Although the concept of equal pay is not new and has been part of the Polish Labor Code for years, this summer will see a change in how pay policies operate in Poland as a result of the implementation of Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council (hereinafter: the Directive).
The goal is to effectively strengthen the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value; however, by introducing far-reaching pay transparency—including employees’ right to obtain information about pay levels within the organization—additional reporting obligations are being imposed on employers.
Equal Pay – Challenges for Employers
Under the Directive and the proposed national regulations, employees will have the right to information on average pay divided by job categories and pay principles. It is important to clarify a common misunderstanding: this does not refer to information on the individual pay of specific persons.
Employers will be required to apply objective and neutral pay criteria, report on the pay gap (in specific cases listed in Article 9 of Directive), analyze pay structures, and take corrective action if differences exceed 5%.
1.Conducting an analysis of existing processes
As a result, employers will need to analyze their current recruitment and compensation systems, which may result in the need to implement HR/controlling systems, increased compliance costs, or the risk of penalties in the event of irregularities.
Already from the end of 2025, the first transparency requirements become effective, such as the obligation to disclose salary ranges during recruitment.
2.Changes to Recruitment Processes
The new regulations are changing the dynamics between candidates and employers right from the initial contact stage – recruitment. Organisations will be required to disclose the starting salary or salary range, for example in the job advertisement or prior to the interview.
It will not be possible to ask a candidate about their previous earnings with former employers, with the aim of moving away from negotiations based on the candidate’s salary history. If a candidate states expectations lower than the salary range set for the role, the employer should still offer a salary in line with the established pay scale.
This means that positions must be precisely evaluated before the recruitment process begins, and that employers should move away from hiring based on low costs in favor of the actual value of the work performed in a given position.
3.Informing Employees About Salary Levels
Employers will be required to provide employees with easy access to objective and gender-neutral criteria that determine salary levels and career advancement paths. This marks the end of discretionary pay decisions.. Any differences in salary will have to be justified by factual grounds, such as length of service, education, scope of responsibility, or specific qualifications.
Furthermore, every employee will have the right to request information on the average pay levels of individuals performing the same work or work of equal value, divided by gender.
The challenge for companies will be not only to reliably prepare this information, but above all to effectively manage internal communication to avoid tensions within teams where existing pay gaps have not been properly justified.
4.Conducting job evaluations
Employers often don’t have formal, consistent job evaluation systems, and comparing the performance of the same work to work of equal value is one of the most common disputes that arise in practice.
The Directive and case law indicate that this is not solely about identical positions, but about work that is comparable in terms of qualifications, responsibility, effort, and working conditions.
This carries the risk that an employee may demonstrate that they are performing work “of equal value,” despite a different job title—which opens the door to potential claims.
The introduction of transparency means that pay differences that were previously “invisible” will become the subject of analysis and potential labor disputes. By learning the average salaries within their group, employees will be able to compare their position relative to others, thereby increasing the risk of uncovering unjustified pay disparities within the organizational structure.
This has real organisational consequences, such as an increase in the number of disputes and claims; in particular, this refers to a short-term decline in satisfaction resulting from social comparisons, and, crucially, pressure to ‘equalise’ pay.
The new regulations require that pay differences be justified by objective and neutral criteria, such as an assessment of competencies or work performance. In practice, many companies use discretionary pay systems, and salary decisions are not documented.
The consequences that may arise in this regard include difficulty in defending against allegations of discrimination, and, particularly important in the case of legal disputes, a reversal of the burden of proof, where the employer will have to demonstrate the absence of discrimination.
5.Pay Gap Reporting
Companies will be required to regularly publish reports on pay differences between women and men. If the analysis reveals a pay gap exceeding 5% that cannot be justified by objective factors, the employer will be required to conduct a joint pay review in collaboration with employee representatives.
How can you prepare to avoid the problems mentioned above?
We believe that preparing for change should include:
Renumeration audit – which involves identifying pay disparities and analyzing the risk of discrimination.
Implementation of a job evaluation system – based on objective criteria consistent across the entire organization (qualifications and competencies, scope of responsibility, complexity and nature of work, effort and workload, working conditions).
Streamlining the renumeration policy – clear rules for promotions and raises, and documentation of pay decisions.
Preparing internal communications – explaining the remuneration rules to employees, which will help mitigate the risk of conflicts.
The upcoming changes do not introduce a new principle of equal pay – the existing regulations are being strengthened to compel employers to transition from a “discretionary” model to a system-based model grounded in consistent, objective, and measurable data that clearly defines the value of work and its pay criteria. Companies that put their remuneration policies in order early enough will not only limit legal risks and labor disputes but will also be able to use transparency as a factor in organizational stability and a competitive advantage in the labor market.