Directive guide
The right to pay information — Art. 7, in practice
In short
1. What the worker receives
Two numbers, both anchored in the worker’s own category: their individual pay level, and the average pay levels — broken down by sex — for workers doing the same work or work of equal value. That is exactly the information that reveals a systematic difference without exposing any individual colleague’s salary.
2. What the employer must have ready
The answer is only as good as the classification behind it. To produce a lawful answer you need: categories of work of equal value built on objective criteria (job evaluation), current pay levels per category, and a channel that tracks the 2-month clock per request. Employers who compute this ad-hoc per request tend to produce inconsistent answers — which are themselves evidence in a dispute.
The annual reminder is an obligation, not a courtesy
Art. 7(3): employers inform all workers, every year, of their right to request this information. Skipping the reminder is an infringement even if no one ever asks.
3. Small categories
Where a category is so small that an average would effectively disclose an individual salary, the information flows through workers’ representatives or the equality body — the worker still gets the substance, the colleague keeps their privacy, and refusal remains unavailable to the employer.
4. The end of pay secrecy
Workers cannot be prevented from disclosing their pay for the purpose of enforcing equal pay (Art. 7(5)). Existing confidentiality clauses are unenforceable for that purpose. Combined with the right to averages, the practical effect is simple: pay differences that could once rely on silence now surface — the only durable strategy is to fix them before they are asked about.
Frequently asked questions
Who can make a request?
Any worker, for their own category — directly or through their representatives. Former categories or other categories are outside the right; the point of comparison is workers doing the same work or work of equal value as the requester.
How fast must the employer answer?
Within 2 months of the request (Art. 7(4)), in writing. If the answer is inaccurate or incomplete, the worker can ask for reasonable additional clarifications and receive a substantiated reply.
Can the answer expose a colleague's individual salary?
No — the right covers averages broken down by sex, not individual salaries. In very small categories the average would identify a person; that is handled through workers' representatives or the equality body, not by refusing the request.
Can workers be stopped from discussing their pay?
No. Pay-secrecy clauses are unenforceable for the purpose of equal pay (Art. 7(5)) — workers may disclose their own pay freely for that purpose.