Italy: The EU Pay Transparency Directive

Implementation and actions

What is the current implementation status and timing? (September 2025)

The Directive has not yet been implemented in Italy. 

On 5 February 2026, Italy published draft legislation to implement the Directive. Although it is still subject to Parliament's opinion, the draft already confirms key obligations including mandatory pre employment pay transparency, rights of access to information concerning average pay levels and includes a proposal for the types of workers who should be covered. 

The draft text has not yet been published in Gazzetta Ufficiale, but initial analyses suggest that while the text remains close to the original Directive, there are a number of measures which will be unique to Italy's implementation.  

What preparatory steps are you advising clients to take, including ensuring they have access to the required data?

Employers are already subject to existing requirements in Italy as the Legislative Decree No. 198/2006 (the "Code of equal opportunities between men and women") already includes some of the provisions contained in the Directive. However, the Directive includes a number of provisions, in particular, concerning the right of information and rights of protection, which will be transposed in Italy. Employers should monitor the development of the draft legislation so that hey are ready to adjust their processes once final requirements are confirmed. 

Implementing the Directive's requirements

Which workers are in scope?

The concept of "worker" in Italian legislation can include both autonomous workers and employees. At this stage, the draft legislation limits its scope of application to employees, including executives, while it excludes apprenticeship, domestic work and intermittent contracts.

Collective bargaining agreements are emphasized as the primary tool to define "work of equal value". Other member states instead rely on employer designed job architectures and evaluation frameworks, and while these are permitted in the Italian version of the law, they are to be considered secondary. 

Who will be workers' representatives?

The draft legislation defines "employee representatives" as the members of the work council (RSU (Rappresentanze Sindacali Unitarie) or RSA (Rappresentanze Sindcacali Aziendali)) or, in their absence, the territorial representatives of the trade union organizations that are signatories to the NCBA applied in the company, as well as those persons to whom the workers may lawfully confer a specific mandate.

Are there any proposals around the methodology and tools for assessing "equal value"?

The Italian draft anchors "same work" and "work of equal value" in national collective bargaining agreement classification systems. Comparability flows from contractual levels negotiated at sector level but, to supplement the provisions of the applicable NCBAs, the draft legislation also permits employer-designed job classification systems for the purpose of determining pay, provided they are based on objective and gender-neutral criteria.

The Department for Equal Opportunities, the National Committee for the Implementation of the Principles of Equal Treatment and Equal Opportunities between Male and Female Workers, and the Equality Advisors are responsible for promoting governance related to equal treatment and are tasked with drafting guidelines and best practices. Non-statutory guidance is available which identifies a set of best practices and gender-neutral evaluation criteria.

How is pay defined?

The definition of pay in the Italian draft is broad, covering bonuses, benefits and in kind compensation in line with the Directive. 

Currently, companies with more than 50 employees must provide a report on male and female workers, including, amongst other things, the amount of total remuneration paid which includes supplementary salary components, allowances, payments linked to performance, bonuses and any other benefits in kind or other payments that have been granted to each employee.

There is also government guidance which can help identify the pay components for this report. It is likely that legislation relating to the Directive obligations will follow suit.

How are the requirements for transparency for job applicants being implemented?

Under the draft legislation, using candidate salary history as a basis for offers during recruitment is prohibited; employers must not request this information from the candidate or obtain it from other sources. Initial salaries or the relevant pay range for the position, as well as the applicable provisions of the collective bargaining agreement must be communicated during recruitment; this information must also be included in job postings. Such job postings must be drafted on the basis of objective and gender neutral criteria, including with regard to the professional qualifications required. 

We are awaiting further details of measures to be introduced to align with the Directive.

Current position

Currently, all recruitment processes must be conducted in a non-discriminatory manner. There is a general prohibition on unequal treatment when offering a job and handling the filling of a vacancy, employment services and entering and terminating an employment relationship; employers may not therefore discriminate on the basis of certain grounds for discrimination. Acting in violation of this legislation is prohibited and may result in unlawful conduct (damages claim).

Companies can also obtain the so-called Gender Equality Certification, which aims to attest to the policies and concrete measures adopted by employers to reduce the gender gap in relation to opportunities for growth within the company, equal pay for equal work, gender difference management policies, and maternity protection. The Gender Equality Certification can bring some benefits including contributory exemption and preferential treatment in public tenders.

