New EU salary transparency rules begin, Croatia still finalising implementation

ZAGREB, 7 June 2026 (Hina) – New European Union rules designed to increase pay transparency and help tackle pay discrimination between women and men came into force on Sunday, while Croatia is still completing the legislative changes needed to fully implement the directive into national law.

The new measures stem from the EU Pay Transparency Directive, adopted in May 2023 as a key part of the bloc’s gender equality strategy. The directive aims to reduce the gender pay gap through greater transparency in salary-setting practices and stronger enforcement mechanisms.

Although the principle of equal pay for equal work has long been embedded in EU law, European institutions have repeatedly warned that pay discrimination often remains difficult to detect due to a lack of transparency in wage systems.

According to Eurostat data for 2024, women across the European Union earned on average 11.1 per cent less per hour than men. In Croatia, the gender pay gap stood at 6.6 per cent, below the EU average. However, both European and national authorities stress that the lower figure does not mean the issue has been fully resolved.

Under the new rules, job applicants should receive information about the starting salary or salary range before employment begins. Employers will no longer be allowed to ask candidates about their previous earnings, while workers will have the right to request information about the criteria used to determine pay and career progression.

Larger employers will also be required to report on gender pay gaps, while victims of pay discrimination will gain stronger legal protections, including the right to compensation. In certain proceedings, the burden of proof will shift to employers.

Marko Vešligaj, Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender Equality, said the directive is intended to strengthen the principle of equal pay and encourage fairer wage-setting systems.

He noted that reducing pay inequalities could also have a long-term impact on pension disparities, highlighting that women across the EU receive pensions that are on average around one-quarter lower than those received by men.

Vešligaj said negotiations on the directive focused heavily on reporting obligations for employers, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as enforcement mechanisms and sanctions. He added that the success of the reform will depend on effective monitoring systems and clear guidance for employers.

Meanwhile, Croatian Member of the European Parliament Sunčana Glavak said the purpose of the directive is not to standardise salaries but to ensure that unjustified pay differences for the same work can be identified, proven and corrected.

She described reporting requirements on gender pay gaps as one of the most demanding aspects of the reform and stressed the importance of distinguishing between the deadline for transposing the directive and the later implementation of some reporting obligations.

The reporting system will be introduced gradually. Employers with 250 or more workers will be required to report annually, while those employing between 150 and 249 people will report every three years. Businesses with between 100 and 149 employees will begin reporting from 2031.

Glavak estimated that between 1,700 and 1,900 Croatian companies and institutions with at least 100 employees could eventually fall within the reporting framework.

Although the deadline for transposing the directive expired on 7 June, Croatia had not yet completed the necessary legislative process. Labour Minister Alen Ružić said at the end of May that amendments to the Labour Act were in the final stages of preparation before being submitted to Parliament.

The proposed Croatian changes are expected to include mandatory publication of salary ranges in job advertisements, employees’ rights to information about pay and promotion criteria, and reporting obligations for larger employers regarding pay differences between men and women in comparable positions.

With the transposition deadline now passed, attention across the EU is shifting towards implementation, as member states work to establish monitoring systems and ensure the effective protection of rights introduced under the new rules.