Joint Pay Assessment
Joint pay assessment from a 5% pay gap (Article 10 Directive 2023/970)
Practitioner's note: This article is practice-oriented compliance documentation, not legal advice. We are a compliance specialist, not a law firm. For legally binding information please consult a licensed lawyer.
TL;DR
A joint pay assessment under Article 10 of the EU Pay Transparency Directive 2023/970 is a mandatory joint review with employee representatives where the pay gap for a category of workers (same or equivalent work) exceeds 5% AND cannot be explained by objective gender-neutral criteria AND has not been corrected within 6 months.
What is a Joint Pay Assessment?
Three cumulative conditions:
- Pay gap > 5% in a category of workers
- Not explicable by objective criteria (experience, qualification, etc.)
- Not corrected within 6 months
Content of the assessment:
- Analysis of the causes of the gap
- Action plan for correction
- Implementation tracking
- The result must be made available within the company
Practical example
Practical case: a company with 250 employees analyses the pay gap per job category. For 'senior software developers': women earn 8% less. A Joint Pay Assessment is triggered — analysis shows 5% is explicable (lower average experience), 3% is not explicable → correction plan + pay raises.
Frequently asked questions
From when does the obligation apply?
EU deadline 07/06/2026. German transposition delayed — application expected in 2027. EU law applies directly via primacy of application from 06/2026.
Who are the employee representatives?
The works council, if any. Otherwise: elected employee representatives. Where collective agreements apply: possibly union representatives.
Must the results be published?
Within the company (made available company-wide), yes. Reporting to authorities is separate. External publication is not mandatory.