To ensure equal pay for equal work for men and women, the EU adopted the Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970). Austria has not yet transposed this directive into national law; the deadline for this ends on 7 June 2026. Nevertheless, employers should familiarise themselves with the upcoming new obligations now and prepare for the changes. An overview of some important points can be found below:

Application processes

During application processes, potential employers will be obliged to clearly inform applicants about the starting salary, the pay range and - if applicable - the collective agreement. Moreover, employers will not be allowed to ask applicants about their current salary and the development of their salaries from current or previous employment.

Employment relationships

The Pay Transparency Directive stipulates that employees have a right to information about the average pay of other employees who perform the same or equivalent work. Such information must be broken down by gender and the employer will have to fulfil the request for information within two months. Employers will also be obliged to disclose the conditions underlying the determination of pay and promotion opportunities, and to advise employees of their individual right to information every year. Furthermore, employees must not be prevented from disclosing their remuneration.

Reporting obligations

Enterprises with more than 250 employees will be obliged to provide a report on the gender pay gap in their organisation to the competent national authority every year. The procedure is less strict for smaller enterprises. Enterprises with fewer than 100 employees are not obliged to report.

If the report identifies a pay gap of more than 5% and if this is not justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria or is not corrected within 6 months, employers will be obliged to take measures in the form of a joint pay assessment in cooperation with workers’ representatives.

Consequences of infringements

The Pay Transparency Directive stipulates that employees who have experienced gender-based discrimination may claim compensation. Employers will have to prove that they have not infringed the equal pay and pay transparency requirements and that there has been no direct or indirect pay discrimination. There will also be fines for infringements. It remains to be seen what these will be like.

The KWR Employment Law Team will be happy to answer any questions you may have on the subject of pay transparency.