The draft bill by the Ministry of Labor and Social Security titled “Strengthening the implementation of pay equality between men and women for similar work or work of equal value – Implementation of EU Directive 2023/970” will remain in public consultation until June 17.
Public consultation on draft bill for equal pay between men and women
The bill’s objective is to eliminate phenomena where gender influences determining an employee’s compensation.
The regulation’s key provision, implementing the European Directive, states that if pay differences exceed 5%, employers must make corrections, meaning salary increases to cover the difference.
When there’s non-compliance in correcting pay gaps, the European directive grants employees the right to seek compensation.
Healthcare workers in hazardous occupations: The draft bill also includes provisions for integrating specific categories of NHS and EKAV workers into hazardous and unhealthy occupations (nurses, nursing assistants, ambulance drivers and paramedics) – with retirement eligibility at 62 years with at least 15 years of insurance, including 12 years in specific specialties. It also provides the possibility of recognizing and purchasing previous employment time to complete required insurance conditions. Retirement conditions are equalized with those applying to corresponding specialties of the former IKA-ETAM.
Labor and Social Security Minister Niki Kerameos stated: “Employee compensation must be determined by work quality and abilities, not gender. In this direction, the new draft bill establishes specific obligations in two basic stages: before hiring and after hiring. With clear rules, greater accountability, and substantial control mechanisms, we strengthen trust in the labor market with equal opportunities for all.”
The new draft bill introduces for the first time a comprehensive transparency framework for compensation in two areas: before hiring and during employment relationship.
Before hiring, the company:
- must inform about salary or pay range for the offered position
- cannot ask about previous salary amounts the candidate received
During employment relationship, companies will be required to submit data on:
- pay gap in salaries and additional corporate benefits
- pay gap by employee category
Employees will be able to ask:
- how they are classified salary-wise
- average salaries for men and women for identical or equivalent work
Internal pay gap monitoring in companies is also established. Companies will be required to submit data regarding the male-female pay gap, bonus pay gaps, median pay gaps, and pay gaps by employee category. This obligation will apply annually for companies with 250 or more employees and every three years for companies with 100 or more employees.
When pay deviation without objective explanation is identified (e.g., greater experience, more qualifications), the company is required to correct it.
The new framework also connects with efforts to strengthen collective labor agreements. It provides that when collective labor agreements apply, it’s presumed there are no unjustified pay discriminations and that collective labor agreements can be used as a basis for creating pay structures in companies.
The draft bill significantly strengthens judicial protection for workers. If an employee believes discrimination exists, they have the right to request salary data, appeal to justice, and be represented by union organizations or equality bodies.
It’s worth noting that Minister Kerameos has incorporated 65 proposals submitted by National Social Partners, employee and employer representatives into the bill under development.
What the new draft bill provides
The bill also includes provisions for:
-Possibility of remote participation in labor dispute resolution procedures at the Labor Inspectorate.
-Establishment of a Digital Registry for Collective Labor Agreements (CLA) so organizations can electronically submit collective regulations to facilitate easier citizen access to CLA content and monitor worker coverage by CLAs.
The bill includes 45 articles total and will remain in public consultation until June 17. Comments submitted will be considered in shaping the final text.
The bill has been posted at https://www.opengov.gr/minlab/?p=6416
Following are 11+1 Questions and Answers about the new draft bill from the Ministry of Labor and Social Security for strengthening pay equality between men and women for similar work or work of equal value.
- What is the essence of the bill on pay equality?
In one sentence: compensation should be determined by your work and value, not your gender. Gender should play no role in determining earnings.
- Is there currently pay disparity between men and women?
Yes, despite recent years’ improvements, the pay gap between men and women continues to exist both in Greece (according to latest data, women’s average hourly wages are 13.4% lower than men’s) and Europe (11.1% lower than men’s). The new draft bill is based on the logic that equal pay isn’t sufficient as a theoretical provision, but requires transparency, control, and actual implementation mechanisms in the labor market.
- I’m a female employee. What essentially changes in my daily life?
For the first time, a more organized framework is created so you can know if you’re being paid fairly and more easily claim your rights. Until now, the principle of equal pay existed in legislation, but in practice many women struggled to prove discrimination or even gain insight into how similar positions within the same company are compensated.
