The European Commission has indicated that it rejects any suspension or simplification of the 2023 pay transparency directive, despite the concerns expressed by part of Europe’s sovereignist right about the administrative burden on companies.
Following a question from Kris Van Dijck MEP (ECR, Belgian) on 30 March (https://aeur.eu/f/m1h ), asking whether the European Commission was considering a ‘stop-the-clock’ measure or the inclusion of the directive in a future ‘omnibus’ regulatory simplification package, the Commissioner for Equality, Hadja Lahbib, stated in a written reply published on Friday 22 May that she rejected this possibility.
She considered that the directive on pay transparency was “essential for the full realisation of the right to equal pay between men and women”.
In addition, the Commissioner pointed out that the text already provided for proportionate obligations depending on the size of the company, with different reporting deadlines.
The Commissioner also mentioned mechanisms aimed at limiting constraints for employers. The directive offers a degree of flexibility in the methodologies for assessing work of equal value and authorises Member States to use administrative data to facilitate salary declaration obligations.
In addition, the European Commission states that it has organised implementation workshops with the Member States and the social partners, as well as financial support through the European CERV (‘Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values’) programme to assist companies.
The European Commission’s response: https://aeur.eu/f/m1g (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)