Irish Draft for implementing Pay Transparency

Ireland has published a draft which amends parts of the EU Pay Transparency, as the first step towards transposing the entire directive. It is worth noting that Ireland has had pay gap reporting in place for years through the Gender Pay Gap Information Act of 2021, which applies to all employers with 50+ employees. As such the EU pay transparency directive will be an extension of previous measures.

The bill is focused on improving the Equality Act of 1998, by integrating parts of the directive and creating a more rigorous standard for transparency and non-discrimination in setting pay.

Key Requirements

Two notable amendments focus on enhancing pay transparency:

• Showing Salary Range in Job ads: Employers in Ireland will now be required to include the salary or salary ranges in all job advertisements. This goes beyond the EU directive requirements, which allow salary information to be provided either in the job ad or before the salary negotiations. The move aligns with a broader domestic initiative reflected in the Remuneration Information and Pay Transparency Bill 2023, highlighting Ireland's proactive approach to ensuring transparency and equal pay.
• Prohibition of Pay History Inquiry: Employers will not be allowed to ask about an applicant's previous pay. This directly aligns with Article 5 of the EU directive, aimed at preventing perpetuation of pay gaps which stems from previous employment.

Additionally, they have chosen to amend sections that oblige employers to justify job criteria objectively, ensuring qualifications or specific job requirements are necessary and proportionate for the role. They have done so with the intent of preventing indirect discrimination.

Penalties and Enforcement

The bill outlines adjustments to the size of penalties and the duration in which an employee can file a claim:

• Increased Time Limit for filing compliant: The time limit to file a discrimination complaint will be increased from 6 to 12 months, with a further 6-month extension possible in certain justifiable cases (Head 10).
• Increased Penalty: In order to ensure that penalties are dissuasive, Ireland has decided to increase the potential fines, thereby following the requirement of the EU directive. The maximum compensation limit for claims under the Equal Status Act will increase from €15,000 to €75,000, significantly raising risks for non-compliance.

Deviations from the Directive

While generally following the framework of the directive, Ireland's implementation does deviate by requiring salary disclosure directly in job advertisements, surpassing the directive’s less prescriptive standard. In contrast to many other drafts, this is more progressive on the pre-employment transparency.

Conclusion

It’s great to see another country remove some of the unknowns for employers, however we are still missing significant parts of the EU directive. Namely, we are lacking clarity on the amendments related to annual reporting and how they will adjust the existing reporting requirements, combined with the article 7 requirements on employee’s right to information.