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Level of protection
1. Member States may introduce or maintain provisions that are more favourable to workers than those laid down in this Directive. 2. The implementation of this Directive shall under no circumstances constitute grounds for reducing the level of protection in the fields covered by this Directive.
Equality bodies
1. Without prejudice to the competence of labour inspectorates or other bodies that enforce the rights of workers, including the social partners, the equality bodies shall be competent with regard to matters falling within the scope of this Directive. 2. Member States shall, in accordance with national law and practice, take active measures to ensure close cooperation and coordination among the labour inspectorates, the equality bodies and, where applicable, the social partners with regard to the principle of equal pay. 3. Member States shall provide their equality bodies with the adequate resources necessary for effectively carrying out their functions with regard to the respect for the right to equal pay.
Monitoring and awareness raising
1. Member States shall ensure the consistent and coordinated monitoring of and support for the application of the principle of equal pay and the enforcement of all available remedies. 2. Each Member State shall designate a body for the monitoring and support of the implementation of national measures implementing this Directive (monitoring body) and shall make the necessary arrangements for the proper functioning thereof. The monitoring body may be part of an existing body or structure at national level. Member States may designate more than one body for the purpose of awareness-raising and data collection, provided that the monitoring and analysis functions provided for in paragraph 3, points (b), (c) and (e), are ensured by a central body. 3. Member States shall ensure that the tasks of the monitoring body include the following: (a) raising awareness among public and private undertakings and organisations, the social partners and the public to promote the principle of equal pay and the right to pay transparency, including by addressing intersectional discrimination in relation to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value; (b) analysing the causes of the gender pay gap and devising tools to help assess pay inequalities, making use, in particular, of the analytical work and tools of the EIGE; (c) collecting data received from employers pursuant to Article 9(7), and promptly publishing the data referred to in Article 9(1), points (a) to (f), in an easily accessible and user-friendly manner that allows comparison between employers, sectors and regions of the Member State concerned, and ensuring that the data from the previous four years is accessible if available; (d) collecting the joint pay assessment reports pursuant to Article 10(3); (e) aggregating data on the number and types of pay discrimination complaints brought before the competent authorities, including equality bodies, and claims brought before the national courts. 4. By 7 June 2028 and every two years thereafter, Member States shall, in a single submission, provide the Commission with the data referred to in paragraph 3, points (c), (d), and (e).
Collective bargaining and action
This Directive shall not affect in any way the right to negotiate, conclude and enforce collective agreements or to take collective action in accordance with national law or practice.
Statistics
Member States shall, on an annual basis, provide the Commission (Eurostat) with up-to-date national data for the calculation of the gender pay gap in unadjusted form. Those statistics shall be broken down by sex, economic sector, working time (full-time/part-time), economic control (public/private ownership) and age and shall be calculated on an annual basis. The data referred to in the first paragraph shall be transmitted from 31 January 2028 for reference year 2026.
Dissemination of information
Member States shall take active measures to ensure that the provisions which they adopt pursuant to this Directive, together with the relevant provisions already in force, are brought by all appropriate means to the attention of the persons concerned throughout their territory.
Implementation
Member States may entrust the social partners with the implementation of this Directive in accordance with national law and/or practice with regard to the role of the social partners, provided that Member States take all the necessary steps to ensure that the results sought by this Directive are guaranteed at all times. The implementation tasks entrusted to the social partners may include: (a) the development of analytical tools or methodologies as referred to in Article 4(2); (b) financial penalties equivalent to fines, provided that they are effective, proportionate and dissuasive.
Transposition
1. Member States shall bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by 7 June 2026. They shall immediately inform the Commission thereof. When informing the Commission, Member States shall also provide it with a summary of the results of an assessment regarding the impact of their transposition measures on workers and employers with fewer than 250 workers and a reference to where such assessment is published. 2. When Member States adopt the measures referred to in paragraph 1 they shall contain a reference to this Directive or shall be accompanied by such a reference on the occasion of their official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by Member States.
Reporting and review
1. By 7 June 2031, Member States shall inform the Commission about the implementation of this Directive and its impact in practice. 2. By 7 June 2033, the Commission shall submit a report to the European Parliament and to the Council on the implementation of this Directive. The report shall examine, inter alia , the employer thresholds provided for in Articles 9 and 10, as well as the 5 % trigger for the joint pay assessment provided for in Article 10(1). The Commission shall, if appropriate, propose any legislative amendments that it considers to be necessary on the basis of that report.
Entry into force
This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union .
Addressees
This Directive is addressed to the Member States.
Articles on this page are reproduced verbatim from official open data. See the attribution line.
Source: EUR-Lex (Publications Office of the EU), © European Union, reuse permitted under Commission Decision 2011/833/EU.