EU-Wide Regulations: The Pay Transparency Directive

The EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) is a landmark law adopted in 2023 to strengthen the longstanding EU principle of equal pay for equal work between men and women (source). Member states must transpose (implement) the directive into national law by June 7, 2026 (source). This directive sets minimum standards that will apply across all EU countries, meaning employers throughout the EU will face new transparency and pay equity requirements by that date.

Key Provisions of the EU Pay Transparency Directive:

• Salary Transparency for Job Seekers: Employers must inform job applicants of the initial salary or salary range for a position before employment, in order to enable fair, informed negotiations (source). This information can be provided in the job posting or early in the interview process, but it must be given in a timely manner. Asking applicants about their salary history is prohibited across the EU, preventing past pay discrimination from carrying forward (source). Employers also cannot impose contract terms that block workers from disclosing their pay (no pay secrecy clauses) (source).
• Transparency for Employees: All workers, regardless of employer size, will have the right to request information about pay. An employee can ask their employer for their own pay level and the average pay levels for coworkers of the other gender in the same or equivalent roles (source). Employers must provide this information in writing, broken down by gender, and may have to give additional clarifications if the data is incomplete (source). Employers must respond within a “reasonable” time – at most within 2 months of the request (source). Workers are to be informed annually of their right to request this pay information (source). Importantly, discussing or sharing pay information among employees cannot be banned by the employer (source).
• Criteria for Pay Setting: Employers need to adopt gender-neutral job evaluation and pay-setting systems. They should make transparent the criteria used to determine pay and career progression, ensuring these criteria are objective and free of bias (source). (Member states may exempt small firms under 50 employees from the requirement to publish formal criteria for pay progression (source).)
• Gender Pay Gap Reporting: Companies above certain size thresholds will have to publish reports on gender pay gaps in their organization. The directive requires reporting on several metrics: the gender pay gap in mean and median pay, pay gaps in bonuses or other variable pay, the proportion of men and women receiving bonuses, the gender distribution by pay quartiles, and pay gaps by categories of employees doing the same work (broken down by base salary vs. extra payments) (source). These reports must be made public (for example, on the company's website) and shared with employees, regulators, or labor inspectors (source).

Coverage and Frequency:

Employers with 250 or more employees must report annually, those with 150-249 employees at least every three years, and those with 100-49 employees at least every three years but starting later (within 8 years of the directive's entry into force) (source). In practical terms, assuming the directive took effect in mid-2023, the first reports by larger companies would be due by 2027, with smaller companies phasing in by 2031 (source).

• Joint Pay Assessments: If a company's pay report shows an unexplained gender pay gap of 5% or more in any category of workers, the employer will be required to take action (source) (source). Specifically, the employer must conduct a joint pay assessment in cooperation with worker representatives to identify the cause of the gap (source). If the gap can't be justified on gender-neutral grounds, the employer must remedy it within 6 months, in close coordination with employee representatives and potentially labor inspectors (source) (source). This assessment and its results must be made available to the workforce and may be reviewed by authorities (source).
• Enforcement and Remedies: The directive strengthens enforcement of equal pay rights. It shifts the burden of proof in pay discrimination cases to the employer – if a worker alleges pay discrimination, the employer must prove there is no discrimination, rather than the worker having to prove it (source). Workers who suffer pay discrimination are entitled to full compensation, including back pay, bonuses, and related benefits, as well as compensation for any emotional distress (“non-material damage”), with no caps on damages (source). National authorities are expected to impose “effective, proportionate and dissuasive” penalties for violations, which could include fines. The directive also includes anti-retaliation protections, so employees cannot be punished for asking about pay or invoking their rights (source).

Timeline:

EU countries have until June 2026 to pass their own laws implementing these rules (source). Some countries are moving faster (as noted below, Sweden has already drafted national legislation in 2024). The first required public pay gap reports under the directive will likely be due in 2027 for many large employers (source). Employers should start preparing now – for example, by running trial pay gap analyses before reporting is mandatory (source).

