Companies in the EU will have to report salary differences in the future

After the European Parliament, the EU countries also agreed stricter rules for more wage transparency. Among other things, companies with more than 250 employees must report annually to what extent wages differ between men and women, the EU states announced on Monday.

Smaller companies are also affected, but less severely: they have to provide this information less often and sometimes only start in about eight years instead of four years. According to information from the EU Parliament, companies with fewer than 100 employees must provide the relevant information when employees request it. The new scheme should make it easier to compare salaries and highlight any differences in wages.

According to the information, women in the EU earn on average 13 percent less than men. According to EU information, the so-called gender pay gap has narrowed only minimally in recent years.

Salary confidentiality clauses should also be prohibited in the future. According to the will of the EU, a mandatory investigation with employee representatives is also planned if a gender pay gap of five percent or more is found in a company. (sda/awp/dpa)