Know your worth: What the pay transparency rules mean for women
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Equal pay for equal work should be a given - regardless of gender or nationality - yet disparities persist. As Malta begins fully implementing the EU Pay Transparency Directive, aimed at tackling the gender pay gap, new reporting obligations and transparency measures are coming into force in June 2026. But beyond employer readiness, what can workers do if they feel discriminated against? The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality (NCPE) explains.
Q. Imagine a scenario where a female employee suspects she is paid less than other colleagues doing the same work. What can she do? What are her rights?
A. Once the directive enters into force by June 2026, as envisaged, a female employee who suspects she is being paid less than colleagues performing the same work, or work of equal value, has the right to request pay transparency information from her employer. She can make a written request for details about her individual pay level, as well as the average pay levels of workers performing the same work or work of equal value, broken down by sex.
The employer is required to provide this information within a reasonable period, and no later than two months from the request. The employee is also entitled to request additional clarification or details regarding the data provided.
In addition, she is protected from retaliation for exercising these rights and may seek redress if discrimination is confirmed.
Q. What is the process? Would she have to make a request to her employer directly?
A. The employee may request the pay information directly from her employer. However, if she prefers, she can also make the request through a workers’ representative or the national equality body (the NCPE).
Member States, when transposing the directive, may introduce provisions to protect the privacy of other employees. In cases where providing the requested information would lead to the identification of an individual worker’s pay, access to that information may be restricted to workers’ representatives or to the equality body.
In such situations, these bodies will review the information and advise the employee on whether there may be a case of unequal pay, without disclosing the specific pay details of identifiable colleagues.
Q. What if the employer does not comply?
A. If the employer does not comply with their obligations, the employee may seek enforcement through national courts or competent authorities.
The directive requires Member States to provide for effective, proportionate, and dissuasive penalties for infringements. These penalties may include fines, which can be based on factors such as the employer’s gross turnover or total payroll.
However, the exact nature and level of these penalties are not specified in the directive itself. Instead, they are determined by each Member State when transposing the directive into national law.
Q. If it turns out that an employee was being underpaid for years, what happens? Will the salary difference be retroactive?
A. If it is established that the employee was underpaid due to pay discrimination, she has a right to full compensation.
This includes full recovery of back pay (therefore retroactive salary differences) and related bonuses or payments in kind, compensation for lost opportunities, and compensation for non-material damage. It may also cover other relevant factors, including cases of intersectional discrimination, as well as interest on arrears.
The specific procedures for accessing this right will be determined when the directive is transposed into Maltese law. This may include mechanisms like conciliation between the employer and the employee.
However, at a minimum, the employee has the right to bring a claim before a court. Furthermore, associations, organisations, equality bodies, and workers’ representatives may engage in administrative or court proceedings on behalf of, or in support of, the employee.
Q. The directive states that, after 2027, larger companies will have to report. W hat about smaller companies (of which there are many in Malta)? What protection do women working there have?
A. Although the directive introduces pay gap reporting obligations primarily for larger companies, all other protections apply to workers regardless of the size of the employer, including in countries such as Malta, where many businesses are micro or small.
This means that employees in smaller companies still benefit from the most important rights under the directive. These include the right to receive information about pay levels before employment, the right to request information on their individual pay and the average pay levels of categories of workers performing the same work or work of equal value, and the right to equal pay and to redress where this is not upheld.
Moreover, all employers, irrespective of size, must comply with equal pay and transparency obligations. These include ensuring that job vacancy notices and job titles are gender-neutral, and that pay-setting and pay progression systems are transparent and based on objective, gender-neutral criteria.
The main obligation that is limited by company size is the requirement to report on the gender pay gap. This initially applies to employers with at least 150 workers, and will later extend to those with 100 or more workers.
Q. What authority will be in charge of enforcing the directive and directing women who might need help?
A. This will need to be determined by the Government when transposing the directive into Maltese law, which must be completed by June 2026. The NCPE, as Malta’s equality body, will have an important role in promoting the rights and obligations under the directive, as well as assisting persons in accessing their rights.
Another institution that will have a key role is the labour inspectorate, the Department of Industrial and Employment Relations (DIER). However, the precise roles and responsibilities will only be known once the legislation transposing the directive has been published and enters into force.
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Key facts
Job applicants can request salary ranges or initial pay details for roles before employment starts, including breakdowns of fixed and variable components if asked.
Existing employees have the right to request their own pay level (gross annual and hourly) and pay levels for colleagues in the same work category, with responses due within two months.
As from June 2027 larger employers (150+ employees) will have to report gender pay gaps publicly, enabling women to identify disparities and negotiate better.
Organisations with 100–149 employees must submit the first report by June 2031. Companies with less than 100 employees are also obliged to comply with transparency measures, such as providing pay information upon request.
Employers must prove pay differences are non-discriminatory in disputes, shifting the burden and empowering women in equal pay claims.