The clarification request gives every employee the right to demand, in writing, insight into their own pay and the average pay levels per gender for equal or equivalent work. Article 7 of the EU Pay Transparency Directive (2023/970) governs this right and the two-month window in which you must respond. A missing or incomplete reply triggers the legal presumption of pay discrimination and can result in a fine of up to € 10,300 per violation.
Last update: February 1, 2026 · Reading time: 7 minutes
The clarification request is the individual right of employees to ask, in writing, for information about their pay. Article 7 of the directive is clear: every employee may request, at most once per year, their own pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by gender, of colleagues performing equal or equivalent work.
This applies not only to permanent staff. Temporary agency workers can also submit a clarification request. And employees do not have to do it themselves: they may route it through the works council, a trade union, or an equality body.
A single clarification request can expose your entire pay policy, or the lack of one.
On a clarification request you must deliver three things. All GDPR-proof and defensible.
The requester's own pay level, annual amount and hourly amount, including variable components such as bonuses, allowances and other benefits.
Average pay levels per gender for the category of workers doing equal or equivalent work, also annual and hourly.
The criteria used for pay determination and pay progression (art. 6): experience, performance, role weight. These must be objective and gender-neutral.
This is where many employers fall short: without documented, objective pay criteria, you cannot supply them either.
From the moment the request lands, you have two months to respond (art. 7(3)). Sounds generous, but if your pay structure is not in order it is tight. First identify which colleagues do equal or equivalent work, calculate averages, and deliver everything GDPR-proof.
Respond in writing within two months of receiving the request (art. 7(3)).
Determine which roles constitute equal or equivalent work, calculate annual and hourly averages, broken down by gender.
For fewer than five people, data may only be provided via worker representatives, to prevent individual identification (art. 12).
Two months looks generous, but without role classifications and documented criteria the time disappears fast.
Here it gets serious. A missing or incomplete response has direct legal and financial consequences.
The legal presumption of pay discrimination kicks in (art. 18). The burden of proof shifts entirely to you as employer: you must prove there is no unequal pay.
The Dutch Labour Inspectorate can impose a fine of up to € 10,300 per violation, including public publication of the breach.
Many employment contracts still contain a clause that bars employees from discussing their salary. Article 7(5) puts an end to that.
Confidentiality clauses about one's own pay are no longer permitted. Employees may freely share their pay. Existing clauses are void.
The clarification request is not the only thing to watch. The directive imposes two additional duties that you must fulfil proactively.
Employers must actively inform all employees, every year, of their right to submit a clarification request. Failing to do so is itself a violation.
The works council gains a right of consent on the pay criteria, role categories and any measures whenever a pay gap analysis shows a difference of more than 5%.
At most once per calendar year (art. 7(1)). The right applies to permanent staff and temporary agency workers alike, and may also be exercised through the works council, a trade union or an equality body.
If a category contains fewer than five people, data may only be provided via worker representatives (art. 12). This prevents individual pay from becoming traceable, a GDPR requirement that overrides the transparency duty.
The legal presumption of pay discrimination kicks in (art. 18) and the burden of proof shifts to you as employer. The Labour Inspectorate may also impose a fine of up to € 10,300 per violation, with public publication.
Employers must provide access to criteria for pay, pay levels and pay progression without a request. Read what Article 10a Wgbmv requires and consequences of non-compliance.
Employers must annually inform employees about the right to pay information and the request steps. This applies to all employers.
Every employee can request salary information, regardless of company size. You have two months to respond.
A single clarification request can expose your entire pay policy. Payqual helps employers get their pay structure in order, from role clustering and objective pay criteria to ready-made pay gap reports, so that every request gets a substantiated, compliant response within two months.