Question and answer

What triggers a joint pay assessment?

In short

Three conditions together (Art. 10): a mean gender pay gap of at least 5% in any category of workers, which the employer has not justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria, and has not remedied within 6 months of the reporting date. All three must hold — a justified or promptly remedied difference does not trigger it.

In detail

The joint pay assessment is carried out together with workers' representatives and is a documented review: pay levels per category, the proportion of women and men, the causes of the differences and the measures that will close the unjustified ones.

The 5% threshold is judged per category of work of equal value — not on the company-wide average. A small overall gap can hide categories far above 5%.

The practical defence is boring and effective: objective pay criteria, documented job evaluation, and a monthly watch on every category so nothing reaches the report unjustified.

More questions with direct answers: the FAQ.

Updated: 10 July 2026. Figures reflect Directive (EU) 2023/970 as adopted. Member states had to transpose it by 7 June 2026 and may impose stricter national rules — check your country's implementing law (Egalis country editions track them).

Egalis does not provide legal advice; for specific situations, consult an employment lawyer.