Pay Reform – What the Equal Pay Act Brings

As of June 7, 2026, a new law on equal pay for men and women for work of equal value or for work of the same value (Act No. 76/2026 Z. z.) will take effect. This Act implements Directive (2023/970) of the European Parliament and of the Council. It introduces greater transparency in compensation, new disclosure requirements for employers, and rules for reporting pay gaps.

In this article, you will learn

• who is affected by the law,
• what new obligations employers face,
• what is changing in the hiring process,
• what rights employees are gaining,
• who will be responsible for reporting pay gaps,
• and what penalties may be imposed for violating the law.

What This Act Means for Employers

As the title of the law itself suggests, its aim is, among other things, to put an end to pay discrimination. This imposes several obligations on employers—to establish compensation policies, provide information to employees and job applicants, report pay gaps, and demonstrate the objectivity of their pay system. This applies not only to base pay but also to so-called supplementary components of compensation—that is, monetary and in-kind benefits that the employer provides in addition to base pay.

From now on, employers will be required to implement a compensation structure based on which they will assess employee compensation. The criteria must be objective and may not be directly based on gender. Under the law, compensation may be assessed based on the complexity of the work, level of responsibility, physical demands, working conditions, and other relevant factors (including soft skills, social and communication skills, etc.). If there are employee representatives at the employer’s company, the criteria must be agreed upon with them.

When Must Employers Implement the Law?

As mentioned above, the law took effect on June 7, 2026. If an employer was established before this date, it is required to implement the changes by July 30, 2026.

This Does not Apply Only to Your Current Employees

To a certain extent, the hiring process is also changing. It remains the case that a job applicant must be informed of the starting salary (or its range) before an employment contract is signed (and even before the job interview itself). An employer may also inform applicants by including the starting salary directly in the job posting. As for the job interview, an employer must not require a job applicant to disclose information about their previous salary. In practice, this means that not only job postings but also selection procedures—including internal recruitment processes and communication by HR professionals and managers—will need to be adjusted.

Access to Information for Employees

Employees will have the right to access the evaluation criteria used to determine compensation, the level of compensation, and salary increases. If your company has fewer than 50 employees, you are only required to disclose the criteria related to salary increases. Upon request, an employee has the right to receive written information regarding the level of their own compensation and the average level of compensation broken down by gender within the category of employees performing the same work (or work of equal value). The employer has two months to comply with the request. If the information provided is inaccurate or incomplete, the employee has the right to request an explanation, which the employer must provide within 30 days. Another obligation of the employer is to inform employees once a year about this right and also about how they can exercise it.

For completeness, we also note employees’ right to discuss the amount of their salary. If their employment contract still contains provisions prohibiting this, those provisions are invalid. It is not possible to prohibit employees from discussing their compensation.

Reporting Pay Gaps

The law establishes specific obligations for larger employers. They will be required to submit a report to the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, and Family of the Slovak Republic on a regular basis. As for the content of the report, it must include information on pay gaps, the median pay gap, additional components of pay, the proportion of men and women in pay quartiles, and differences based on employee categories.

After this period expires, only two categories will remain: 100–249 employees every 3 years and more than 250 employees annually.

Tolerance in Pay Gaps

Among employees in the same category, there will be a 5% tolerance within which the pay of men and women may differ. If the report reveals a difference greater than 5% and the employer fails to justify it and eliminate it within six months of submitting the report to the Ministry, the employer will be required to conduct a joint remuneration assessment. The purpose of this assessment will be to identify the reasons for the differences, take measures to eliminate them, and prevent unjustified differences in the future. If an employer has employees who have representatives, the joint assessment will be conducted with these representatives.

Practical Application of the Law

This law imposes new responsibilities on employers. They will need to review their wage regulations and internal compensation policies, employment contracts, confidentiality clauses regarding compensation, benefit systems and supplemental compensation components, rules for awarding variable pay components (e.g., bonuses), processes for pay increases, job categorization, the ability of HR and payroll systems to generate the necessary data for evaluation and reporting purposes, the process for handling employee requests for information regarding compensation, and communication with employee representatives (if any exist at the employer’s company). Equally important is the fact that the employer will have to not only declare that it compensates employees fairly, but also demonstrate and substantiate this fact.

Employee Claims and Penalties for Noncompliance with the Law

In the event of a violation of the right to equal pay, an employee is entitled to monetary compensation for damages. Compensation may cover unpaid wages, lost opportunities, non-pecuniary and other damages, and interest on late payment. The statute of limitations is three years. If an employer violates the statutory provisions, they face a fine of up to €100,000 from the labor inspectorate.

If you are one of our clients and have questions regarding this matter, or if you need assistance with implementing the new law, please do not hesitate to contact your assigned representative, our Partner, or the Payroll Manager.

The new legislation represents a significant administrative and procedural change for employers. However, timely preparation can minimize the risk of penalties and, at the same time, contribute to a more transparent and fairer compensation system. Employers should therefore not wait for the first inspections but should review their internal processes now and prepare for the new legal requirements.