Pay transparency: your figures for 2027 are taking shape today
At this pace, equal pay will take 165 years. Why waiting in 2026 is the most expensive reflex, and what you can calmly prepare now.
The gender pay gap in Austria stood at 17.6% in 2024. Over 25 years it has narrowed by only around five percentage points. At this pace, income equality would not be reached for roughly another 165 years.
The EU has drawn a conclusion from this: instead of relying on voluntary action, a reporting obligation with teeth is now arriving. The EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) has been in force since June 2023 and had to be transposed into Austrian law by 7 June 2026. A concrete national bill is still missing today. That is exactly what tempts many companies to wait, an expensive reflex. Because the obligation itself is certain, and the foundations for it, the data, structures and processes, you lay now.
The essentials in 30 seconds
- In scope from 100 employees, staggered: from 250 employees annually from 2027, 150 to 249 employees from 2027 (every three years), 100 to 149 employees from 2031.
- Pay ranges belong in job adverts, asking about salary history becomes unlawful, employees gain a right to information.
- From 5% of unexplained pay difference within a group, employers subject to reporting face a joint pay assessment.
- In a dispute, the burden of proof can reverse, all the more so where transparency obligations have been breached. The data basis is taking shape now.
What the directive specifically requires
The directive takes effect in four places at once:
The four levers of the directive
- Reporting obligation to the authority. The gender pay gap is reported to a national body, staggered by size, officially and verifiably.
- Transparency in the application process. The starting salary or pay range must be known before the negotiation. Asking about previous salary becomes unlawful.
- Employees' right to information. Employees may request the average pay of comparable groups broken down by sex.
- Assessment of work of equal value. Employers must introduce a gender-neutral assessment system for equal work and work of equal value.
The expensive part is not the calculation
Calculating the raw gender pay gap is statistics, and not the problem. The effort and the risk sit in the question before it: what exactly counts as work of equal value in your company?
5%, and the burden of proof turns around
If the unexplained pay difference within a comparison group is at least 5% and is not justified or remedied within six months through objective, gender-neutral criteria, employers subject to reporting are required to carry out a joint pay assessment together with the staff representation (Article 10).
Second, the burden of proof can reverse: if employees credibly establish before a court indications of disadvantage, you must prove that no pay discrimination exists, not the employee. And if you have also breached transparency obligations, this reversal applies automatically (Article 18).
The most expensive consequences are in the fine print
Three often overlooked consequences
- Damages without an upper limit. Claims may not be capped by a pre-set ceiling (Article 16(4)), including full back payment of pay.
- Fines with weight. Sanctions must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, and can be based on gross annual turnover (Recital 55, Article 23).
- Exclusion from public contracts. Breaches can lead to exclusion from procurement procedures and concessions (Article 24), for many B2B companies the real knockout criterion.
Why waiting is the wrong move
The first reporting obligation is staggered by size: from 250 employees annually from 2027, 150 to 249 employees from 2027 (then every three years), 100 to 149 employees from 2031. For the first wave in 2027, the figures come from the current year, 2026. Anyone who does not know today what their data says will later be repairing under time pressure what can be prepared calmly now. The key point: most of this preparation is independent of the exact wording of the national law.
What you should do now
Five steps that create value today
- Clarify your scope. From when are you subject to reporting, and across how many entities?
- Check your data. Is your pay data complete, analysable by sex and consistent, including variable components and benefits in kind?
- Group your roles. Is there a coherent structure for equal work and work of equal value?
- Review your processes. Are pay ranges present in your job adverts, and has the salary-history question disappeared from recruiting?
- Calculate a figure. An internal dry run shows you today where you stand, before an authority does.
The obligation can be turned into more
Pay transparency is often read as a pure compliance burden. That falls short. Anyone who documents their pay structures cleanly and assesses their roles coherently gains a fact-based foundation for salary decisions, less exposure in a dispute, and more trust within their own ranks.
Free pay transparency readiness check
We clarify from when and across how many entities you are affected, where your biggest risks lie, and which steps are needed to become ready to report. From the analysis to the finished report.
Book a callDirect contact: info@hill-digital.at · +43 800 66 55 04
This article does not replace legal advice in individual cases and reflects the state of the EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970), with article references, as of 26 June 2026; the specific implementation depends on the national transposition law. Gender pay gap statistics: Statistik Austria (Genderstatistik 2026).