Transposing the Pay Transparency Directive

The Pay Transparency Directive marks a significant step towards ensuring equal pay for equal work and work of equal value between men and women. With a transposition deadline of June 7 2026, Ireland is currently engaged in the process of incorporating its provisions into national law. Our Employment Law & Benefits team discusses the legislative progress made to date.

What you need to know

• Directive key provisions: Key changes brought in by the Directive include: pay gap reporting obligations, joint pay assessments, pay transparency in job advertisements, employee’s right to pay information, prohibition on pay secrecy, and changes to pay discrimination cases.
• General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Proposals have been made to transpose Article 5 of the Directive.
• Pay Transparency Bill: The Irish Government’s Legislation Programmes for Spring and Summer 2025, respectively, both indicate that work is being done on preparing the Heads of a Pay Transparency Bill.

The EU Pay Transparency Directive came into force in June 2023 and Ireland has until June 2026 to transpose it into national law.

Key provisions

The EU Pay Transparency Directive aims to enhance pay transparency and improve access to redress for workers who allege gender-based discrimination. This is achieved through:

• Pay gap reporting obligations
• Joint pay assessments
• Pay transparency in job advertisements
• Employee’s right to pay information
• Prohibition on pay secrecy
• Changes to pay discrimination cases

Our March 2025 article accompanying vlog by Employment Law & Benefits partner, Catherine O’ Flynn, provides insight as to the key changes that the Directive will introduce from June next year. It also discusses some of the steps that employers can take now to get ready for the upcoming changes in the law:

Learn more about the Pay Transparency Directive

The General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024

Article 5 of the Directive provides for pay transparency prior to employment. Applicants for employment have the right to receive information about the initial pay or pay ranges for a job. This information must be provided by the prospective employer and should be based on objective, gender-neutral criteria. The Directive states that this information must be shared in a way that helps applicants have a fair and informed discussion about pay, for example, in a job advertisement, before a job interview or at another suitable stage. This does not prevent either party from negotiating outside of the stated pay range. The focus here, is on transparency.

Article 5 also prohibits employers from asking applicants about their pay history during their current or previous employment relationships. This would prevent an employer from requesting that information with a view to, for example, making a job offer with particular benefits based on the answer.

The General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024 was published in January 2025. Head 4 of the Bill seeks to transpose Article 5 of the Directive as it relates to information about salaries. It proposes that employers provide information about salary levels or ranges in the job advertisement. This goes slightly further than the Directive, which does not strictly require that the information be published at advertisement stage.

Head 5 of the Bill also seeks to transpose the relevant section in Article 5 of the Directive that prohibits employers from asking job applicants about their own pay history or current rate of pay.

Pay Transparency Bill

The Irish Government’s Legislation Programmes for Spring and Summer 2025, both indicate that work is being done on preparing the Heads of a Pay Transparency Bill, which is described as “A Bill to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive”.

From this description it would seem that full transposition of the Pay Transparency Directive is to be achieved through this Bill. It is unclear whether there will be a carve-out in the legislation relating to Article 5 of the Directive, given that the General Scheme of the Equality (Miscellaneous Provision) Bill 2024 proposes to transpose this aspect.

Conclusion

The Pay Transparency Directive will bring about significant changes to pay practices in Ireland. While transposition into national law has not yet been achieved, efforts have been made by the Irish Government to draft enacting legislation. It is crucial that employers prepare for the Directive’s eventual transposition keeping informed of legislative developments.

Contact our Employment Law & Benefits team to find out more.

The content of this article is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute legal or other advice.