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Directive (EU) 2023\/970 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (the “Directive<\/strong>“) entered into force on 6 June 2023; the deadline for implementation expired on 7 June 2026.<\/p>\n Slovenia has not yet transposed the Directive. In February 2026, the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities sent to the Economic and Social Council a proposal for the Act on the implementation of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value for women and men through pay transparency, by which Slovenia will implement the Directive. To date, the act has not yet been adopted.<\/p>\n Although the obligations under the Directive generally do not yet apply directly to private employers merely because the implementation deadline has expired, the Directive represents an important standard for interpreting the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, which already derives from the European Union law.\u00a0We therefore recommend that employers already review their job evaluation systems, pay structures and criteria for determining pay, and prepare in good time for future obligations.<\/strong><\/p>\n Involve the trade union and\/or the works council as early as possible and start reviewing or updating job evaluation in accordance with the mandatory criteria. In doing so, take into account the\u00a0EIGE guidelines<\/a>\u00a0and make use of the online tool that is\u00a0available for pilot use<\/a>.<\/p>\n We suggest testing the\u00a0online tool<\/a> available for pilot use and identifying any risks.<\/p>\n Where a pay gap exists in any category of employees, check whether it is justified by objective criteria. Analyse the effect of maternity, paternity, parental or carer’s leave on pay within the relevant category of employees, by gender.<\/p>\n When recruiting new employees, if you offer candidates higher pay than what your current employees earn, this may demotivate your current employees and cause dissatisfaction. Where differences arise based on personal circumstances, you are exposed to claims for the difference in pay. It makes sense to take market conditions into account when evaluating job positions or in the form of a bonus for a hard-to-fill position.<\/p>\n Employers subject to the reporting obligation will have to submit the pay gap report to the competent ministry (currently the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities) and inform employees and workers\u2019 representatives of the data. Once informed of the data, employees will have numerous questions, particularly if a pay gap is apparent in a given category. It is important that managers understand the job evaluation system and the pay system so that they can provide employees with appropriate explanations. We therefore recommend involving them in designing the job evaluation system and providing them with appropriate training or education.<\/p>\n For all employers (regardless of size), job evaluation will be mandatory based on objective and gender-neutral criteria, including at least:<\/p>\n Employers with 50 or more employees will have to establish promotion criteria and inform employees of them.<\/p>\n The European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE) has prepared detailed guidelines, recommendations and materials<\/strong><\/a>, including detailed explanations of the criteria, sample interviews, job descriptions and worksheets for employers by size.<\/strong><\/p>\n Online tool<\/a>, which is being prepared by the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, takes into account the EIGE recommendations and is already available for pilot use. Data are stored locally and are not automatically saved or forwarded.[1]<\/a><\/p>\n When preparing the job evaluation system, pay structures and promotion criteria, involve employee representatives in good time. If a representative trade union is organised at the employer, issues related to compensation are addressed through collective bargaining, while the adoption of promotion criteria also requires the consent of the works council.<\/p>\n Employers will have to give employees access to the criteria for determining pay and pay levels. Employers with 50 or more employees will also have to give employees access to the promotion criteria.<\/p>\n Candidates will have to be given information on the basic pay or its range before employment (it is possible that the act will provide for an obligation to state the pay in the job vacancy notice).<\/p>\n An employer will not be permitted to request information on a candidate’s previous pay.<\/p>\n At the request of an employee, a workers\u2019 representative or the Advocate of the Principle of Equality, employers will have to provide written information on the individual’s pay level and on the average pay levels, broken down by gender, for categories of employees performing equal work or work of equal value.<\/p>\n According to information from the Ministry of Labour, Family, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, reporting for 2026 will cover only the period following the act’s entry into force, not the entire year. It is possible that the first reporting will only be for 2027 if the act is not adopted in 2026.<\/p>\n 1. Scope of reporting<\/em><\/strong>:<\/strong><\/p>\n Reporting will focus particularly on the gender pay gap, the gap between median pay, the representation of genders by quartile pay band, and pay gaps by category of employees.<\/p>\n Questions remain as to what will count as pay for work.[2]<\/a><\/p>\n The following will be excluded:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n [1]<\/a> If you notice any shortcomings or technical errors, please let us know by e-mail at\u00a0ana.ostir@jadek-pensa.si<\/a>, and we will forward them to the developers so that the tool functions properly once the act is adopted.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> According to information on the draft act, the following payments are expected to be taken into account: basic pay, pay supplements, the part of pay for work performance, payment for business performance, the annual leave allowance, the winter holiday allowance, benefits in kind provided by the employer that are included in the tax base under the ZDoh-2, employee profit-sharing, and other payments and benefits that are not available to all employees under the same conditions.<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> If you notice any shortcomings or technical errors, please let us know by e-mail at\u00a0ana.ostir@jadek-pensa.si<\/a>, and we will forward them to the developers so that the tool functions properly once the act is adopted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Slovenia has not yet implemented the Directive, but it is already clear which obligations will have to be complied with….<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[45],"class_list":["post-15598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-labour-law"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nRecommendations for preparing for the obligations<\/h2>\n
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Analysis of pay structures and categories, job descriptions and alignment of the criteria used for job evaluation.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Calculation of the pay gap<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Analysis by pay gap<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Analysis of how pay transparency towards job applicants and among employees will affect your employees<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Involvement and training of managers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
Obligations imposed on employers by the Directive<\/h2>\n
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Job evaluation and pay structure ensuring equal pay for equal work and work of equal value:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Transparency of pay structure<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Pre-employment pay transparency<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Transparency of pay levels among employees performing equal work or work of equal value<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Prohibition of contractual terms restricting employees from disclosing information about their pay (such terms are to be void)<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n
Reporting on the pay gap:<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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Entities subject to reporting and timeline<\/em><\/strong>:<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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2. Employers may use the <\/strong>online tool,<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0which is\u00a0available for pilot use\u00a0and offers calculation and analysis of the pay gap.\u00a0REK forms can be imported into the tool; the data are processed locally in the browser and are not forwarded or saved automatically.[3]<\/a> If you notice any shortcomings, you can let us know and we will forward them to the developers so that the tool functions properly once the act is adopted.<\/strong><\/em><\/h4>\n
3. Obligation to carry out a joint pay assessment<\/em><\/strong>, if:<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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