Latest news and stories about salary transparency in europe in Portugal for expats and residents.
The European Commission is reviewing Portugal's implementation of the new European Pay Transparency Directive and may initiate infringement proceedings for non-compliance. The directive requires companies to justify salary criteria, moving away from traditional pay models based on negotiation or personal favoritism.
The European Union is introducing mandatory salary transparency rules starting June 7, requiring companies to provide clearer information on remuneration policies. Member states must incorporate these directives into domestic law to help reduce wage inequalities, though the rules have yet to be transposed into Portuguese legislation.
Portugal has missed the deadline for implementing the EU salary transparency directive, which aims to eliminate wage discrimination, ban secrecy clauses, and introduce stricter penalties for non-compliant companies.
The upcoming transposition of EU Directive 2023/970 into Portuguese law sparks debate over whether salary transparency enhances competitive advantage or risks anti-competitive wage collusion.
The trade union federation argues that the salary should be included in job advertisements. Portugal is facing an infringement procedure from the European Commission for failing to transpose the directive on time.
The directive introduces key measures including the right to pre-contractual salary information, a ban on questions regarding salary history, and the right for employees to know comparable salary levels. It mandates transparency in remuneration criteria, regular reporting on gender pay gaps for companies with 100 or more employees, and compulsory pay audits if disparities exceed 5%. Furthermore, it strengthens access to justice for victims of discrimination, allows for legal representation by equality bodies, and requires member states to implement effective sanctions for non-compliance. Brussels is currently taking action against Portugal to enforce these standards, posing a new challenge for employers as the country risks non-compliance.
Despite the progress recorded over the last decade, Portugal still had a gender pay gap of 12.5 percent unfavourable to women in 2023. In this context, the European directive poses a challenge to companies that is not only regulatory, but also cultural, organisational and strategic. This directive introduces new obligations, ranging from the disclosure of pay ranges...
The European Commission has opened an infringement procedure against Portugal, considering that national legislation is “not fully aligned” with European Union (EU) rules on transparent and predictable working conditions. As part of the July infringement package published this Wednesday, Brussels announced it has sent a formal letter of notification to...
According to the 2026 Hays Guide, 70% of job advertisements in Portugal do not include any reference to remuneration, a scenario that is about to change thanks to the new European directive on salary transparency, which is to be adopted in all member states by June 7th.
Remuneration inequality remains one of the most persistent expressions of structural asymmetries in the labour market. Fueled, among other things, by stereotypes and the unequal distribution of care responsibilities, it continues to affect women particularly severely, especially in terms of professional progression and salary appreciation. In this context, Directive (EU) 2023/970, more...
With the transposition of the European Directive approaching, salary transparency has ceased to be an abstract topic and has become a structural requirement, with a direct impact on how organisations position themselves internally and externally. Despite this, the debate remains very focused on general principles, while the main concern for organisations is how to operationalise it.
