Key facts
- Not yet transposed: the deadline was 7 June 2026; on 1 October 2026, the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men found that Belgium is still not compliant.
- Pay gap report: under the directive, by 7 June 2027 from 150 employees and by 7 June 2031 for 100 to 149, on the previous calendar year.
- 5% threshold: under the directive, a mean gap of at least 5% in a category, unjustified and not corrected within 6 months, triggers a joint pay assessment.
- Applicants and employees: under the directive, starting pay or pay range disclosed, no more questions on previous pay, a written answer within 2 months at most.
- Already in force: a pay structure analysis report every 2 years from 50 employees (Law of 22 April 2012).
- 6 months' gross pay: flat-rate compensation for pay discrimination (3 months if the employer proves it would have made the same decision).
Where does transposition of the pay transparency directive stand in Belgium?
Belgium has not yet transposed Directive (EU) 2023/970 of 10 May 2023, which strengthens equal pay between women and men through pay transparency. The deadline was 7 June 2026 (Article 34). On 1 October 2026, the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men (IEFH) found that Belgium is still not compliant and that businesses are asking for clarity.
- As of 5 October 2026, no transposition law has been published for private employers: the Belgian timetable is not known. The dates on this page are those of the directive.
- The September 2026 bulletin of the SPF Finances (Federal Public Service Finance) relays a note from the Federation of Belgian Enterprises (FEB): transposition is behind schedule and questions of interpretation remain open; the European Commission has published an FAQ.
- The SPF Emploi (Federal Public Service Employment) is running the BE-MAGIC project (15 January 2025 to 14 January 2027, with EU funding) to support, with the social partners, the implementation of Article 4(2) of the directive: gender-neutral job evaluation and classification tools.
| Scope | Gap adjusted for working time | Unadjusted gap |
|---|---|---|
| All sectors | 6.6% | 19.0% |
| Private sector | 9.7% | 23.7% |
The adjusted gap is highest among blue-collar women in the private sector, at 19.2%.
What does Directive (EU) 2023/970 require of employers?
The directive covers all employers, public and private, and all workers with an employment contract or relationship; job applicants are protected during recruitment. Pay is defined broadly: basic or minimum salary and any other benefit, in cash or in kind, paid directly or indirectly by reason of employment. The 'pay level' means gross annual pay and the corresponding gross hourly pay (Articles 2 and 3).
| When | Obligation | Article |
|---|---|---|
| Pay structures | Ensure equal pay for the same work or work of equal value, based on objective, gender-neutral criteria (skills, effort, responsibility, working conditions) agreed with employee representatives where they exist | Art. 4 |
| Recruitment | Tell applicants the starting pay or its range (and the applicable collective agreement), for example in the job advert or before the interview; do not ask about their pay history; use gender-neutral adverts and job titles | Art. 5 |
| On an ongoing basis | Make accessible to employees the criteria used to set pay, pay levels and pay progression; Member States may exempt employers with fewer than 50 employees from the progression part | Art. 6 |
| On request | Give the employee in writing their individual pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for their category, within a reasonable time and at most 2 months; inform all employees of this right every year | Art. 7 |
The directive also bans clauses that stop employees from disclosing their pay; the employer may restrict the use of information received to enforcing the right to equal pay. Information must be accessible to people with disabilities (Article 8).
Belgian law will also have to organise the remedies the directive provides: full compensation with no upper limit set in advance (back pay and bonuses, lost opportunities, non-material damage, interest), the burden of proof on the employer in particular if it has not met its transparency obligations, comparison with a 'single source' setting pay conditions, a limitation period of at least 3 years, fines and specific penalties for repeat offences (Articles 16 to 23).
Pay gap report and joint pay assessment: who and when?
The directive requires employers with at least 100 employees to report on the gender pay gap, based on the previous calendar year, on a timetable that depends on headcount (Article 9). The Belgian timetable has not yet been set.
| Headcount | First report | Then |
|---|---|---|
| 250 employees or more | By 7 June 2027 at the latest | Every year |
| 150 to 249 employees | By 7 June 2027 at the latest | Every 3 years |
| 100 to 149 employees | By 7 June 2031 at the latest | Every 3 years |
Example: under the directive, a company with 180 employees submits a first report by 7 June 2027, on 2026 pay, then every 3 years. The report contains seven indicators:
- a) the mean gender pay gap;
- b) the mean gap in variable or complementary components;
- c) the median gender pay gap;
- d) the median gap in variable or complementary components;
- e) the proportion of women and men receiving variable components;
- f) the proportion of women and men in each pay quartile;
- g) the gap by category of workers, broken down by basic pay and variable components.
