Pay Transparency Directive Update: EU Publishes Gender-neutral Job Evaluation And Classification Guidelines

• The European Commission has published updated EU-wide guidance on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification.
• Ireland must transpose the Pay Transparency Directive by 7 June 2026, with phased implementation expected.
• Early focus is likely to be on pre-employment pay transparency (pay ranges provided in advance; ban on pay history questions).
• More complex “work of equal value” requirements may follow later, supported by national tools and employer workshops.

The European Commission, in consultation with the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), has updated EU-wide guidelines on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification, marking another preparatory step ahead of the transposition of the EU Pay Transparency Directive into national law. The guidelines are available here: EU-wide guidelines on gender-neutral job evaluation and classification: Step-by-step toolkit | European Institute for Gender Equality.

Member States (including Ireland) must now tailor these EU-wide guidelines into step-by-step national toolkits to assist employers in meeting their obligations under the Directive. For more information on the obligations contained in the Directive, see our briefing here: The Pay Transparency Directive: What does it mean for Irish employers? | Arthur Cox LLP.

The Pay Transparency Directive must be transposed into Irish law on or before 7 June 2026. However, the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (“DECE”), which is responsible for transposing the Directive in Ireland, has indicated that implementation will take place on a phased basis and that it plans to work with employers, employees and their representatives on implementation. DECE has also indicated that employers will not be penalised for not having all elements of the Directive implemented by the June 2026 deadline.

Based on DECE’s statements to date, it appears that pre-employment pay transparency obligations may be prioritised for early transposition. These include (i) providing candidates with information on pay levels or pay ranges in advance of employment and (ii) prohibiting employers from asking prospective employees about their pay history.

While there has been no formal confirmation, we expect that the more complex elements of the Directive, particularly those relating to work of equal value (including employees’ rights to request detailed pay information and the associated job categorisation requirements), are unlikely to be transposed into Irish law ahead of the June 2026 deadline.

To implement these more complex elements, the Directive requires Member States to ensure that analytical tools or methodologies are made available and easily accessible to support employers in assessing and comparing the value of work. DECE has not yet published such tools and had indicated that it was awaiting final guidance from the European Commission before doing so. Now that the updated EU-wide guidelines have been published, the Irish tools and methodologies can be finalised and made available. DECE has also stated that it expects to run employer workshops between April and July 2026 to support organisations in carrying out job evaluation exercises.

While no further clarity has been provided on when final draft legislation will be published, the Government’s Spring 2026 Legislative Programme indicates that the Heads of Bill required to transpose the Directive have not yet been drafted. In fact, the relevant legislation is also no longer included in the list of Bills for priority drafting.

We will continue to keep you updated as the Directive progresses towards transposition in Ireland.

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