The EU Pay Transparency Directive is anticipated to improve talent attraction and retention within businesses by establishing clearer guidelines and promoting fairness in remuneration, according to Deputy Labour and Social Policy Minister Nataliya Efremova. While European and Bulgarian legislation already uphold the principle of equal pay between genders, effective implementation remains a challenge, evidenced by Bulgaria’s gender pay gap exceeding 13%. Key provisions within the directive mandate that employers include salary ranges in job advertisements and prohibit inquiring about a candidate’s previous pay.
The objective is to prevent the continuation of existing pay disparities by emphasizing objective and gender-neutral evaluation criteria based on skills, effort, responsibilities, and working conditions. Furthermore, the directive reinforces employees’ right to information, granting access to data regarding average pay levels within their professional category. Employers will be required to implement corrective measures if a pay gap exceeding 5% cannot be justified by objective criteria.
The framework also proposes establishing a national monitoring body to analyze data trends and perform preventive functions. Companies employing 100 or more staff will be mandated to report on the gender pay gap. Efremova stated that Bulgaria is advancing preparations to transpose the directive, integrating its core provisions into the Protection against Discrimination Act and supplementing the Labour Code.
The overall goal, she emphasized, is prevention and achieving fairness rather than imposing sanctions. Implementing this increased pay transparency is expected to foster a more competitive labor market. Although a regional survey indicated that companies currently rely on pay increases and benefits for retention, they remain cautious regarding new EU-level regulations concerning pay transparency.
Topics: #pay #transparency #directive