Management confirms that the data are accurate after consulting employee representatives, then sends the report to the monitoring body. Indicators a) to f) may be published; indicator g) is given to all employees and their representatives.
If the report shows, in a category, a mean gap of at least 5% that is not justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria, and the employer does not correct it within 6 months of reporting the data, a joint pay assessment with employee representatives becomes mandatory (Article 10). It analyses the gaps by category and their causes, sets corrective measures, and reviews pay rises on return from leave and the effectiveness of past measures.
What Belgian law already requires: CCT No. 25 and the Law of 22 April 2012
Without waiting for the directive, Belgian law bans any sex-based pay discrimination for the same work or work of equal value. Collective labour agreement (CCT, convention collective de travail) No. 25 of 15 October 1975 covers all elements and conditions of pay, including job evaluation systems (choice and weighting of criteria, conversion into pay). Its definition of pay is broad: salary, tips, benefits that can be valued in money, contractual holiday pay, supplementary schemes. Sectors and companies must assess and correct their systems.
The Law of 22 April 2012 on the gender pay gap added specific obligations:
- Pay structure analysis report: an employer with an average of at least 50 employees checks every 2 years whether its pay policy is gender-neutral (Law of 10 May 2007, Article 13/1). The report breaks down, by gender, status (blue-collar, white-collar, management), job level, length of service and qualification, direct pay and benefits in full-time equivalents, employer contributions to non-statutory insurance and other non-statutory benefits. No data are given where 3 employees or fewer are concerned.
- Submission: to the works council at least 15 days before the meeting, for review within 3 months of the financial year-end and before the general meeting; where there is no works council, to the trade union delegation and the committee for prevention and protection at work. Full form from 100 employees, short form for 50 to 99 (decrees of 25 April 2014).
- Action plan: the works council considers whether a plan is needed (objectives, areas, deadlines, follow-up) and monitors its progress.
- Social balance sheet: its data are broken down by gender, unless 3 employees or fewer are concerned.
- Mediator, optional from 50 employees: advises on the action plan and hears an employee who feels wronged within 8 calendar days of first contact. Obstructing the mediator's access to social data is a criminal offence (Law of 10 May 2007, Article 13/3).
Sector job classifications must also be gender-neutral: after a negative opinion from the Directorate-General for Collective Labour Relations of the SPF Emploi, the sector has 2 years to correct them; failing that, and without a valid justification, it appears on a list sent to the Minister of Employment and the IEFH.
| Point | Belgian report, in force | Directive report, to be transposed |
|---|---|---|
| Employers covered | 50 employees or more | 100 employees or more |
| Frequency | Every 2 years | Every year from 250 employees, every 3 years for 100 to 249 |
| Recipient | Works council, confidential data | Monitoring body; indicators a) to f) may be published |
Penalties already exist. A victim of pay discrimination can claim flat-rate compensation of 6 months' gross pay (3 months if the employer proves it would have made the same decision without discrimination) or their actual loss; once they establish facts suggesting discrimination, the burden of proof shifts to the employer (Law of 10 May 2007, Articles 23 and 33). After a reasoned complaint or legal action on equal pay, the employer may not dismiss the employee or unilaterally change their working conditions for related reasons: the burden of proof is on the employer for 12 months and, if the employee is not reinstated, it owes 6 months' gross pay or the actual loss (CCT No. 25, Article 7).
How can employers prepare for pay transparency now?
Start with the data: under the directive, the first report covers the previous calendar year, and incomplete 2026 data on bonuses or hours are hard to rebuild.
- Job architecture: define 'same work or work of equal value' categories and their criteria (skills, effort, responsibility, working conditions), with employee representatives.
- Pay data: gender, working time and full-time equivalent, basic salary, all variable components and benefits in kind, gross annual and gross hourly pay.
- Dry run: produce indicators a) to g), medians and quartiles included; identify categories where the mean gap reaches 5% and prepare the justification or correction.
- Recruitment: disclose the starting pay or a range, remove the question on current or previous pay, and review adverts so they are gender-neutral.
- Contracts and procedures: remove pay secrecy clauses; set up a written reply within 2 months to information requests and an annual notice to all employees.