National Laws and Developments in Key Member States

While the EU directive sets a baseline, many countries have their own pay transparency or pay equity laws – some already in force, and others in progress to meet the new EU requirements. Below is an overview of current and upcoming laws in several major EU economies.

Germany

Germany has had a pay transparency law since 2017, known as the Transparency in Wage Structures Act (Entgelttransparenzgesetz) (source). However, its requirements are relatively modest compared to the new EU directive, and Germany will need to toughen its laws by 2026 (source) (source).

Current Coverage

The 2017 German law applies primarily to medium and large employers. It gives employees of companies with more than 200 employees the right to obtain information about pay levels for comparable positions:

• Employee Right to Information: At companies with >200 employees, an employee can request data on how their pay compares to others. Specifically, they may ask for the median salary of coworkers of the opposite sex in a similar role, along with information on relevant pay criteria (source). Employers must respond (typically within three months) and provide at least anonymized median pay figures or salary ranges for the comparison group. This helps employees determine if an unjustified gender pay gap might exist in their role. (However, if there are fewer than six colleagues of the other gender in the same role, the employer can withhold data to protect privacy.)
• Large Company Reporting: For very large employers, Germany links pay transparency to corporate reporting. Companies with over 500 employees that are required to file an annual management report must include information on gender equality and equal pay in that report (source) (source). These reports (often required of companies above certain size or corporate form) need to describe measures the company is taking to promote gender equality and achieve equal pay, and they must include basic gender-disaggregated pay statistics (source). The first such reports were produced in 2022, and thereafter they must be updated every 5 years (if under a collective wage agreement) or every 3 years (if not covered by a collective agreement) (source). The reports are submitted with the management report and published in the Federal Gazette (source) (source).

Pay Discrimination Law

Germany's general equal pay framework places the burden on employers once a wage gap is shown. If a female employee is paid less than a male counterpart for equal work, German case law presumes discrimination – the employer must prove a legitimate reason for the pay difference (source). This aligns with the EU directive's approach of shifting the burden of proof to the employer in pay bias cases.

Enforcement

Currently, there are no direct financial penalties for employers that fail to meet the transparency requirements (for example, not responding to an information request or not filing a report) (source) (source). The German law relies on employees enforcing their rights (e.g. possibly going to court if an employer refuses a valid information request) and on public pressure via the published reports. Employees who can demonstrate pay discrimination can file claims under the Equal Treatment Act and seek back pay and damages, but there isn't an administrative fine for non-compliance with the transparency measures. This is expected to change with the implementation of the EU directive, which will likely introduce stricter sanctions.

Upcoming Changes

Germany will substantially revise its laws by 2026 to meet the EU directive (source). The German government has indicated it aims to implement the directive's measures earlier rather than later; initial plans hoped for legislation by end of 2024, though a draft was delayed (source). When implemented, employers in Germany will have to: provide salary ranges in job postings or to applicants, cease asking about salary history, extend pay gap reporting to all firms with 100+ employees (not just 500+), and increase the frequency and detail of pay gap reports (source) (source). In short, many more German employers will be subject to reporting and transparency obligations than today (source). Employers should anticipate needing to publish annual gender pay data by 2027 and to handle employee information requests from all employees (not only those at larger firms). Germany's existing framework will be expanded to include fines or legal consequences for non-compliance in line with EU rules. Companies operating in Germany are advised to prepare for these changes – for example, by conducting internal equal pay audits now to identify and address unjustified gaps before formal reporting begins.

France

France has been a leader in pay equity measures, with an emphasis on monitoring and closing the gender pay gap. Since 2018, French law (the “Avenir Professionnel” law) requires companies to calculate and publish a Gender Equality Index each year, which serves as a public scorecard of pay equity performance (source). The EU directive's requirements will complement France's existing system by adding individual pay transparency rights and hiring-stage disclosures by 2026.

