Germany misses EU pay‑transparency deadline, faces possible sanctions

The EU’s pay‑transparency directive, aimed at closing the gender pay gap, required all member states to transpose its provisions into national law by 7 June 2026. Germany failed to adopt the necessary legislation, pushing the implementation to early 2027. The European Commission can now start an infringement procedure that may lead to fines. The delayed law would oblige employers to disclose salary ranges in job ads, give employees the right to request average pay by gender, and impose regular reporting duties on companies with 100 or more staff. Bundestag vice‑president Josephine Ortleb (SPD) criticised Minister Karin Prien (CDU) for the missed deadline and urged a swift draft, while the Handelsverband Deutschland (HDE) welcomed the postponement but called for a revision of the directive. Civil‑society groups presented an alternative “budget of the many” proposing richer wealth taxes and investment in care and education. Austria is also lagging; Labour Minister Korinna Schumann (SPÖ) has introduced a draft law, warning of possible EU infringement proceedings if further delays occur. The issue affects millions of workers and could reshape employer‑employee relations across the EU.