Every employer must use objective, gender-neutral criteria for pay, pay levels and pay progression. Article 10a Wgbmv separately determines which criteria must be proactively accessible: pay and pay-level criteria for every employer, and pay-progression criteria for employers with at least 50 employees.
Last update: April 7, 2026 · Reading time: 8 minutes
The requirement that all pay criteria be objective and gender-neutral is set out in article 7(3) Wgbmv. Article 10a separately transposes the access duty in article 6 of Directive 2023/970.
The substantive requirement applies to every employer: criteria for pay, pay levels and pay progression must be objective and gender-neutral. Only the duty to make pay-progression criteria proactively accessible has a threshold of 50 employees.
Article 10a Wgbmv has two paragraphs with different scopes. The threshold concerns only proactive access to the criteria, not the substantive requirements for the criteria themselves.
All employers
Criteria for pay and pay levels
Paragraph 1 applies to all employers regardless of size. Every employer must proactively make available the criteria used to determine pay and pay levels.
From 50 employees
Criteria for pay progression
Paragraph 2 requires employers with at least 50 employees to also make their pay-progression criteria proactively accessible. The Netherlands thereby uses the exemption option in article 6(2) of the Directive for smaller employers.
This is not reporting on actual pay progression. Gender pay gap reporting under article 10c is a separate obligation that applies from 100 employees. The 50-employee threshold in article 10a concerns access to pay-progression criteria only.
The information must be made available by the employer on its own initiative. This distinguishes article 10a from the pay information request (article 10b), which operates on request.
Making information available without an employee asking for it. The employer takes the initiative.
Publication on the company website or intranet, provided the information is clearly findable and accessible.
The law does not provide two strictly separate or exhaustive lists. The purpose for which a criterion is used is decisive. Article 8 sets out the mandatory basis for job evaluation and classification. Article 7(3) additionally requires all criteria used for pay, pay levels and pay progression, and their application, to be objective and gender-neutral.
Criteria may overlap. Required skills and experience may determine the value of a role, while developing or demonstrating them may also affect pay placement and progression. Seniority in the sense of length of service is generally person-specific and therefore does not determine the value of the role itself, but it may be an objective criterion for pay or pay progression. All criteria used must be objective, gender-neutral and appropriate for their purpose. Only proactively making pay-progression criteria accessible is mandatory from 50 employees (article 10a(2) Wgbmv). Source: articles 7(3) and 8 Wgbmv, their explanatory notes and CELEX, recital 35.
Under article 8 of the Directive (transposed in article 1d Wgbmv), the information must be accessible to persons with a disability or chronic illness. There is no room for the disproportionate burden clause that normally applies under the Dutch equal treatment on grounds of disability act.
Non-compliance with article 10a results in a reversal of the burden of proof under article 11a Wgbmv. Where pay inequality is suspected, the employee does not need to provide supporting facts: unjustified discrimination is presumed and the employer must prove otherwise.
An exception applies only where the breach is manifestly unintentional and minor in nature, for example a technical or administrative error.
Concrete steps to comply with the obligation.
Record which job evaluation system is used and what criteria underlie it.
Explain how pay levels within roles are determined, for example via grade scales, steps or bands.
Record the objective, gender-neutral criteria for progression to a higher pay level, such as performance, experience and education. Employers with 50 or more employees must also make these criteria proactively accessible.
Check whether the criteria are gender-neutral and that relevant soft skills receive appropriate weight.
Make pay and pay-level criteria available via the intranet, HR portal or employee handbook. Employers with 50 or more employees must also include pay-progression criteria.
Verify that the information is also accessible to employees with a disability.
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.
Workers can demand written insight into their own pay and the average pay of colleagues, broken down by gender. What article 7 requires and what happens if you do not reply.
Yes. Every employer must use objective, gender-neutral criteria. Pay and pay-level criteria must be proactively accessible regardless of size. Only the duty to also make pay-progression criteria proactively accessible applies from 50 employees.
Article 10a is proactive: you make the criteria available without an employee having to ask. Article 10b works on request: an employee asks for specific pay comparison information and the employer has two months to respond.
Non-compliance with article 10a leads to a reversal of the burden of proof. Where pay inequality is suspected, unjustified discrimination is presumed and the employer must prove otherwise. An exception exists only for demonstrably unintentional and minor breaches.
This page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a legal professional for your specific situation.
Payqual helps you document your criteria objectively and gender-neutrally and make them available in the right place.