How are the requirements for transparency for workers being implemented?

According to the draft legislation, employers must make available to their employees the criteria used to determine pay and pay levels, as well as those established for employees' pay progression. Employers with fewer than 50 employees will be exempt from disclosing progression criteria under the draft legislation.

The draft legislation sets out that the information employers are already required to give employees at the start of the employment relationship constitutes the ordinary way to comply with pay transparency obligations, as it sets out job classification, initial pay, the applicable collective agreement and the criteria for determining pay. For employers applying a national collective bargaining agreement signed by the most representative trade unions (or equivalent), this transparency obligation is deemed fulfilled by referring to the classification criteria, pay levels and economic treatment provided for in the applicable collective agreement and company‑level agreements.

The draft also provides that employees are entitled to request and receive information, also through their representatives, on average pay levels, disaggregated by gender, for categories of employees performing the same work or work of equal value. Employers may publish such data proactively on an intranet or restricted website, rather than responding individually to each employee request. 

In addition, the draft provides for that employees may not be prevented from disclosing their own pay and that contractual clauses limiting employees' ability to disclose information about their own pay are prohibited.

How are the gender pay reporting requirements being implemented?

We are awaiting further details of measures to be introduced to align with the Directive and how these sit with existing requirements. The current statutory threshold numbers and reporting deadlines are lower and shorter than those provided for by the Directive, which have been transposed in the draft legislation. 

Data may be reported at country level, rather than legal entity by entity, where a unified group pay policy applies.

We believe that the existing rules would exceed the draft legislation's requirements for gender pay gap reporting in relation to the employer's occupational threshold and the frequency of the reporting obligation.

Current position

Article 46, Legislative Decree 198/2006 establishes an obligation for companies with more than 50 employees to draft a report every two years on male and female personnel in each profession, in relation to:
 

• hiring,
• training,
• promotion, levels, category or qualification changes and other mobility phenomena,
• intervention of the wage guarantee fund,
• dismissals, early retirements, and retirements, and
• the actual remuneration paid.

When counting workers for the purposes of the Directive's pay reporting thresholds, will only workers of a particular "legal entity" be in scope?

Under the current legislation, the trigger for reporting is calculated by looking at each "legal" employer i.e. the employee's direct employer, rather than across the group of companies. Each legal employer meeting the trigger must publish its own report.

However, Italy may see "enterprise network contracts" which establish a form of co-employership. While they are not very common, in such cases, the trigger might consider all the workers of the enterprises who are part of such a contract.

This aspect is not defined in the draft legislation. 

Do we have details on how the requirement for a joint pay assessment will be implemented?

The draft legislation reflects the provision of the Directive and confirms that employers with at least 100 employees must carry out a joint pay assessment with employee representatives when: (i) pay data show an average gender pay gap of at least 5% in any employee category, (ii) the gap is not justified by objective, gender‑neutral criteria, and (iii) it is not remedied within six months of the pay information being disclosed. 

Employers must share the results with employees and their representatives, and communicate them to the monitoring authority (and, upon request, to the Labour Inspectorate and equality body). They must then, within a reasonable time and in cooperation with employee representatives, implement measures to eliminate unjustified pay differences, including reviewing or introducing gender‑neutral job evaluation and classification systems.

Do we have details as to how the Directive obligations will be enforced and potential sanctions?

The draft legislation with regard to judicial protection in the event of a breach of the decree itself, refers to the rules already in force in Italy set out in the Equal Opportunities Code. 

Remedies may also be pursed, on the basis of a specific mandate, by employees' representatives, trade unions or associations that have a legitimate interest in ensuring equality between men and women. 

In the event that discrimination is found in breach of this obligation, the draft legislation provides for the imposition of the sanctions set out in the Equal Opportunities Code. 

Are there any tools or guidance available to support employers?

Existing non-statutory guidance supporting gender pay reporting is available. The Department for Equal Opportunities, the National Committee for the Implementation of the Principles of Equal Treatment and Equal Opportunities between Male and Female Workers and the Equality Advisors are responsible for promoting governance related to equal treatment and are tasked with drafting guidance and best practices.

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