Salary transparency – new obligations for employers
On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, the Ministry of Family, Labor, and Social Policy published a draft of a new law implementing Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) 2023/970 on strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women for the same work or for work of equal value through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (the “Directive”). The new act is intended to provide a comprehensive solution for pay transparency.
The Act will impose new obligations on employers in terms of consulting with employees and reporting.
We would like to remind you that the first stage of the Directive’s implementation – pay transparency at the employee recruitment stage – will be implemented in the Labor Code as early as December 24, 2025.
Scope of the regulation
The primary objective of the regulation is to implement the Directive and the EU standards it sets out in order to strengthen the practical application and enforcement of the existing principle of equal pay for equal work for women and men and to eliminate gender-based pay discrimination.
The planned changes will include the definition of:
- the rules and procedures for the assessment of the value of work by employers, including the rules for establishing the criteria and possible sub-criteria for evaluation and their weighting,
- the rules and procedures for the creation of remuneration structures ensuring the implementation of the right to equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value,
- measures to ensure transparency of remuneration:
- access to criteria for determining remuneration, remuneration levels, and remuneration increases,
- the right of employees to information on their individual remuneration levels and average remuneration levels,
- reporting on the pay gap between female and male employees,
- joint remuneration assessment.
The new law is set to come into force on June 7, 2026. In addition, employers with at least 150 employees shall submit their first report on the pay gap for the period from June 7, 2026, to December 31, 2026, by June 7, 2027.
Salary transparency and prohibition of discrimination in the recruitment process
On December 24, 2025, provisions implementing the Directive at the recruitment stage will come into force. Employers will have two obligations:
- to provide information about the remuneration for the position for which the employee is applying and about the relevant provisions of the collective bargaining agreement or remuneration regulations,
- to ensure that job advertisements and job titles are gender-neutral and that the recruitment process is non-discriminatory.
The legislator has provided for the possibility of fulfilling this obligation at three stages of the recruitment process:
- in the job advertisement,
- before the interview,
- before entering into an employment relationship.
It should also be remembered that, from the date of entry into force of the amendment, it is expressly prohibited for employers to obtain information on remuneration in the current employment relationship and in previous employment relationships.
Sanctions
All of the above-described obligations regarding job evaluation, salary transparency, and the right to information, reporting on the pay gap, and joint assessment are subject to a fine of between PLN 3,000 and PLN 50,000. Therefore, while awaiting the new regulations, it is worth reviewing the remuneration rules and the existing remuneration grid in the workplace.
We encourage you to contact Andersen’s experts, who will provide support in the process of adapting to the introduced solutions and assistance in preparing the relevant documents and internal procedures.
KONTAKT
E: pawel.grzembka@pl.Andersen.com
T: +48 32 731 68 50
E: magdalena.patryas@pl.Andersen.com
T: +48 32 731 68 84
M: +48 502 392 419
E: tadeusz.komosa@pl.Andersen.com
T: +48 22 690 08 88
M: +48 601 260 861
E: magdalena.kuczynska@pl.Andersen.com
T: +48 22 690 08 88