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Whilst the vast majority of other countries in Europe have not yet finalised their transposing legislation, the Pay Transparency directive has now been transposed in Italy with Legislative Decree no. 96/2026 (Decree), which entered into force right on the transposition deadline of 7 June 2026.
The Decree applies to all employment contracts under Italian law:
- fixed and indefinite-term,
- full and part-time posts;
- executive positions and employee level.
Domestic workers and intermittent (on-call) workers are however excluded.
Two key definitions underpin the entire framework:
- “Pay” (retribuzione), encompasses all remuneration - fixed, variable, and the value of benefits in kind – which is paid in connection with the employment relationship; and
- “Pay Level” (livello retributivo), which is a narrower concept introduced by the Decree without a direct equivalent in the European Directive and, as such, requires proper case by case by assessment. This covers only fixed and continuous pay elements, but excludes “individual non-structural components paid on a personal, discretionary, or temporary basis which are not generally applicable within the same category of employees and which are based on objective individual criteria”.
The equal pay rules apply with reference to the "same work" or "work of equal value". Where a collective bargaining agreement is applicable, the relevant assessment relies on the classifications set out in the relevant collective bargaining agreement:
- "Same work" refers to roles involving identical tasks, or tasks falling within the same qualification, pay band and legal category;
- "Work of equal value" refers to different but comparable roles sharing the same classification level.
Where no collective bargaining agreement is applicable, classifications will be those set out in the sector-level agreement signed by the most representative trade unions at national level. The adoption of such an agreement also creates a presumption of compliance by the employer with equal pay obligations, without prejudice to the ability for an employee to seek to prove discrimination in individual cases. In addition to collective agreement classifications, employers may also rely on job evaluation and grading systems of their own design to establish the various categories of employees, provided these are based on objective and gender-neutral criteria.
The Decree poses certain interpretative issues (e.g. the definition of pay level is narrower than the one under the EU Directive) and, since it is so far untested in Courts, case by case assessment on certain topics will be required to understand how the Courts will interpret the Decree in practice.
A short summary of the main obligations for employers in Italy (with an indication of the relevant triggering thresholds), as well as an overview of the main protections for employees and sanctions in case of breach is provided below.
| Phase | Obligation for employers | Due date | Size-Specific Note | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Immediately applicable requirements applying to all employers, regardless of size and number of employees | ||||
| 1 | Pre-employment | Disclose in all job postings the initial pay or pay range (based on objective, gender-neutral criteria), referencing the applicable collective bargaining agreement(s) | From 7 June 2026 | Applies to all employers (no minimum n° of employees or size threshold) |
| 2 | Pre-employment | Prohibition on requesting pay history of candidates, directly or indirectly, including through recruiters or other third parties | From 7 June 2026 | Applies to all employers (no threshold) |
| 3 | Pre-employment | Ensure job vacancy notices and job titles are gender-neutral and that recruitment and selection processes are non-discriminatory | From 7 June 2026 | Applies to all employers (no threshold) |
| 4 | During employment | Make easily accessible to employees: (i) the criteria used to determine Pay and Pay Levels; and (ii) the criteria established for pay progression | From 7 June 2026 | Obligation (i) applies to all employers regardless of size. Employers with less than 50 employees are exempt from obligation (ii) only (pay progression criteria). |
| 5 | During employment | Inform all employees annually of their right to request average Pay Level information broken down by gender with reference to the category of employees performing the same work or work of equal value | On or before 7 June 2027, then every year | Applies to all employers (no threshold) |
| 6 | During employment | Within 2 months from a request from an employee (or their representative/equality body on delegation), provide in writing the average Pay Levels broken down by sex for the category of employees performing the same work or work of equal value. Right exercisable once a year only by the employee. | From 7 June 2026 | Key peculiarity: in the case of companies with up to 49 employees, the aggregated pay data broken down by sex and category could lead to the identification of individual colleagues, being a potential breach of GDPR obligations. Employer may therefore seek to await the Ministerial Decree before responding to employee requests, noting that the issuance of the Ministerial Decree may be after expiration of the two months deadline to reply to employee’s request (to be assessed on a case by case basis therefore). |
