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In 2023, the EU parliament voted a directive (2023/970) on pay transparency to help tackle pay discrimination and act as a tool to close the gender pay gap.
Pay transparency can support workers' right to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through a set of binding measures.
In 2024, according to a Eurostat study, women in the EU earn on average 11% less than men per hour. Meanwhile the pension pay gap is estimated at 25%. In Belgium, the average gap is significantly lower than the EU average (0.7%).
Member States have until 7 June 2026 to transpose the directive in national law and it looks like Belgium might be late.
The new rules cover 3 major pillars:
- Transparency
- Reporting and actions in case of gender pay gap
- Access to justice.
The table below summarises the key measures to be implemented :
According to the 2025 and 2026 Pay Transparency surveys conducted by Partena:
- Only 34% of Belgian companies have started to conform to the new obligations
- 43% of employees consider that their salary isn’t transparent
- More than one third of employers expect an increase in remuneration costs
Even though the directive is not yet transposed, it is essential that companies start preparing by evaluating their remuneration structure and reviewing their policies and communications.
Meeting the requirements of this directive also links to the pay gap disclosure requirements from the social standards of ESRS (S1) as it is a central topic of sustainability policies and actions.
If your company is in scope of the Pay transparency directive, feel free to contact our team to assess your obligations and begin your compliance process in a progressive and pragmatic manner.