Gender Equality Index (since 2019)

All private-sector employers with 50 or more employees in France must compute an annual gender equality index and report the results by March 1 each year (source) (source). The index is a score out of 100, based on several indicators of gender pay equity and workplace equality. Companies with 250+ employees have a slightly more detailed index calculation (with additional indicators) than those with 50-249 employees (source). Key factors include the gender pay gap (adjusted for comparable roles and ages), differences in annual raise rates and promotions between women and men, whether all women received raises after returning from maternity leave, and the gender balance among the company's top earners (source). An overall score below 75 (out of 100) is considered inadequate (source).

• Employers must publish their overall Index score publicly (e.g., on their website) and also internally communicate the results (source). If a company scores under 75, it is required to implement corrective measures and set improvement targets. The law gives companies three years to raise their score to acceptable levels.
• Enforcement: If a company consistently fails to improve or refuses to publish its index, French authorities can impose a financial penalty of up to 1% of the company's total payroll (source). In practice, labor inspectors (under the Ministry of Labor) oversee compliance. This potential fine has driven high compliance rates with reporting – in 2023, the vast majority of eligible companies published their scores. Public and employee scrutiny of the scores also pressures low-scoring firms to take action.

In addition to the index, a recent French law (the “Rixain” law of December 2021) introduced further transparency for large corporations. As of early 2023, companies with 1,000+ employees must publish the percentages of women and men among their executive leadership and governing boards, and report any gender pay gaps among those top management positions (source). This is aimed at ensuring transparency not just in average pay but at the upper echelons of companies (often where gaps can be widest). Non-compliance with these disclosure requirements can also lead to fines.

Current Pay Transparency in Hiring

France does not yet mandate salary range disclosure in job postings for all employers. However, it's becoming common: by March 2024 nearly half of French job listings included pay information, a significant increase in transparency driven by market practice rather than law (source). French law does require that job ads be written in gender-neutral language (no specifying the gender of the candidate), but there is no legal obligation (as of 2025) to list a position's salary in the advertisement. Employers often choose to include at least a salary range or “starting from €X” to attract candidates, but it's voluntary for now (source). We expect that to change with the EU directive implementation – by 2026, French law will require at least providing the salary range to candidates, if not directly in the posting then early in the hiring process, to comply with the directive's standards.

Employee Rights

Under current French law, employees do not have a specific individual right to ask their employer for comparative pay information (unlike in Germany's law). Instead, transparency is achieved collectively via the Gender Equality Index and through required annual negotiations on gender equality with employee representatives. France has long had strong anti-discrimination laws guaranteeing equal pay for equal work (enshrined in the Labor Code), and employees who believe they are underpaid due to gender discrimination can bring claims. In such cases, the burden of proof is partially on the employer to justify pay differences with objective criteria (France follows EU law on this principle). Still, there isn't a formal process for an individual employee to request salary data on peers from the company – this is exactly the kind of provision France will need to introduce by 2026 to meet the directive's requirement that any worker can obtain information on gender pay averages for their role.

Looking Ahead

France is generally well-positioned to meet the EU directive, given that it already requires extensive pay gap monitoring and has enforcement mechanisms. Changes expected by 2026 include: a ban on asking candidates about prior salary, a requirement to provide salary range information to job applicants, and a formalization of employees' right to transparency about pay criteria and peer pay levels. These will likely be implemented via amendments to the Labor Code or equality laws. French companies (especially those already doing the Index) may find compliance relatively straightforward, but they should review their hiring practices and pay confidentiality policies. Notably, if any French employer still had policies discouraging employees from discussing pay, those will need to be removed (the directive bans pay secrecy clauses). Also, while the Gender Equality Index covers many directive metrics, the EU reporting format might require some additional data (such as quartile breakdowns or inclusion of all forms of pay) beyond the Index. French firms with 250+ employees are already in the habit of annual reporting, and those reports could be adapted to satisfy both French and EU requirements to avoid duplication.