| 7 | During employment | As an alternative to responding individually to employee requests (row 6 above), publish on the company intranet or in a restricted area of the company website the average Pay Levels, broken down by gender for categories of employees performing the same work or work of equal value | From 7 June 2026 | Although not expressly provided for in the Decree, this option seems available only for employers with 50 or more employees. Employers with less than 50 employees should be careful in deciding whether or not to use this method, as the data disclosed could result in direct or indirect identification of individual colleagues' pay. |
| 8 | During employment | Do not prevent employees from disclosing their own pay. Contractual clauses restricting employees from disclosing pay information are henceforth prohibited and null and void | From 7 June 2026 | Applies to all employers (no threshold) |
| 9 | All phases above | All information shared with employees or applicants under Arts. 5, 6 and 7 of the Decree must be provided in a format accessible to persons with disabilities | From 7 June 2026 | Applies to all employers (no threshold) |
| Measures only applying to employers with 100 or more employees and non-immediately applicable | ||||
| 10 | Annually | Employers with at least 100 employees are required to collect and transmit detailed data regarding their gender pay gap, including the different components of remuneration and how this is distributed according to gender. All the information above must be made available to a new National Monitoring Body, and a subset of the most granular information must be made directly accessible by the employer to employees and their representatives, and transmitted - upon request - to the Labour Inspectorate and the territorial equality bodies | Employers with 250+ employees: first report by 7 June 2027, then annually Employers with 150–249 employees: first report by 7 June 2027, then every 3 years Employers with 100–149 employees: first report by 7 June 2031, then every 3 years |
Applies to employers with at least 100 employees only. Group employers with a unified pay policy may aggregate data at national level |
| 11 | On request | Upon request from employees, employee representatives, the Labour Inspectorate or equality bodies, provide a reasoned written response within 60 days regarding clarifications on the reported pay gap data, and remedy any unjustified discriminatory differences identified | In line with applicable reporting deadlines (see row 10) | Applies to employers with at least 100 employees only |
| 12 | Within 6 months of identification of a 5%+ pay gap which cannot be justified | Conduct a joint pay assessment with employee representatives if all three of the following conditions are simultaneously met: (i) reported data reveals a difference of at least 5% in average Pay Levels between female and male employees in any worker category; (ii) the difference cannot be justified on objective, gender-neutral grounds; and (iii) the unjustified difference has not been corrected within 6 months of the pay data communication | Triggered by the applicable reporting cycle | Applies to employers with at least 100 employees only (same threshold as reporting obligation) |
As far as protections for employees and sanctions for employers are concerned:
- Judicial remedies: claims may be brought under the accelerated special procedure of the Equal Opportunities Code (Art. 38, D.Lgs. 198/2006), entitling employees to injunctive relief and full compensation, including non-pecuniary damages. Standing is extended (on specific delegation) to employees' representatives, trade unions, and associations with a statutory interest in gender equality.
- Protection against victimisation: any less favourable treatment by the employer towards employees or their representatives for having exercised rights under the Decree is expressly prohibited (Art. 41-bis of the Equal Opportunities Code.
- Reversal of burden of proof: it is sufficient for the employees to present evidence from which direct or indirect pay discrimination may be presumed; the employer must then prove the absence of discrimination. The practical strength of this mechanism lies not so much in a change to evidentiary rules, as in the transparency and information obligations themselves, which may identify the factual elements which then trigger a duty on the part of the employer to justify any pay differences.
- Sanctions: breaches are subject to Art. 41 of the Equal Opportunities Code, providing for administrative fines of €5,000 to €10,000, revocation of public benefits, and — in cases of greater severity or repeat infringement — exclusion of up to two years from financial and credit incentives and public procurement contracts.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
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