national law, a legitimate interest in ensuring equality between men and women, may engage in any administrative procedure or court proceedings regarding an alleged infringement of the rights or obligations relating to the principle of equal pay. They may act on behalf of, or in support of, a worker who is an alleged victim of an infringement of any right or obligation relating to the principle of equal pay, with that person’s approval.
Article 16 Right to compensation
1. Member States shall ensure that any worker who has sustained damage as a result of an infringement of any right or obligation relating to the principle of equal pay has the right to claim and to obtain full compensation or reparation, as determined by the Member State, for that damage. 2. The compensation or reparation referred to in paragraph 1 shall constitute real and effective compensation or reparation, as determined by the Member State, for the loss and damage sustained, in a dissuasive and proportionate manner. 3. The compensation or reparation shall place the worker who has sustained damage in the position in which that person would have been if he or she had not been discriminated against based on sex or if there had been no infringement of any of the rights or obligations relating to the principle of equal pay. Member States shall ensure that the compensation or reparation includes full recovery of back pay and related bonuses or payments in kind, compensation for lost opportunities, non-material damage, any damage caused by other relevant factors which may include intersectional discrimination, as well as interest on arrears. 4. The compensation or reparation shall not be restricted by the fixing of a prior upper limit.
Article 17 Other remedies
1. Member States shall ensure that, in the case of an infringement of rights or obligations related to the principle of equal pay, competent authorities or national courts may, in accordance with national law, at the request of the claimant and at the expense of the respondent, issue: (a) an order to stop the infringement; (b) an order to take measures to ensure that the rights or obligations related to the principle of equal pay are applied. 2. Where a respondent does not comply with any order issued pursuant to paragraph 1, Member States shall ensure that their competent authorities or national courts are able, where appropriate, to issue a recurring penalty payment order, with a view to ensuring compliance.
Article 18 Shift of burden of proof
1. Member States shall take the appropriate measures, in accordance with their national judicial systems, to ensure that, when workers who consider themselves wronged because the principle of equal pay has not been applied to them establish before a competent authority or national court facts from which it may be presumed that there has been direct or indirect discrimination, it shall be for the respondent to prove that there has been no direct or indirect discrimination in relation to pay. 2. Member States shall ensure that, in administrative procedures or court proceedings regarding alleged direct or indirect discrimination in relation to pay, where an employer has not implemented the pay transparency obligations set out in Articles 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10, it is for the employer to prove that there has been no such discrimination. The first subparagraph of this paragraph shall not apply where the employer proves that the infringement of the obligations set out in Articles 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 was manifestly unintentional and of a minor character. 3. This Directive shall not prevent Member States from introducing evidential rules which are more favourable to a worker who institutes an administrative procedure or court proceedings regarding an alleged infringement of any of the rights or obligations relating to the principle of equal pay. 4. Member States need not apply paragraph 1 to procedures and proceedings in which it is for the competent authority or the national court to investigate the facts of the case. 5. This Article shall not apply to criminal proceedings, unless national law provides otherwise.
Article 19 Proof of equal work or work of equal value
1. When assessing whether female and male workers are carrying out the same work or work of equal value, the assessment of whether workers are in a comparable situation shall not be limited to situations in which female and male workers work for the same employer, but shall be extended to a single source establishing the pay conditions. A single source shall exist where it stipulates the elements of pay relevant for the comparison of workers. 2. The assessment of whether workers are in a comparable situation shall not be limited to workers who are employed at the same time as the worker concerned. 3. Where no real comparator can be established, any other evidence may be used to prove alleged pay discrimination, including statistics or a comparison of how a worker would be treated in a comparable situation.
Article 20 Access to evidence
1. Member States shall ensure that in proceedings concerning an equal pay claim, competent authorities or national courts are able to order the respondent to disclose any relevant evidence which lies in the respondent’s control, in accordance with national law and practice. 2. Member States shall ensure that competent authorities or national courts have the power to order the disclosure of evidence containing confidential information where they consider it relevant to the equal pay claim. Member States shall ensure that, when ordering the disclosure of such information, competent authorities or national courts have at their disposal effective measures to protect such information, in accordance with national procedural rules. 3. This Article shall not prevent Member States from maintaining or introducing rules which are more favourable to claimants.
