Legislative Decree of 7 May 2026, No. 96 (published in the Official Gazette No. 125 of 1 June 2026) implements Directive (EU) 2023/970 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 10 May 2023, aimed at strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value through pay transparency. The Decree enters into force on 7 June 2026.
The Decree applies to employers in both the public and private sectors, with respect to fixed-term and open-ended employment contracts, including part-time arrangements and managerial positions. Domestic work contracts and intermittent work contracts are excluded from its scope.
PAY TRANSPARENCY BEFORE HIRING
Article 5 requires that job advertisements and vacancy notices indicate the starting salary or the relevant pay band for the position, determined on the basis of objective and gender-neutral criteria. Such indications must make reference to the applicable collective agreement and to the specific position being advertised.
Employers are prohibited from requesting information from candidates about their current or previous remuneration. The same prohibition applies to third parties engaged by the employer to manage the selection and hiring process. Selection procedures must be conducted in a non-discriminatory manner, and vacancy notices must be drafted using gender-neutral criteria, including with respect to the professional qualifications required.
TRANSPARENCY ON PAY DETERMINATION
Under Article 6, employers must make accessible to workers the criteria used to determine pay and pay levels, as well as those established for pay progression.
For employers applying a national collective labour agreement concluded by comparatively more representative trade union organisations at national level or equivalent bodies, the obligation under paragraph 1 is deemed fulfilled by reference to the criteria, grading levels and pay treatments provided for in the applicable CCNL, as well as by any company-level agreements concluded pursuant to Article 51 of Legislative Decree No. 81/2015.
Employers with fewer than fifty employees are not required to make available the criteria for pay progression.
INDIVIDUAL RIGHT TO INFORMATION
Article 7 grants all workers — including those employed by micro and small enterprises — the right to request and receive in writing, within two months of the request, information on average pay levels broken down by sex for categories of workers performing the same work or work of equal value. This right may also be exercised through trade union representatives or equality bodies, and may not be exercised more than once per year.
Workers may not be prevented from disclosing their own remuneration. Contractual clauses restricting this right are expressly prohibited.
Information obtained in this way may be used exclusively for the purpose of exercising the right to equal pay and may not enable the direct or indirect identification of the individual pay conditions of other workers.
In order to avoid the direct or indirect identification of individual workers, employers with up to forty-nine employees may provide the information referred to in paragraph 1 through the modalities set out in Article 9, paragraph 4 of the Decree — that is, with access restricted to workers’ representatives, the Labour Inspectorate and the territorially competent equality bodies.
REPORTING OBLIGATIONS ON THE GENDER PAY GAP
Article 9 establishes reporting obligations on the gender pay gap for employers with at least one hundred employees, with a phased implementation schedule based on company size.
The data subject to reporting includes: the mean and median gender pay gap, the gender pay gap in complementary or variable pay components, the percentage of male and female workers receiving complementary or variable components, the percentage of male and female workers in each pay quartile, and the gender pay gap broken down by worker categories according to base salary and complementary or variable components.
Data must be collected by employers with at least two hundred and fifty employees by 7 June 2027 and annually thereafter. For employers with between one hundred and fifty and two hundred and forty-nine employees, data must be collected by 7 June 2027 and every three years thereafter. For employers with between one hundred and one hundred and forty-nine employees, data must be collected by 7 June 2031 and every three years thereafter.
JOINT PAY ASSESSMENT
Article 10 provides that employers subject to the reporting obligations under Article 9 must carry out, together with workers’ representatives, a joint assessment of pay where all of the following conditions are met: the pay information reveals a difference in mean pay levels between female and male workers of at least five per cent in any category of workers; the employer has not justified that difference on the basis of objective and gender-neutral criteria; and the employer has not corrected that difference within six months of the date on which the pay information was communicated.
The joint assessment is aimed at identifying, correcting and preventing unjustified pay differences and covers, among other things, the analysis of the percentage of female and male workers per category, mean pay levels broken down by sex and by complementary or variable components, any differences in mean pay levels and their reasons, and the percentage of workers who benefited from a pay improvement following return from maternity, paternity, parental or carer’s leave.
The employer must adopt, within a reasonable timeframe and in collaboration with workers’ representatives, the measures identified as necessary to eliminate unjustified pay differences. Where no agreement is reached at company level, the Labour Inspectorate and the territorially competent equality bodies may be invited to take part in the procedure.
JUDICIAL PROTECTION AND SANCTIONS
Article 12 refers to the provisions of the Code of Equal Opportunities between Men and Women (Legislative Decree No. 198/2006) for the judicial remedies available against violations of the Decree. Such remedies may be activated, under specific mandate, also by workers’ representatives and trade union organisations, as well as by associations with a legitimate interest in ensuring equality between men and women. Article 41-bis of Legislative Decree No. 198/2006 applies against any discrimination consisting of less favourable treatment by the employer towards workers or their representatives for having exercised the rights conferred by the Decree.
Where discriminatory conduct in breach of the Decree is established, Article 41 of the Code of Equal Opportunities between Men and Women applies.
FIRST COMPLIANCE STEP: REVIEWING JOB ADVERTISEMENTS
From 7 June 2026, all employers — regardless of company size — are required to include in job advertisements the starting salary or pay band for the position, and are prohibited from requesting information from candidates about their current or previous remuneration. This is the obligation that takes immediate effect and whose compliance should be verified as a matter of priority.
The opinions and information contained in this Newsletter are for general informational purposes only and cannot be considered sufficient to adopt operational decisions or to undertake commitments of any kind, nor do they constitute the expression of professional legal advice. This Newsletter is the property of Studio Legale Carlo Pisani e Associati.
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