Directive (EU) 2023/970 is a European regulation on pay transparency and equal pay between women and men that must be transposed into Spanish law by 7 June 2026.
Although Spain already has an obligation to maintain a pay register in accordance with Royal Decree 902/2020, the EU Directive expands this framework by introducing more harmonised and comparable criteria across the European Union.
Its purpose is to strengthen pay equality, improve salary transparency and make the gender pay gap easier to identify.
Key changes
The Directive introduces new indicators for analysing remuneration.
One of the main changes is the inclusion of average hourly pay, which complements annual salary analysis and allows for more accurate comparisons between roles.
It also harmonises the definition of the gender pay gap, understood as the difference between the average pay levels of women and men, expressed as a percentage of men’s average pay.
In addition, it introduces the analysis of the distribution of women and men across pay quartiles, helping to identify whether women are overrepresented in lower-paid positions or men in higher-paid positions.
Transparency in variable pay and recruitment
The Directive strengthens transparency regarding variable remuneration.
Companies will be required to report the proportion of women and men receiving bonuses, incentives or benefits in kind, beyond overall averages.
In recruitment processes, employers must inform candidates of the initial salary or salary range for the position and will be prohibited from requesting information about previous pay.
Recruitment procedures must also ensure gender neutrality.
Internal transparency and application in Spain
Companies will be required to strengthen internal transparency by explaining the criteria used to determine salaries, promotions and pay reviews, as well as employees’ right to request salary information.
Although the transposition deadline is 7 June 2026, Spanish implementing legislation has not yet clarified how these obligations will be applied in practice.
For this reason, companies are encouraged to review their pay reporting systems, job classification structures and remuneration policies in order to prepare for the upcoming changes.
Conclusion
Directive 2023/970 represents a significant step towards greater salary transparency across the European Union. Although its application in Spain will depend on the future transposition law, companies should prepare for increased requirements in the monitoring, analysis and communication of pay information.
This Directive complements the current Spanish legal framework on equal pay.
