Pay disclosure obligation
Every employee can request by email what they earn compared to colleagues in the same category. This applies to all employers, regardless of size. You have two months to respond. The disclosure response itself contains only comparison data: the employee's own pay, averages by sex and the criteria used. Deviations or remediation proposals do not belong in this response; that is what the clarification request is for, as a follow-up step. To respond compliantly within two months you must have already analysed and clustered your entire organisation. Without preparation, meeting this deadline is impossible.
Last update: February 24, 2026 · Reading time: 6 minutes
What does the law say about pay disclosure?
“Workers have the right to request in writing information about their individual pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for categories of workers performing equal or equivalent work.”
EU Richtlijn 2023/970, artikel 7
The directive gives employees a strong individual right to salary information. The requirements are strict and apply without exception.
Applies to all employers
Unlike the reporting obligation, the pay disclosure obligation applies to all employers, regardless of headcount. Even an organisation with 10 employees must be able to respond (Directive 2023/970, Article 7(1)).
Respond within two months
After receiving a request, the employer must provide a written, complete response within two months. Failure to respond in time shifts the burden of proof entirely to the employer (Directive 2023/970, Article 7(4)).
Comparison with equal work
The response must compare the employee's salary with the average of colleagues performing equal or equivalent work, broken down by sex (Directive 2023/970, Article 7(1)).
Explain objective criteria
The employer must explain which objective, gender-neutral criteria were used for salary determination and classification.
Failing or partial response triggers the legal presumption
If you do not respond within two months, or respond incompletely, the presumption of pay discrimination is deemed to exist (art. 11a Wgbmv; Article 18 of Directive 2023/970), unless you prove that the infringement was manifestly unintentional and minor. A solid substantive response to the request prevents this; burden-of-proof disputes based on the figures play out separately, via a clarification request.
Why this is the biggest risk
The pay disclosure obligation is the most underestimated requirement. A single request can trigger a chain of legal consequences.
You must have already analysed your entire organisation
To compare one employee's salary with colleagues in the same category, you must first have clustered all positions. You cannot set this up in two months.
Every employee can request it
This is not an abstract reporting obligation. Any individual employee can send an email tomorrow. In large organisations, this could mean dozens of requests at once.
No response can trigger the legal presumption
If you do not respond within two months, the presumption of pay discrimination is deemed to exist. The exception applies only if you prove that the infringement was manifestly unintentional and minor.
One request can start a domino effect
If the response reveals inequality, it can lead to claims from all employees in the same category, including retroactive compensation.
How Payqual prepares you for pay disclosure requests
Payqual proactively analyses your entire organisation, so you can respond to any pay disclosure request at any time. No rush, no risk.
Full organisation analysis
Payqual clusters all positions based on equivalent work and calculates average pay per cluster, broken down by sex. This happens in advance, not when the request arrives.
Risks visible internally (not in the response)
Payqual flags internally per cluster where base pay or gross hourly pay differs by more than 5%, so you can proactively correct or objectively justify. This signalling does not belong in the disclosure response; that stays pure comparison data.
Generate response
When a request comes in, select the employee and Payqual generates a response with the correct comparison data, criteria and explanation. Compliant and within the deadline.
The key is preparation. By keeping your organisation continuously analysed in Payqual, you can respond to any request within minutes instead of months.
What if the employee wants to know more?
The disclosure response is purely data. On three legal grounds an employee can subsequently file a clarification request, and then you are required to deliver more than just numbers.
This comes after the disclosure response. Not numbers but explanation, justification or correction, depending on which ground applies.
Art. 10c(6) Wgbmv: explanation of the pay report
If the employee asks for clarification of the pay report and an explanation of the pay gap in their category, you are required to provide a substantiated explanation. Not optional commentary: backed by the criteria and the methodology.
Suspicion of pay discrimination, burden of proof on the employer (Art. 11a Wgbmv)
If pay discrimination is suspected, the burden of proof lies with you as the employer. The law does not set a fixed percentage threshold: the facts and context determine whether the suspicion is sufficiently plausible. Ultimately, the court assesses whether the evidence is enough; without an objective, gender-neutral justification your position is weak.
Unjustifiable difference (Art. 10c(7))
If you cannot justify the difference on objective, gender-neutral criteria, you are required to remedy it within a reasonable period. The question is no longer whether you correct, but when.
Are you prepared?
Answer these questions to see if your organisation is ready for a pay disclosure request.
Are all positions clustered based on equivalent work?
Is the average pay per cluster calculated, broken down by sex?
Are the pay criteria objectively and gender-neutrally documented?
Can you generate a written response within two months?
Is there a process for handling pay disclosure requests?
Your organisation is not prepared. A pay disclosure request can arrive tomorrow. Take action.
Always prepared
Your organisation is continuously analysed and ready for any request.
Response in minutes
Generate a compliant response per employee with one click.
Prevent risks
See deviations before employees ask and correct proactively.
Can your organisation handle a pay disclosure request?
Don't wait until the first request arrives. Prepare your organisation now with Payqual.