Article 21 Limitation periods
1. Member States shall ensure that national rules applicable to limitation periods for bringing equal pay claims determine when such periods begin to run, the duration thereof and the circumstances under which they may be suspended or interrupted. The limitation periods shall not begin to run before the claimant is aware, or can reasonably be expected to be aware, of an infringement. Member States may decide that limitation periods do not begin to run while the infringement is ongoing or before the end of the employment contract or employment relationship. Such limitation periods shall be no shorter than three years. 2. Member States shall ensure that a limitation period is suspended or, depending on national law, interrupted, as soon as a claimant undertakes action by bringing a complaint to the attention of the employer or by instituting proceedings before a court, directly or through the workers’ representatives, the labour inspectorate or the equality body. 3. This Article does not apply to rules on the expiry of claims.
Article 22 Legal costs
Member States shall ensure that, where a respondent is successful in proceedings relating to a pay discrimination claim, national courts can assess, in accordance with national law, whether the unsuccessful claimant had reasonable grounds for bringing the claim and, if so, whether it is appropriate not to require that claimant to pay the costs of the proceedings.
Article 23 Penalties
1. Member States shall lay down the rules on effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties applicable to infringements of the rights and obligations relating to the principle of equal pay. Member States shall take all measures necessary to ensure that those rules are implemented and shall, without delay, notify the Commission of those rules and of those measures and of any subsequent amendment affecting them. 2. Member States shall ensure that the penalties referred to in paragraph 1 guarantee a real deterrent effect with regard to infringements of the rights and obligations relating to the principle of equal pay. Those penalties shall include fines, the setting of which shall be based on national law. 3. The penalties referred to in paragraph 1 shall take into account any relevant aggravating or mitigating factor applicable to the circumstances of the infringement, which may include intersectional discrimination. 4. Member States shall ensure that specific penalties apply in the case of repeated infringements of the rights and obligations relating to the principle of equal pay. 5. Member States shall take all measures necessary to ensure that the penalties provided for pursuant to this Article are effectively applied in practice.
Article 24 Equal pay in public contracts and concessions
1. The appropriate measures that Member States take in accordance with Article 30(3) of Directive 2014/23/EU, Article 18(2) of Directive 2014/24/EU and Article 36(2) of Directive 2014/25/EU shall include measures to ensure that, in the performance of public contracts or concessions, economic operators comply with their obligations relating to the principle of equal pay. 2. Member States shall consider requiring contracting authorities to introduce, as appropriate, penalties and termination conditions ensuring compliance with the principle of equal pay in the performance of public contracts and concessions. Where Member States’ authorities act in accordance with Article 38(7), point (a), of Directive 2014/23/EU, Article 57(4), point (a), of Directive 2014/24/EU, or Article 80(1) of Directive 2014/25/EU in conjunction with Article 57(4), point (a), of Directive 2014/24/EU, contracting authorities may exclude or may be required by Member States to exclude any economic operator from participation in a public procurement procedure where they can demonstrate by any appropriate means an infringement of the obligations referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article, related either to a failure to comply with pay transparency obligations or a pay gap of more than 5 % in any category of workers which is not justified by the employer on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria. This shall be without prejudice to any other rights or obligations set out in Directive 2014/23/EU, 2014/24/EU or 2014/25/EU.
Article 25 Victimisation and protection against less favourable treatment
1. Workers and their workers’ representatives shall not be treated less favourably on the ground that they have exercised their rights relating to equal pay or have supported another person in the protection of that person’s rights. 2. Member States shall introduce in their national legal systems such measures as are necessary to protect workers, including workers who are workers’ representatives, against dismissal or other adverse treatment by an employer as a reaction to a complaint within the employer’s organisation or to any administrative procedure or court proceedings for the purpose of the enforcement of any rights or obligations relating to the principle of equal pay.
Article 27 Level of protection
1. Member States may introduce or maintain provisions that are more favourable to workers than those laid down in this Directive. 2. The implementation of this Directive shall under no circumstances constitute grounds for reducing the level of protection in the fields covered by this Directive.
