EU: EU Commission proposes a directive to end the gender pay gap

On 04 March, the European Commission presented the text of a draft Directive imposing transparency obligations on public and private sector companies in order to ensure their compliance with the founding principle of the right to equal pay for ‘equal work or work of equal value’. New obligations are being directed to all companies, especially at the time of hiring, alongside an obligation to provide salary information upon employees’ requests and for those companies with at least 250 workers to publish salary gap information and to take corrective measures. The text also strengthens the individual’s rights to recourse and redress.

This Directive was one of European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen’s political priorities. Just a few days ahead of International Women’s Rights Day on 08 March, and albeit year behind its initial schedule, the Executive has presented its draft legislation emphasizing pay transparency. In the European Union the current pay gap stands at 14.1%, although this percentage varies significantly across the EU Member States. For instance Estonia’s pay gap exceeds 20%. The European Commission believes this to be unacceptable, not least because the right to equal treatment is enshrined in the European treaties, and even more so since there is already both a Directive on equality in the workplace (2006/54/EC) and a non-binding recommendation on wage transparency.…

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