- Data protection: apply Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and mask groups of 3 people or fewer, as Belgian law already does.
Groups operating in several countries can compare with our pages on pay transparency in Luxembourg and pay transparency in France.
Common mistakes
- Waiting for the Belgian law before collecting data: under the directive, the first report covers the previous calendar year.
- Comparing basic salaries only: the directive covers all pay, including variable components and benefits in kind, as CCT No. 25 does.
- Assuming the sector job classification is enough: CCT No. 25 also requires companies to check their own systems.
- Confusing the Belgian analysis report (from 50 employees, confidential) with the directive report (from 100 employees, sent to a monitoring body).
- Setting starting pay from the applicant's last salary: the directive bans asking for it.
- Publishing averages for groups of 3 people or fewer: Belgian law already rules out such a breakdown.
Your checklist
- Draw up the pay structure analysis report every 2 years from 50 employees, and give it to the works council 15 days before the meeting.
- Check that the job classification is gender-neutral and record the objective reasons for each individual pay gap.
- Define the 'same work or work of equal value' categories of workers.
- Make 2026 data reliable: working time, basic salary, variable pay and benefits in kind.
- Run indicators a) to g) as a dry run and flag mean gaps of 5% or more.
- Anticipate the directive in recruitment: include a pay range in job adverts and remove the question on previous pay.
- Set up a procedure to answer information requests in writing within 2 months.
- Remove pay secrecy clauses from employment contracts, which the directive requires Member States to prohibit.
How Luxapps helps
FXP and MySafeBox prepare pay transparency using your HR data. In Belgium, they are configured for Belgian rules and connected by API to your social secretariat (secrétariat social).
Jobs are grouped into categories of equal work or work of equal value: the basis for both the report and the right to information.
FXP and MySafeBoxThe tool calculates pay gaps between women and men; you record in it the justification for each gap and the action plans.
FXP and MySafeBoxReports and the audit log keep a record of every calculation, justification and correction.
FXP and MySafeBoxThe employee portal, on the web and mobile, includes a view dedicated to the right to information on pay.
FXP and MySafeBoxFrequently asked questions
No. The deadline was 7 June 2026 and, as of 5 October 2026, no transposition law has been published for private employers; on 1 October 2026, the Institute for the Equality of Women and Men found that Belgium is still not compliant. The Belgian timetable is therefore unknown, but Belgian equal pay law already applies.
Directive (EU) 2023/970 requires employers to tell applicants the starting pay or its range, for example in the job advert or before the interview, and bans asking about their pay history. This obligation will enter Belgian law through the transposition law, which has not yet been published. Adapting your adverts now saves a last-minute overhaul.
Under the directive, within a reasonable time and at most 2 months. The employee receives in writing their individual pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by sex, of employees in the same category. The employer must also inform all employees of this right every year.
The directive sets 7 June 2027 for employers with 150 employees or more, on 2026 data, then a report every year from 250 employees and every 3 years for 150 to 249. Employers with 100 to 149 employees submit their first report by 7 June 2031. The Belgian law, not yet published, will set the timetable that applies in Belgium.
It is the Belgian obligation under the Law of 22 April 2012 for employers with at least 50 employees: check every 2 years whether the pay policy is gender-neutral. The report goes to the works council at least 15 days before the meeting, on a full form from 100 employees and a short form for 50 to 99.
Under the directive, when the report shows, in a category of workers, a mean gap of at least 5% between women and men that is not justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria and has not been corrected within 6 months. The assessment is carried out with employee representatives and leads to corrective measures.
Official sources
- Directive (EU) 2023/970 of 10 May 2023 (Official Journal L 132 of 17 May 2023, French version)
- Institute for the Equality of Women and Men, pay gap press release of 1 October 2026 (in French)
- SPF Emploi, Gender equality: the pay gap (in French)
- SPF Emploi, Pay transparency: the BE-MAGIC project (in French)
- Justel, Law of 22 April 2012 to combat the pay gap between men and women (in French)
- Justel, Law of 10 May 2007 to combat discrimination between women and men (in French)
- CNT, CCT No. 25 of 15 October 1975 on equal pay (consolidated text, in French)
- SPF Finances, tax and economic news, September 2026 (FEB note, in French)
This guide sets out the general rules in force on 5 October 2026. It is not legal advice for your situation (collective agreement, sector, employee status).