How is an employee’s pay determined, and how can they tell whether they are being paid equally for their work? From Sunday 1 November, these questions take on new significance as rules on pay transparency and equal pay for women and men come into force.
The new framework, introduced by Law 5316/2026 to transpose European Directive 2023/970, sets out specific obligations for private-sector employers and increases transparency both during recruitment and throughout the employment relationship.
At the heart of the new provisions is the principle that employees’ pay must be determined solely by the work they do and its value, not by their sex.
To this end, information for candidates before recruitment is being enhanced, while employees are being granted stronger rights to information.
The framework also provides for checks to identify unjustified pay differences, and requires businesses to correct them when inequalities are found.
At the same time, employee protections and their ability to seek equal treatment and fair pay are being strengthened.
Pay structures based on objective criteria
From 1 November 2026, all employers, regardless of the number of people they employ, will be required to have and apply pay structures that ensure equal pay for the same work or work of equal value.
These structures must be documented in writing, allow jobs to be compared, provide for a review process and clearly set out the components of pay for each employee category.
Job evaluations must be based on objective criteria free from gender bias, drawn up in agreement with employee representatives, where they exist. These criteria include skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions. Other factors related to the specific work or role may also be taken into account, such as length of service and relevant non-technical skills.
Where an employer is bound by a Collective Labour Agreement, it may use the classifications and pay grades set out in that agreement.
The framework also provides for internal audits of businesses’ pay gaps, aimed at identifying in good time differences that cannot be justified by objective factors. Businesses are required to submit data on the pay gap between women and men, the bonus pay gap, the median pay gap and the pay gap by employee category.
If differences are found that cannot be explained by objective, gender-neutral criteria, such as greater experience, higher qualifications or the requirements of the role, the business must take the necessary corrective action in accordance with the prescribed procedures.
What applies to job adverts and recruitment
Transparency begins even before recruitment.
Under current legislation, job adverts, vacancy announcements and other publications seeking to fill positions must not refer to sex or marital status, or use criteria that result in direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of sex.
In addition, job candidates are entitled to be told, before their first interview, the starting pay or pay range for the role. This information must be based on objective, gender-neutral criteria and include the provisions of any applicable Collective Labour Agreement.
Employers may not ask candidates how much they earned in a previous job. The aim is to prevent existing pay inequalities from being perpetuated and to ensure that pay for a new role is determined by the requirements of the work, qualifications and objective assessment criteria.
This will enable candidates to know in advance the pay framework for the role they are interested in, without their previous earnings serving as a reference point for setting their new pay.
Pay transparency in practice
A significant development is that employees will be able to submit a written request for information both on their individual pay level and on average pay levels, by sex, in the categories of employees doing the same work or work of equal value.
Employers must provide the information within a reasonable period and, in any event, within two months of receiving the request.
They are also required to inform staff each year of this specific right and how to exercise it.
The information must be provided in accordance with personal data protection and confidentiality rules.
When pay-gap checks are triggered
Of particular importance is the joint pay assessment mechanism, which is triggered when three conditions are met cumulatively:
The average pay gap between women and men is at least 5% in any employee category.
The difference cannot be justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria.
The difference has not been corrected within six months of the data being submitted.
The aim of the process is to identify unjustified differences, take steps to address them and prevent them from recurring.
The joint assessment includes recording the proportions of women and men in each employee category, examining average pay levels for women and men, and analysing supplementary or variable components of pay.
Pay differences are also recorded and their causes investigated using objective, gender-neutral criteria agreed jointly by the employer and employee representatives.
The assessment also examines the proportion of female and male employees who benefited from a pay increase after returning from maternity or paternity leave, parental leave or carers’ leave, where such an increase was awarded in the corresponding employee category during the period in which the leave was taken.
If differences are found that cannot be justified on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria, the necessary corrective measures must be identified and their effectiveness assessed, taking into account the results of any previous joint pay assessments.
Finally, employees’ ability to seek redress for pay inequalities is being strengthened. In cases of unequal treatment, they will be able to take their case to the Labour Inspectorate and the courts, and will be able to seek support from the Ombudsman and trade unions, within their respective remits.
In this way, pay transparency is not limited to providing information, but is linked to the ability to identify, document and remedy unjustified pay differences.
According to the Ministry of Labour, the aim is to ensure that equal pay for the same work or work of equal value is applied in practice through transparent procedures, objective criteria and effective action to address unjustified pay inequalities.
ANA-MPA