Netherlands

The Netherlands, despite a strong culture of egalitarianism, does not yet have specific pay transparency or gender pay gap reporting laws. Dutch law guarantees equal pay for equal work in principle (since 1975), but historically there have been no mandatory public reporting obligations or salary disclosure requirements for private employers (source). This is set to change with the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which will effectively introduce such requirements by 2026.

Current Situation

At present (2025), Dutch employers are not required to include salary ranges in job postings, nor to report pay gap statistics to the government or employees (source). Many employers do voluntarily provide pay information in job ads – transparency is increasingly seen as a competitive advantage in hiring – but it's not enforced by law. Likewise, employees in the Netherlands do not have a statutory right to ask for the average salaries of colleagues. If an individual suspects pay discrimination, they must rely on filing a complaint or lawsuit under the General Equal Treatment Act. The burden of proof in Dutch equal pay cases can shift to the employer once the employee establishes a prima facie case, consistent with EU equality law (source), but again there is no proactive transparency mechanism yet.

Stalled Legislation

The Netherlands has debated national pay transparency rules. A Gender Pay Equality Bill was introduced in 2019 proposing that companies with more than 50 employees disclose their gender pay gap and that those with over 250 employees obtain a certificate of equal pay compliance (source) (source). The proposal included fines for companies that failed to remedy unequal pay. However, as of 2023 that bill had not been passed into law (source). Political changes and awaiting the EU directive likely delayed separate national action. In the meantime, the Dutch Human Rights Institute and labor unions have encouraged voluntary pay gap audits and some companies have published pay gap figures on their own, but there is no uniform requirement.

Upcoming Changes

The EU directive will effectively bring the Netherlands into line with other countries. By June 2026, the Netherlands must implement legislation that, at minimum, includes:

• Salary Range Disclosure: Employers will be obligated to share the salary scale or range for a job with applicants (most likely in the job posting or before a job offer). This will be a significant change, making transparency the norm in recruitment across the Netherlands.
• Ban on Salary History Inquiries: Dutch hiring managers will no longer be allowed to ask “What do you currently earn?” during interviews. This practice will be outlawed to prevent perpetuating pay gaps (source). Recruiters and HR staff will need to be trained on this change.
• Employee Information Right: All employees, regardless of company size, will gain the right to request information on their pay relative to colleagues of another gender doing equal work. Dutch companies will need to set up processes to handle such requests within the two-month timeline.
• Gender Pay Gap Reporting: Companies with 100+ employees will have to start calculating and reporting their gender pay gaps. According to the directive's timeline, the first Dutch pay gap reports will likely be due by 2027 (for the 2026 reporting year) (source) (source). Dutch legislation will specify the exact format, but it will include the metrics required by the EU (mean/median gaps, etc.). This is entirely new for Dutch employers – many will be doing such analysis for the first time. The reporting may be required annually for larger companies (250+ employees) and less frequently for those between 100-250, mirroring the directive.
• Enforcement: The Netherlands will need to designate an authority (perhaps the Inspectorate SZW or a new equality body) to receive pay gap reports and enforce compliance. We can expect the Dutch law to introduce fines for companies that fail to report or that refuse legitimate information requests, as the directive mandates “dissuasive” penalties. While specifics aren't finalized, companies should anticipate financial penalties for non-compliance similar to other labor law fines.

In preparation, Dutch employers are encouraged to conduct internal pay equity scans. Although not yet required, the first directive-driven reports in 2027 will use 2026 pay data (source), so companies have a short runway to identify any major gender pay disparities and begin addressing them. Culturally, there may be some resistance in the Netherlands – pay has traditionally been a private matter – but the general trend in Europe is making transparency standard. Many Dutch companies, especially multinationals, are already bracing for these changes and increasing pay disclosure voluntarily to align with the coming rules.

