Commission for implementing the Pay Transparency Directive gets to work

The EU Pay Transparency Directive has to be transposed into German law by 7 June 2026. The coalition agreement “Responsibility for Germany” from May 2025 states:

“We want to achieve equal pay for equal work for women and men by 2030. To this end, we will transpose the EU Transparency Directive into national law with a minimum of bureaucracy. We will set up a commission to make proposals on this by the end of 2025.”

The commission appointed by Federal Minister Karin Prien to ensure a low-bureaucracy implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive started work on 17 July 2025. The Minister’s mandate to the commission is clear:

“We want equal pay for equal work by 2030. To achieve this, we must continue to close the gender pay gap and implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive 1:1. Today, I have tasked the Commission on the Low-Bureaucracy Implementation of the Pay Transparency Directive with developing proposals for the low-bureaucracy and effective implementation of the directive. The Commission is also expected to draft proposals to support small and medium-sized enterprises. I am confident that the commission [...] will succeed in presenting proposals by late autumn 2025 that are effective for employees, but also practical and low-bureaucracy for employers.”

This is a challenging task for the Commission, which must also operate within the framework set by the Directive. The task is challenging not only in terms of content, but also in terms of time: late autumn 2025 is fast approaching.

It wouldn’t be surprising if the directive weren’t transposed on time. But it’s advisable to begin internal preparations based on the Pay Transparency Directive as much as possible to be prepared for implementation. For example, companies can undertake internal analyses on forming comparison groups. These preparatory steps can then be fine-tuned in line with the specific implementation.

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