The new draft bill increases salary transparency, requires companies to have clearer pay structures, grants access rights to more information, and strengthens protection when discrimination is suspected.
The goal is for compensation not to depend on gender but on work’s actual value.
- How will I understand if I’m paid less than a colleague providing the same work?
Most importantly, you now gain information rights. You can request data not only about your individual pay level, but also about average salaries for men and women doing identical or equivalent work in the company. This essentially changes the situation, because often employees don’t know if pay differences exist. Until now, salaries often functioned as a “closed information system.” Now greater transparency is created to more easily identify unjustified deviations and treatment inequalities.
- Does this mean all men and women must be paid the same? Isn’t there meritocracy?
Of course there’s meritocracy. What the bill and European Directive try to achieve is eliminating unjustified pay deviations due to gender or other discriminations, meaning a man and woman in the same work position with the same qualifications and responsibilities shouldn’t be paid differently. If there’s an objective reason for pay deviation (e.g., one has much greater experience or more degrees), then equal pay isn’t an issue.
- What changes in hiring?
Until now, many candidates went to interviews without knowing even approximately the position’s compensation. Also, previous salary information was often requested, which could perpetuate old inequalities. With the new framework, employers must inform about the position’s pay range or salary before interviews, cannot ask “how much did you earn in your previous job,” and the hiring process overall must be gender-neutral. This means clearer rules from the start and limiting reproduction of pay inequalities when changing jobs.
- Who monitors if a company applies equal pay for equal work?
The Ombudsman plays a central role. The new draft bill strengthens monitoring and intervention capabilities when there are indications of unjustified pay differences. Additionally, larger companies are required to monitor and submit data on pay gaps between men and women at specific periodic intervals depending on employee numbers. If significant pay deviation for similar work is identified without objective explanation, corrective measures must be taken. The system doesn’t rely only on individual employee complaints but creates transparency obligations and internal monitoring within companies.
- If I believe discrimination exists against me, what can I do?
You can request data, appeal to the Labor Inspectorate, turn to justice, and have support from the Ombudsman or union organizations. The protective provision continues that if discrimination indications exist, the burden of proof transfers to the employer. Employees don’t need to prove the entire problem alone from start to finish.
- How are companies protected from abusive or repeated requests for salary data?
The draft bill explicitly provides that employers can refuse data provision when requests are disproportionate or abusive due to their repetitive nature. In these cases, employees retain the right to request information through the Ombudsman, who judges the request’s validity. Simultaneously, confidentiality and secrecy obligations are provided for employees and employee representatives regarding salary data received, while companies can seek compensation for damages if these obligations are violated.
- What are potential penalties if discrimination is proven?
If unjustified pay discrimination is proven, employees can receive full compensation, retroactive salaries, or lost bonuses. Simultaneously, the Labor Inspectorate retains rights to impose sanctions and fines.
- If a company has collective labor agreements, what changes?
The new framework gives greater weight to collective labor agreements. It provides that when collective labor agreements apply, it’s presumed there are no unjustified pay discriminations and collective agreements can be used as a basis for creating company pay structures. Simultaneously, companies must adapt position categories to properly reflect work value in the organization, and the Labor Inspectorate fully retains its competencies while employees continue being protected. Protection doesn’t decrease but creates incentives for more organized collective regulations.
- What changes for NHS and EKAV nurses, nursing assistants, ambulance drivers, and paramedics?
There was a distortion for decades: nurses, nursing assistants, ambulance drivers, and paramedics in the private sector fell under hazardous and unhealthy occupations while some public sector colleagues didn’t. The new draft bill integrates NHS and EKAV nurses, nursing assistants, ambulance drivers, and paramedics under Public retirement protection into Hazardous and Unhealthy Occupations, satisfying a decades-old demand. Retirement conditions are equalized with those already applying to corresponding specialties in former IKA-ETAM hazardous occupations, providing retirement possibility at 62 with specific insurance conditions. Primary and supplementary insurance contributions are also regulated, while recognizing and purchasing previous employment time is enabled to establish retirement rights. This is a comprehensive regulation with immediate application to specific public health system worker categories.