Spain

Spain has one of the more comprehensive pay equity legal frameworks in Europe, established in 2020. Spanish regulations already mandate detailed internal pay transparency and pay equity measures for employers, in many ways foreshadowing the EU directive. In October 2020, Spain adopted Royal Decree 902/2020 on Equal Pay (effective April 2021), which, along with a related decree on equality plans, aims to ensure women and men receive equal pay for work of equal value (source) (source).

Current Requirements (since 2021)

• Pay Register (Registro Retributivo): All companies in Spain, regardless of size, must maintain a pay register of the salaries of their entire workforce (source). This register must list average and median compensation for each job, broken down by gender – including base salary, bonuses, and benefits – for each professional group or job category (source). The idea is to have documented evidence of whether men and women are paid equally within each category. Employees have a right to access the pay register data in an anonymized form through employee representatives. If there is no employee representative, an individual can request general percentage differences. Notably, if the pay register shows a gender pay gap of 25% or more in any category, the employer must be prepared to justify the difference with non-gender-related reasons (source). (This 25% threshold is a trigger for scrutiny under Spanish law; the EU directive's 5% threshold for action is much stricter and will supersede this.)
• Gender Equality Plans and Pay Audits: Companies with 50 or more employees in Spain are required to negotiate a Gender Equality Plan with worker representatives (a broad plan addressing various aspects of gender equality in the workplace). As part of that plan, the employer must conduct a Pay Audit (Auditoría Retributiva) (source). The pay audit involves a detailed evaluation of job positions (to ensure a gender-neutral valuation of which jobs are of equal value) and a review of pay policies to detect any gender-based discrepancies (source). It must identify any factors causing pay gaps and include an action plan to correct them. The audit results feed into the equality plan goals. These equality plans (including the pay audit) must be registered with the labor authority and are subject to approval.
• Transparency During Employment: The criteria for setting pay and classifying jobs must be transparent and accessible to employees. Royal Decree 902/2020 emphasizes the “principle of transparency in remuneration” – employees should have “sufficient and significant information” about how their pay is determined, to allow them to detect possible discrimination (source). In practice, this means companies should be able to explain what factors (e.g. experience, performance, responsibilities) justify pay differences. If an employee suspects unequal pay, they can involve their union or works council to examine the pay register data and audit outcomes.
• Enforcement: Spain actively enforces these requirements through its Labor Inspectorate. Failure to keep an accurate pay register or to have an equality plan (if required) is categorized as a serious labor law offense. Companies can face fines which, for serious offenses like not having the mandated pay register, range roughly from €626 up to €6,250 (source). If discrimination is actually proven, it's considered a very serious offense with potential fines much higher (up to six figures in euros in extreme cases) (source) (source). In addition to fines, courts can award affected employees back pay and compensation for discrimination. The public nature of equality plans (which are filed in a public registry) also creates reputational pressure.

Spain's existing laws align closely with many EU directive elements, but there are a few areas the directive will enhance:

