In this news article, we will focus on the European Commission’s response to the announced postponement and highlight the key amendments to the legislative proposal compared to the initial version.  

Status of the Dutch implementation

Background

The EU Pay Transparency Directive (EU) 2023/970 (the Directive) entered into force on 6 June 2023 and must be implemented by the EU member states into their national laws by 7 June 2026 at the latest.

The primary objective of the Directive is to promote equal pay between men and women by introducing concrete measures to increase pay transparency. This results, amongst others, in the following obligations for employers:

  • establishing objective pay structures;
  • various transparency obligations (pre-employment and during employment); and
  • pay reporting and pay evaluation obligations for employers with 100 employees or more.

The Dutch legislative proposal was open for internet consultation from 26 March 2025 until 7 May 2025. On 15 September 2025, the Minister of Social Affairs and Employment announced that timely implementation by 7 June 2026 is not feasible. As such, the Dutch implementation date of the Directive has been postponed to 1 January 2027.

For further information on the Directive and prior developments regarding the Dutch implementation proposal, we refer to our news blogs on the Pay Transparency Directive adopted by the European Union, Dutch implementation proposal of the European Pay Transparency Directive and Update on Dutch implementation of Pay Transparency Directive.

Response of the European Commission to the announced postponement

The announced postponement of the Dutch implementation date has not gone unnoticed in Brussels. Members of the European Parliament have submitted several written questions to the European Commission on this matter, which we previously discussed in our blog on the Update on Dutch implementation of Pay Transparency Directive. The European Commission responded to these questions on 18 December 2025.

In its response, the Commission indicates that it disagrees with the announced postponement and underlines the importance of the Directive for the effective enforcement of the right to equal pay between women and men for equal work or work of equal value. The Commission expects all Member States to implement the Directive into national law by June 2026 at the latest. Failure to comply with this deadline may lead to an infringement procedure being initiated against the Member State concerned.

What does this mean for employers?

Any potential infringement proceedings would be brought against the Netherlands as a Member State and would not have direct implications for employers. Directives, in principle, do not have horizontal direct effect, which means that individuals cannot rely directly on a directive in disputes with other private parties.

However, after 7 June 2026, Dutch courts should interpret existing national law, to the extent possible, in a manner consistent with the Directive. While such interpretation may influence the explanation of existing legislation, it may not lead to an interpretation contra legem (i.e. an interpretation contrary to the law). Therefore, no obligations may in principle be created for private parties that do not already arise from national law.

Amended version of the legislative proposal

As mentioned, the demissionary Minister of Social Affairs and Employment has submitted an amended version of the legislative proposal for advice to the Council of State. The amended legislative proposal contains in particular several clarifications and improved formulations, while the substance of the obligations remains intact. Below, we summarise the key amendments compared to the consultation version:

  1. Terms defined in more detail in governmental decree (AMvB): Article 1 of the Dutch Act on Equal Treatment of Men and Women (Wet gelijke behandeling van mannen en vrouwen) defines the relevant terms. The revised legislative proposal provides that these terms may be further defined by governmental decree (AMvB), including at least the terms of ‘pay’ and ‘pay gap’.
  2. Definition of ‘employer’: The definition of ‘employer’ no longer aligns with the term ‘undertaking’ as used in the Dutch Works Councils Act (Wet op de ondernemingsraden). In determining who qualifies as an employer, the definition now follows what is customary in practice, namely: the entity with whom the employee has entered into an employment contract or a public-law appointment.
  3. Amendment to the term ‘pay structures’: Uncertainty existed as to the obligation to establish pay structures and to assess work of equal value, including how pay structures and job evaluation relate to one another. Accordingly, the term ‘pay structures ensuring equal pay for equal work or work of equal value’ has been amended to ‘a system of job evaluation and job classification that ensures equal pay for equal work or work of equal value’.
  4. Transparency prior to employment: The legislative proposal contains, among other things, measures to enhance transparency prior to employment. In order to eliminate uncertainty as to when the relevant information must be provided, it has been clarified that such information must in any case be disclosed before salary negotiations commence (it therefore does not necessarily need to be included in the job vacancy).
  5. Amendment to the role of the Works Council: To better comply with the requirements of the Directive, the amended legislative proposal provides that the Works Council must be consulted on the accuracy of the pay reporting, but is not required to confirm the accuracy. Such an obligation would exceed what is required under the Directive. Responsibility for confirming the accuracy of the data lies with the management board.
  6. Consolidated reporting: The starting point remains that subsidiaries are required to report individually. However, in situations where a parent company centrally determines the remuneration policy and subsidiaries have no discretion to depart from such policy, reporting at group level is allowed.
  7. Reporting of agency workers: The starting point is that agency workers are to be included in the reporting of the hiring entity. The manner in which agency workers are to be reflected in the report has been amended. Where agency workers are used, the report must consist of two parts (one relating to the entity’s own employees and the other relating to the agency workers).
  8. Use of personal data: A new provision has been added to the legislative proposal providing that personal data processed for the purposes of the right to information or the reporting and evaluation obligations may be used solely for the implementation of the principle of equal pay.

Next steps

We will continue to monitor developments regarding the implementation proposal closely and provide an update as soon as the Council of State has issued its advice. After completion of the advisory procedure, the legislative proposal may be amended further, after which it will be processed by the Dutch House of Representatives and then by the Dutch Senate.

In the meantime, employers are encouraged to make use of the ‘additional’ time to prepare as much as possible for the upcoming obligations. Should you have any questions following this news blog, please do not hesitate to contact us.

For information regarding the status of the implementation of the Directive in Belgium and Luxembourg, please contact our Employment & Benefits colleagues.