The EU Pay Transparency Directive And Its Implementation In Malta

Directive 2023/970¹ (hereinafter referred to as the “Pay Transparency Directive”) of the 10 May 2023, was implemented in order to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women, through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms. Member States are to bring into force the laws, regulations and administrative provisions necessary to comply with this Directive by the 7 June 2026.

The Directive's main Principles

Article 157 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union (hereafter referred to as the “TFEU”) and the Directive 2006/54/EC² (the “Equal Treatment Directive”), enshrine the right to equal pay for equal work of equal value. Despite these legal safeguards, enforcing this principle has long proven difficult, largely because pay discrimination often goes undetected in workplaces which lack transparency.