• Salary Transparency for Job Seekers: Currently, Spanish law does not explicitly require salary information to be posted in job listings. However, the EU directive will change this. Under the new rules, employers must disclose the salary for a position in the job posting or otherwise at the selection stage – informing the applicant privately during an interview is not sufficient (source). Spain will need to implement this by 2026 (and there are indications Spain may do so sooner). In fact, Spanish legislation is moving in this direction: going forward, if a company in Spain advertises a job, it will have to include the specific salary or the pay range for that role in the advert, so candidates know the pay upfront (source). This is a significant shift; Spanish companies should start adjusting their recruitment processes to include salary details in all postings.
• Ban on Salary History Questions: It will also become illegal in Spain to ask candidates about their current or past salaries (source). This was not explicitly banned before (though some regions or companies discouraged it); the new rules will make it a blanket prohibition to prevent bias in offers.
• Individual Right to Pay Information: Spanish law already provided that employees (in companies without worker representatives) could request information on gender pay gaps, but only in terms of percentage differences, not actual averages (source). The EU directive will give each Spanish worker a stronger, direct right to get information on average pay levels by gender for their role (source). This will no longer depend on whether there's a union delegate – it becomes an individual entitlement. Employers must respond within two months to such inquiries, similar to what is already mandated in Spain for some cases, but now universally applicable.
• Stricter Threshold for Action: Spain's 25% gap justification threshold will be overtaken by the EU's 5% threshold for requiring action (source). This means Spanish companies will have to pay even closer attention to smaller gaps. A 5% unexplained gap in any category will trigger a formal joint pay assessment process, likely involving the works council, and the expectation of remediation within a short period (source). This is a much tighter standard and will ensure that even modest pay differences are examined.
• Public Reporting: Perhaps the biggest new element for Spain will be the requirement to publicly report pay gap data to a government body and potentially publish it. Under current Spanish rules, the detailed data stays internal (or with the labor authority in the context of equality plans). The EU directive, however, will require employers with 100+ employees to submit standardized pay gap reports and for those results (at least in aggregate form) to be made public by authorities (source). Spain will likely designate its Ministry of Labor or Equality to collect these reports. This means Spanish companies will effectively be sharing some pay statistics beyond just their internal documents – a shift to greater public transparency (source). As one Spanish expert noted, this represents information “that has so far been carefully guarded” becoming open, which could have a “reputational effect” encouraging companies to proactively close gaps (source) (source).

In summary, Spain is ahead in having a structure for equal pay, but will use the directive as an opportunity to refine and strengthen it.

Compliance Tip: Companies in Spain should ensure their pay register is up-to-date and accurate (many have already faced inspections on this), and should get ready to include salary info in job offers by 2025. Given Spain's enforcement rigor, non-compliance is risky – for example, failing to have a pay register or equality plan when required can result in fines and sanctions relatively quickly. On the positive side, companies that have diligently implemented the 2020 regulations may find they are largely compliant with the new EU rules and just need to extend some practices (like sharing data with applicants or handling individual employee queries more openly).

Sweden

Sweden has a long tradition of promoting pay equity and is often seen as a model for proactive measures to eliminate wage disparities. Decades before the EU directive, Sweden's Discrimination Act mandated active measures by employers to achieve equal pay. In fact, Sweden was the first EU country to publish a draft law to implement the new EU Pay Transparency Directive (in mid-2024) (source) (source), demonstrating its commitment to staying at the forefront of this issue.

Current Requirements

In Sweden, all employers – including those with very small staff – must work actively to ensure equal pay between men and women. The law requires regular pay reviews:

• Annual Pay Surveys: Employers with 10 or more employees must conduct an annual pay survey (wage analysis) and document it in writing (source). This involves examining the pay of women and men performing equal work or work of equal value to identify any unjustified wage differences (source). If differences are found, the employer must analyze the reasons and take measures to correct them. (Employers with fewer than 10 employees are also expected to ensure equal pay, but the law does not require a formal documented survey each year for them.)
• Scope of Analysis: The Swedish pay survey is quite detailed. Employers compare not only exact same jobs but also look at jobs of “equal value” – for instance, if a female-dominated job and a male-dominated job are of equivalent complexity and responsibility, the pay levels should be examined for fairness (source). They also do analyses like checking if jobs traditionally held by women are paid less than different jobs (held by men) that actually require less skill or responsibility (to catch undervaluation of “women's work”) (source) (source). In addition, since 2017, employers must analyze pay in connection with parental leave – ensuring that taking parental leave has not unfairly held back someone's salary progression (Sweden reinforced this requirement, and the new draft law makes it even more explicit) (source).
• Action Plans: Until a few years ago, Swedish law required a written action plan for equal pay for employers above 25 employees every three years. Now the focus is on the annual surveys and “active measures.” In practice, if an annual survey finds a wage gap not explainable by factors other than gender, the employer should promptly adjust salaries.
• Enforcement: The Equality Ombudsman (a government agency) oversees compliance. If an employer fails to do the pay survey or take action, the Ombudsman can order them to do so, and a fine can be imposed by the Labor Court for non-compliance with such an order. While routine submission of reports to the government isn't required (there is no central repository of pay gap reports in Sweden yet), employers must be able to show their documentation if audited. Also, employees or unions can report suspected non-compliance to the Ombudsman. In cases of proven pay discrimination, an employee can receive compensation under the Discrimination Act – damages are uncapped, covering both economic loss and pain and suffering.

