Salary transparency: Employers, time to take action!

Salary structures
Employers will be required to implement salary structures that ensure equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. These structures must be based on objective and gender-neutral criteria, enabling the classification of job categories and equality in roles. At a minimum, the criteria must include skills, effort, responsibilities, and working conditions. If relevant and justified, additional factors like educational requirements may also be considered. If an employer chooses to introduce such a system independently (not based on a collective labour agreement), approval from the Works Council is required.

Note: This is not just about identical job titles, but also about work of equal value. For example, the roles of Photojournalist and Editor, although very different in nature, are both classified at salary level 6 in the Publishing Industry collective labour agreement (CLA). Equal work should be equally compensated, unless there is an objective justification (e.g. more experience).

Salary transparency obligations
Salary transparency starts as early as the application stage. Employers will need to inform applicants about the starting salary or salary range, and, if applicable, the relevant CLA provisions. Additionally, it will no longer be permitted to ask candidates about their current or previous salary.

During employment, employers with 50 or more employees must provide insight into the criteria used to determine salary, salary levels, and progression in salary. Employees will also have a right to request information about average salary levels - broken down by gender - for equal roles or roles with equal value. Employers are required to actively inform employees of this right once a year.

If an employer fails to meet these obligations, a legal presumption of pay discrimination will apply in the event of, for example, a salary claim from an employee. This means that the burden of proof shifts to the employer. However, this presumption does not apply in cases of minor and unintentional non-compliance.

Salary reporting requirement
Employers with 100 or more employees will be required to report on salary gaps within their organisation. This report must include data on the (median) salary gap across the company, and broken down by job categories of equal value. The report must cover not just base salary, but also bonuses and other types of salary.

The Works Council must be given access to and consulted on the salary report. It must also be submitted to a newly created monitoring body. General information about an organisation’s gender salary gap will be published on a national website, while more specific salary gap data (within job categories) must be actively shared with employees and the Works Council.

Here’s how often employers must submit their reports:

The report must be based on data from the previous calendar year. For example: employers with 150+ employees will need to report by 7 June 2027 based on their 2026 payroll data.

Although legislative history indicates that the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment will provide support for employers, it is advisable for larger employers to assess whether their current (technological) systems can collect and process the required data in time.

If the report reveals unjustified salary differences, corrective action is mandatory for employers. These measures must be approved by the Works Council.

Fines
For non-compliance with collective obligations such as reporting, the Labour Inspection (in Dutch: ‘Arbeidsinspectie’) may, in serious cases, impose administrative fines. The maximum fine currently stands at €10,300,- per violation.

Employers: time to act! 
Once the directive is transposed into Dutch law, employers will face significant new responsibilities. It’s smart to start preparing now: assess what the legislation means for your organisation and schedule a timely meeting with your Works Council. In that way, you will be ready when the law comes into force.

Questions about the proposed legislation? Feel free to contact us at info@vanbladeladvocaten.nl.