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Subject matter
This Directive lays down minimum requirements to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women (the ‘principle of equal pay’) enshrined in Article 157 TFEU and the prohibition of discrimination laid down in Article 4 of Directive 2006/54/EC, in particular through pay transparency and reinforced enforcement mechanisms.
Scope
1. This Directive applies to employers in public and private sectors. 2. This Directive applies to all workers who have an employment contract or employment relationship as defined by law, collective agreements and/or practice in force in each Member State with consideration to the case-law of the Court of Justice. 3. For the purposes of Article 5, this Directive applies to applicants for employment.
Definitions
1. For the purposes of this Directive, the following definitions apply: (a) ‘pay’ means the ordinary basic or minimum wage or salary and any other consideration, whether in cash or in kind, which a worker receives directly or indirectly (complementary or variable components) in respect of his or her employment from his or her employer; (b) ‘pay level’ means gross annual pay and the corresponding gross hourly pay; (c) ‘gender pay gap’ means the difference in average pay levels between female and male workers of an employer expressed as a percentage of the average pay level of male workers; (d) ‘median pay level’ means the pay level at which half of the workers of an employer earn more and half of them earn less; (e) ‘median gender pay gap’ means the difference between the median pay level of female and median pay level of male workers of an employer expressed as a percentage of the median pay level of male workers; (f) ‘quartile pay band’ means each of four equal groups of workers into which they are divided according to their pay levels, from the lowest to the highest; (g) ‘work of equal value’ means work that is determined to be of equal value in accordance with the non-discriminatory and objective gender-neutral criteria referred to in Article 4(4); (h) ‘category of workers’ means workers performing the same work or work of equal value grouped in a non-arbitrary manner based on the non-discriminatory and objective gender-neutral criteria referred to in Article 4(4), by the workers’ employer and, where applicable, in cooperation with the workers’ representatives in accordance with national law and/or practice. (i) ‘direct discrimination’ means the situation in which one person is treated less favourably on grounds of sex than another person is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation; (j) ‘indirect discrimination’ means the situation in which an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice would put persons of one sex at a particular disadvantage compared with persons of the other sex, unless that provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified on the basis of a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary; (k) ‘labour inspectorate’ means the body or bodies responsible, in accordance with national law and/or practice, for control and inspection functions in the labour market, save that, where provided for in national law, the social partners may carry out those functions; (l) ‘equality body’ means the body or bodies designated pursuant to Article 20 of Directive 2006/54/EC; (m) ‘workers’ representatives’ means the workers’ representatives in accordance with national law and/or practice. 2. For the purposes of this Directive, discrimination includes: (a) harassment and sexual harassment, within the meaning of Article 2(2), point (a), of Directive 2006/54/EC, as well as any less favourable treatment based on a person’s rejection of, or submission to, such conduct, when such harassment or treatment relates to or results from the exercise of the rights provided for in this Directive; (b) any instruction to discriminate against persons on grounds of sex; (c) any less favourable treatment related to pregnancy or maternity leave within the meaning of Council Directive 92/85/EEC ( 24 ) ; (d) any less favourable treatment, within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2019/1158 of the European Parliament and of the Council ( 25 ) , based on sex, including with regard to paternity leave, parental leave or carers’ leave; (e) intersectional discrimination, which is discrimination based on a combination of sex and any other ground or grounds of discrimination protected under Directive 2000/43/EC or 2000/78/EC. 3. Paragraph 2, point (e), shall not entail additional obligations on employers to gather data as referred to in this Directive with regard to protected grounds of discrimination other than sex.
Equal work and work of equal value
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that employers have pay structures ensuring equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. 2. Member States shall, in consultation with equality bodies, take the necessary measures to ensure that analytical tools or methodologies are made available and are easily accessible to support and guide the assessment and comparison of the value of work in accordance with the criteria set out in this Article. Those tools or methodologies shall allow employers and/or the social partners to easily establish and use gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems that exclude any pay discrimination on grounds of sex. 3. Where appropriate, the Commission may update Union-wide guidelines related to gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems, in consultation with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE). 4. Pay structures shall be such as to enable the assessment of whether workers are in a comparable situation in regard to the value of work on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria agreed with workers’ representatives where such representatives exist. Those criteria shall not be based directly or indirectly on workers’ sex. They shall include skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions, and, if appropriate, any other factors which are relevant to the specific job or position. They shall be applied in an objective gender-neutral manner, excluding any direct or indirect discrimination based on sex. In particular, relevant soft skills shall not be undervalued.
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