Sweden's existing system already meets many directive requirements, but there are a few gaps the new law will fill:

• Pay Transparency for Job Applicants: The EU directive requires informing job applicants of the pay range. In Sweden's draft transposition, employers will not have to put the salary range in the job advertisement, but they must provide it to applicants in good time during the hiring process (source). The draft says applicants should be told the initial salary or range and any relevant collective bargaining agreement salary terms that apply to the job (source). This should happen early enough to allow an “informed negotiation,” essentially before a candidate has to accept an offer. This is a slight tweak: Sweden opted not to force advertisement disclosures as long as candidates are informed proactively. The ban on asking about salary history will of course apply in Sweden too (it likely wasn't common practice in Sweden anyway, but now it's explicitly forbidden) (source).
• Employee's Right to Information: Swedish law already encourages openness, but the directive's formal right for an employee to request pay info on colleagues' pay levels will be incorporated. The draft law gives employees the right to obtain information on their own pay and the average pay for women and men doing equal or equivalent work, within two months of request (source). This is framed as aligning with what employers are already doing in the pay surveys, but now an individual can ask and get the specific figures (source). Swedish employers will likely use their annual survey data to respond to such queries. Additionally, any rules against discussing wages are already considered unenforceable in Sweden, so that aspect of the directive is in line with Swedish practice.
• Gender Pay Gap Reporting: One new element for Sweden will be public gender pay gap reporting for larger employers. The draft law introduces that employers with 100 or more employees must report aggregated pay gap data to the Equality Ombudsman annually (source). Specifically, they would report the overall gender pay gap in the company each year. The Ombudsman will publish these overall figures for transparency (source). Moreover, if there are significant gaps (at least 5%) in specific groups of equal work, employers will have to report those and either explain them with objective reasons or outline actions to address them (source). Interestingly, the Ombudsman will collect those detailed group gap reports but will not publish the detailed breakdowns – only the company-wide averages will be public (source). The idea is that the agency can monitor problems and ensure companies are following up, without revealing every category's data to the public. The first of these reports will likely coincide with the EU timeline (by 2027).
• Beyond Directive – Additional Swedish Measures: Sweden's proposal even goes a bit beyond the directive by requiring analysis of pay progression relative to parental leave (as noted) (source), which is not explicitly required by the EU but is very relevant to gender pay differences.

Enforcement and Penalties

Sweden will continue with its model of enforcement through the Equality Ombudsman. Non-compliance with the new obligations (like failure to provide salary info to an applicant, or not submitting the pay gap report) would likely be treated similarly to non-compliance with the current pay survey rules – the Ombudsman could issue an order, and a fine could be set if the employer doesn't comply. Discrimination claims will still carry unlimited damages. Given Sweden's strong union presence, many issues are resolved through collective dialogue before escalating.

Summary

Swedish employers, especially larger ones, should already be doing annual pay equity audits – those who are will find themselves well prepared for the directive. The main adjustments will be administrative: ensuring salary ranges are communicated to job candidates, setting up a process to answer employee pay information requests, and preparing to send a simplified pay gap report to the Ombudsman each year for those 100+. Sweden's quick move to draft legislation (expected to be finalized well before the 2026 deadline) means employers there might face these requirements sooner. It reinforces the message that pay equity is an ongoing compliance task, not a one-time exercise.

Summary Comparison Table

The table below compares key pay transparency and pay equity requirements across the EU directive and five major EU member states. It highlights the scope of coverage (by employer size), what must be disclosed, and enforcement mechanisms in each jurisdiction.