Pay Transparency: German Federal Labour Court Defines the Limits of Information Rights

The implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive is still pending in Germany. The transposition deadline expired on 7 June 2026. Although it remains unclear when a draft bill will be published, private sector employers should not put the topic on hold. The Directive may already influence the interpretation of existing German law through the principle of consistent interpretation in light of EU law. Against this background, recent developments in German case law deserve close attention. Two decisions of the German Federal Labour Court (Bundesarbeitsgericht, BAG) are particularly noteworthy, as they clarify key aspects of the existing German Pay Transparency Act (Entgelttransparenzgesetz, EntgTranspG).

 

Information Rights Remain Limited to the Establishment for Now

In its judgment of 19 February 2026 (8 AZR 83/25), the BAG clarified that the information right under Sections 10 et seq. EntgTranspG is establishment-specific and limited to the last completed calendar year preceding the information request. The relevant comparator group is therefore determined at the level of the individual establishment (Betrieb) within the meaning of German works constitution law, rather than at company level.

This applies even where remuneration is determined centrally across the organisation, for example through company-wide compensation structures or central works agreements. The same establishment-based approach also applies when assessing whether the statutory threshold of six comparators of the opposite gender under Section 12(3) EntgTranspG has been met.

For employers, this decision provides welcome clarity. Companies operating multiple establishments are not required to disclose pay information on a company-wide basis merely because salary bands, job levels or variable compensation schemes are centrally managed. The decisive reference point remains the individual establishment.

That said, employers should take a closer look at this issue once the Pay Transparency Directive is implemented. Unlike the current German legislation, the Directive does not tie information rights to the individual establishment in the same way. In practice, this could mean that comparator groups will no longer stop at establishment boundaries in the future.

 

No “Fishing Expeditions” via Section 242 German Civil Code

Another BAG decision dated 23 October 2025 (8 AZR 269/24) concerns employers below the threshold for statutory information requests under Section 10 EntgTranspG. In that case, an employee sought to base an information claim not on the Pay Transparency Act but on the general principle of good faith under Section 242 of the German Civil Code (BGB).

The Court left open whether such a claim may exist at all in equal pay disputes. It nevertheless held that a mere suspicion of unequal pay is insufficient. The claimant must first demonstrate that an underlying payment claim is at least reasonably likely to exist.

In practical terms, employees seeking information must present tangible facts indicating that equal or equivalent work is being paid differently. General references to a similar job title, comparable public presentation or broadly similar role are not enough. Instead, claimants must provide concrete information regarding duties, responsibilities and working conditions. As a result, the limitations set out in Section 10 EntgTranspG cannot be circumvented by relying on Section 242 BGB.

 

Takeaway

In the short term, these decisions confirm several important limitations of the current information rights regime under German law. Information requests remain confined to the individual establishment and to the last completed calendar year preceding the request. In addition, employees cannot obtain extensive remuneration information through Section 242 BGB without first presenting concrete indications of a potential equal pay claim.

Nevertheless, changes can be expected once the Pay Transparency Directive is implemented. The direction of travel is already clear: information rights will arise earlier, apply to a broader range of employers and have to be addressed within shorter timeframes. Employers that begin preparing now and implement robust systems and processes will be well placed to manage these enhanced transparency obligations effectively.