The Council of the EU and the European Parliament are continuing their work on the future EU directive on pay transparency (see EUROPE 12671/1): the European Parliament’s committees on Employment and Gender Equality took stock on Monday 15 November of the 1,090 amendments tabled, while the Council of the EU’s working group on social issues examined a fourth draft compromise on the subject on Friday 12 November.
On the Parliament’s side, a negotiating position is expected to be agreed in early December on the basis of the report drafted by Samira Rafaela (Renew Europe, Netherlands) and Kira Peter-Hansen, (Greens/EFA, Denmark) (see EUROPE 12786/21).
The main issue that remains to be decided in the Parliament is Article 8 of the draft directive, which requires companies with at least 250 employees to publish annual information on the pay gap between their female and male employees.
Differentiated model or involvement of authorities
Kira Peter-Hansen and Samira Rafaela propose that the measure should apply to all companies with 10 or more employees, but in a differentiated model.
They propose to require the publication of this information every 3 years for companies with 10 to 50 employees, every 2 years for companies with 50 to 250 employees and every year for companies with 250 or more employees.
Commenting on the amendments tabled on this issue, both MEPs welcomed the fact that many groups would also like to lower the 250 employee threshold - although not all agreed on the new threshold (see EUROPE 12802/18).
Mrs Rafaela also welcomed the support of some factions for the proposal of a differentiated model and called on all shadow rapporteurs to consider this possibility.
Such a model, say the two MEPs, would make it possible to cover more workers without placing too great an administrative burden on companies, especially the smaller ones.
Changes were also made in this respect to the EU Council’s fourth draft compromise, which was submitted to national delegations last week - a copy of which EUROPE has obtained.
The original proposal for a directive suggested that the employer should take responsibility for publishing the collected information, for example on its website.
In the new EU Council text, however, it is now proposed that the employer should simply provide the information to the “authority in charge of aggregating data”, and that Member States should then ensure that the data are made public promptly, are easily accessible, and “allow comparison between employers, sectors and regions of the Member State concerned”.
Workers’ rights
In both the Parliament and the EU Council, discussions are also underway on two other elements of the text that Samira Rafaela described as “of vital importance for workers to make use of their rights”: the “hypothetical comparison” and the reversal of the burden of proof.
The MEP suggested that provisions on these points would be strengthened to enable “women to make use of their rights when they work in male-dominated sectors and there are no comparators” and to ensure “the removal of obstacles” faced by aggrieved workers seeking redress.
New safeguards on “hypothetical comparison” have also been introduced in a new article (16a) of the EU27 draft compromise.
With regard to the reversal of the burden of proof, however, it would appear that the EU Council is considering deleting the provision that “the applicant shall benefit from any doubt that may remain”. (Original version in French by Agathe Cherki)