Legislative Decree no. 96 of 7 May 2026, in force from 7 June 2026, transposes EU Directive 2023/970 on pay transparency. The decree introduces structured obligations for all public and private employers — both at the recruitment stage and throughout the employment relationship — to ensure equal pay between men and women for equal work or work of equal value.
Scope of application
The decree applies to all employers, regardless of company size, covering fixed-term and open-ended subordinate employment contracts, including part-time arrangements and managerial positions. Domestic work contracts and on-call (intermittent) contracts are excluded.
Pre-hiring transparency obligations
Job postings and vacancy notices must state the starting salary or salary range for the position, based on objective and gender-neutral criteria. Employers are prohibited from asking candidates about current or previous salaries or obtaining that information through other means. All selection procedures must be conducted without discrimination, and job postings must use gender-neutral language.
Pay transparency during employment
Employers must make easily accessible the criteria used to determine pay levels and pay progression. This obligation may be met by reference to the applicable national collective agreement (CCNL), if concluded by comparatively more representative trade unions at national level: in that case, compliance with pay equality principles is presumed. Employers with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from disclosing pay progression criteria, but not pay determination criteria.
Employee right to information: pay secrecy abolished
Each employee may request, once per year, written information on the average pay levels — broken down by gender — for categories of workers performing the same work or work of equal value. The employer must respond within 2 months. Contractual clauses preventing employees from disclosing their own pay are expressly prohibited: pay secrecy is abolished.
Reporting obligations for employers with at least 100 employees
Employers with at least 100 employees must periodically report gender pay gap data to the designated monitoring body, including: mean and median pay gaps, distribution across pay quartiles, and the incidence of variable pay components. Deadlines vary by company size. Employers with 250 or more employees must submit their first report by 7 June 2027, then annually. Companies with 150 to 249 employees also face a first deadline of 7 June 2027, then every three years. Companies with 100 to 149 employees have more time: first deadline is 7 June 2031, then every three years. Implementing procedures will be defined by ministerial decree by 5 September 2026.
Joint assessment when an unjustified pay gap is found
If reporting reveals an unjustified mean pay gap of at least 5% between male and female employees in the same category, the employer must initiate a joint pay assessment with employee representatives. If the gap is neither justified on objective, gender-neutral grounds nor corrected within 6 months of the disclosure, the equal opportunities enforcement framework applies.
Penalties
Where pay discrimination is established, administrative fines of between €5,000.00 and €10,000.00 apply. In serious cases or repeat violations, the employer may be barred for up to 2 years from financial incentives and public contracts, with possible clawback of benefits already received.
For a review of the compliance obligations specific to your organisation, contact Studio RCG.