Nonot just more transparency. Not just numbers to publish. The real novelty of the new decree on equal pay is another: if a company pays women less and doesn’t correct the gap, the workers will be able to turn to the judge and obtain salary realignment, back pay and compensation. Transparency therefore becomes a tool, not the goal, to bring out the differences. And when they emerge, the employer is obliged to intervene. If he doesn’t, the lawsuit is triggered.
Equal pay, more transparency
This is it the heart of the measure with which Italy aligns itself on pay transparency. The arrival of the law arises from European Union directive that obliges states to clarify salaries and career criteria and to impose gender gap controls on companies. In addition to this, however, the EU allows you to go to court in the event of wage discrimination.
If the gap isn’t closed we go to court
Italy must implement the directive by June 2026 and the upcoming decree serves precisely to translate that principle into practice: if the difference in salary is not justified and is established, the court may force the company to adjust wagesreturn what has not been paid over the years and also recognize economic and professional damage.
Because until now it was so difficult to challenge a lower salary
The gender wage gap, the so-called gender pay gapit’s unfair, but it’s been known for years. Women, on average, earn less than men. But proving it in an individual case is complicated. Salaries are often covered in confidentialityunclear career criteria, almost impossible comparisons. Without data, no proof. Without proof, no cause. And many discriminations remained invisible. The EU directive tries to break this mechanism: first it forces companies to reveal their cards, then it gives workers tools to react.
The EU directive aims to close the gender pay gap and provide workers with the tools to understand if they are paid fairly (Getty Images)
Stop secrets: salaries become knowable
The first lever will be internal transparency. In companies with more than 50 employees, those who work will be able to request in writing how much do men and women who do the same job earn on average (or one of equal value) and what are the economic progression criteria. The employer must respond within two months, with clear and motivated information. Furthermore, the secrecy clauses have been abolished: talking about one’s salary with colleagues can no longer be prohibited. This step is decisive: makes it possible to notice the differences and collect concrete elements.
More clarity already in job advertisements
There transparency starts even before hiring. In fact, the expected salary, or at least a salary range, must appear in the job advertisements you will no longer be able to ask the candidate how much he earned in his previous job. A practice that often drags on inequalities over time: those who start low stay low. Ads aimed only at men or only women will also be prohibited. The idea is simple: the salary must depend on the role, not by gender or personal history.
Large companies will have to publish data on the gap
For companies with at least 100 employees, systematic monitoring is initiated. Every year they will have to communicate various indicators to the Ministry of Laborincluding: mean and median difference in salaries between men and women; differences between fixed part and bonus; percentage of premiums; distribution by salary ranges. And here comes the most important part: if a gap emerges that the company is unable to justify with objective reasons, the company will not be able to simply acknowledge it, it will have to intervene.
What happens if the gap remains
There law gives her six months to correct the gapfor example by adjusting salaries or reviewing the criteria with which it assigns raises and bonuses. If, however, the salary difference exceeds 5 percent, the problem is considered structural: at that point the company can no longer move on its ownbut must open a formal discussion with the workers’ representatives to analyze the causes and define a recovery plan. After this step, he has another six months to implement the corrections. If, despite everything, the differences remain, the way to the court opens. And it is there that the worker can assert her rights and request salary alignment, arrears and compensation.
The appeal to the judge: what a worker can obtain
Once in court for discrimination, a recommendation to the company will no longer be sufficient. But the judge can order: the salary increase to align it with that of male colleagues; the payment of arrears not received in previous years; financial compensationalso for damage to professional dignity. In the most serious cases, then, the loss of public benefits or the exclusion of the company from contracts. It is therefore not just a question of “suing”, but of obtaining concrete and mandatory effects. Equality therefore becomes not only theoretical but necessary.
“Same work” or “equal value”: how to decide
The comparison does not only concern identical tasks. The law also speaks of “work of equal value”: different roles but with similar responsibilities, skills and loads. The main reference will be the national collective agreements, i.e the agreements signed by unions and companies that establish classifications and levels. Companies will only be able to use their own criteria if they are objective and gender-neutral.
Equal pay, long times, but a change of pace
The obligation to transpose the directive by June means that before then we certainly won’t see the decree that makes all the new rules on salary transparency operational and workers’ rights. But not only that, because this step will not oblige all companies to immediately send salary data: the decree, in fact, takes it quite easy, providing graduated times based on the size of the company. Larger companies, with over 150 employees, will have to transmit the first data by 2027, while those with between 100 and 150 employees will have until 2031. Not short times, definitely, and they cause discussion. However, it is undeniable that the path is now clear and that we can only move forward from here.