Article 28 Equality bodies
1. Without prejudice to the competence of labour inspectorates or other bodies that enforce the rights of workers, including the social partners, the equality bodies shall be competent with regard to matters falling within the scope of this Directive. 2. Member States shall, in accordance with national law and practice, take active measures to ensure close cooperation and coordination among the labour inspectorates, the equality bodies and, where applicable, the social partners with regard to the principle of equal pay. 3. Member States shall provide their equality bodies with the adequate resources necessary for effectively carrying out their functions with regard to the respect for the right to equal pay.
Article 29 Monitoring and awareness raising
1. Member States shall ensure the consistent and coordinated monitoring of and support for the application of the principle of equal pay and the enforcement of all available remedies. 2. Each Member State shall designate a body for the monitoring and support of the implementation of national measures implementing this Directive (monitoring body) and shall make the necessary arrangements for the proper functioning thereof. The monitoring body may be part of an existing body or structure at national level. Member States may designate more than one body for the purpose of awareness-raising and data collection, provided that the monitoring and analysis functions provided for in paragraph 3, points (b), (c) and (e), are ensured by a central body. 3. Member States shall ensure that the tasks of the monitoring body include the following: (a) raising awareness among public and private undertakings and organisations, the social partners and the public to promote the principle of equal pay and the right to pay transparency, including by addressing intersectional discrimination in relation to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value; (b) analysing the causes of the gender pay gap and devising tools to help assess pay inequalities, making use, in particular, of the analytical work and tools of the EIGE; (c) collecting data received from employers pursuant to Article 9(7), and promptly publishing the data referred to in Article 9(1), points (a) to (f), in an easily accessible and user-friendly manner that allows comparison between employers, sectors and regions of the Member State concerned, and ensuring that the data from the previous four years is accessible if available; (d) collecting the joint pay assessment reports pursuant to Article 10(3); (e) aggregating data on the number and types of pay discrimination complaints brought before the competent authorities, including equality bodies, and claims brought before the national courts. 4. By 7 June 2028 and every two years thereafter, Member States shall, in a single submission, provide the Commission with the data referred to in paragraph 3, points (c), (d), and (e).
Article 30 Collective bargaining and action
This Directive shall not affect in any way the right to negotiate, conclude and enforce collective agreements or to take collective action in accordance with national law or practice.
Article 31 Statistics
Member States shall, on an annual basis, provide the Commission (Eurostat) with up-to-date national data for the calculation of the gender pay gap in unadjusted form. Those statistics shall be broken down by sex, economic sector, working time (full-time/part-time), economic control (public/private ownership) and age and shall be calculated on an annual basis. The data referred to in the first paragraph shall be transmitted from 31 January 2028 for reference year 2026.
Article 32 Dissemination of information
Member States shall take active measures to ensure that the provisions which they adopt pursuant to this Directive, together with the relevant provisions already in force, are brought by all appropriate means to the attention of the persons concerned throughout their territory.
Article 33 Implementation
Member States may entrust the social partners with the implementation of this Directive in accordance with national law and/or practice with regard to the role of the social partners, provided that Member States take all the necessary steps to ensure that the results sought by this Directive are guaranteed at all times. The implementation tasks entrusted to the social partners may include: (a) the development of analytical tools or methodologies as referred to in Article 4(2); (b) financial penalties equivalent to fines, provided that they are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Article 34 Transposition
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 7 June 2026. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof. When informing the Commission, Member States shall also provide it with a summary of the results of an assessment regarding the impact of their transposition measures on workers and employers with fewer than 250 workers and a reference to where such assessment is published. 2. When Member States adopt the measures referred to in paragraph 1 they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.
Article 35 Reporting and review
1. By 7 June 2031, Member States shall inform the Commission about the implementation of this Directive and its impact in practice. 2. By 7 June 2033, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Directive. The report shall examine, inter alia , the employer thresholds provided for in Articles 9 and 10, as well as the 5 % trigger for the joint pay assessment provided for in Article 10(1). The Commission shall, if appropriate, propose any legislative amendments that it considers to be necessary on the basis of that report.
Article 36 Entry into force
This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Article 37 Addressees
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.