Employers must prevent wage differences between men and women

What changes?

Are you an employer? You must make sure men and women within your organisation receive equal pay. In the Netherlands it still happens that women with comparable experience and education get paid less for comparable work. The government is working on legislation to counteract these wage differences. For employers this means:

• You must be open about salaries and pay differences in your company.
• You are no longer allowed to ask applicants about their previous salary.
• You must establish fair and clear rules for salaries so that remuneration is fair and can be monitored.
• Do you have more than 100 employees? Then you must disclose the extent of pay differences at fixed, recurring intervals.

For whom?

• entrepreneurs with staff

When?

This change is the result of European directive 2023/970 on equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (pay transparency directive). It is not yet known when this change will take effect.

Please note: The effective date of this measure is not yet final. Entry into force is subject to its passing through the Lower and Upper Houses (Tweede en Eerste Kamer) of parliament. After publication in the Staatsblad or Staatscourant (Government Gazette, in Dutch) the law can take effect.