“We have no more time to lose”, welcomed MEP Samira Rafaela. While the wage gap between women and men reabsorb with difficulty in France and neighboring countries, the European Parliament has decided to speed up the paceby voting on April 5 in favor of pay transparency.
In practice, companies with more than 50 employees would be required to disclose information making it easier to compare compensation levels between employees. And, from 2.5% pay gap between men and women, employers should implement an action plan.
Highly anticipated, this vote resumes the directive proposal of the European Commission aiming to reduce the pay gap between men and women, but going one step further. The EU executive only targeted companies with 250 or more employees.
“A strong margin of appreciation”
“These proposals provide guidance, but leave a wide margin of appreciation”tempers Mand Karima Saïd, lawyer specializing in labor law. In detail, the text of the Commission provides that a communication be made every year by companies on the levels of remuneration by category of employees and by gender, without there being any question of disclosing individual salaries. Nor does the text define the content of the ” action plan “. As for the sanctions to be put in place, in the event of proven discrimination, they are largely left to the appreciation of the States.
In the opinion of the lawyer, these proposals however represent a step further compared to French law and the index of professional equality set up in 2018, easily malleable in her eyes: “The text of the directive has at least the merit of precisely identifying the obstacles to equal pay. It is a roadmap that is drawn for the future. » Following the vote of the European Parliament, the proposals still have to be negotiated with the twenty-seven members of the European Union to be transcribed into national laws.
Despite its vagueness, the draft directive would provide victims and trade unions with additional leverage to identify wage discrimination. “The text provides that the employer automatically communicates this information every year, without the request resting on the shoulders of the employees”welcomes Mand Karima Said.
Serve as leverage
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