EU Pay Transparency Directive faces uneven rollout as 2026 deadline looms

The EU Pay Transparency Directive, which aims to narrow the gender pay gap, will become binding on 7 June 2026. Member states are at different stages of transposition. Estonia’s economy minister said the country would rather pay a fine than impose the reporting burden on businesses, signalling a likely miss of the deadline. Lithuania has approved revised draft legislation and is on track, requiring employers to classify jobs, submit monthly pay data and grant employees access to gender‑segregated salary information. Malta’s employers’ association has asked for a postponement, citing the absence of a draft law, while Slovakia is progressing in line with the deadline. The European Commission has not yet responded to calls for timeline adjustments. The law obliges all firms to disclose salary ranges before hiring, allow employees to request average pay for comparable roles, and compel large companies to publish annual gender‑pay gap reports under threat of sanctions. Belgium, for example, has not yet transposed the directive into national law, leaving many firms unprepared.