Pay Transparency: What Changes for Employers and Employees Under Legislative Decree No. 96/2026

The entry into force of Legislative Decree No. 96 of 7 May 2026 marks an important development in the Italian legal framework governing equal pay. The Decree, adopted to implement Directive (EU) 2023/970, introduces new transparency obligations for employers and strengthens the mechanisms designed to protect against pay discrimination between men and women.

The New Legal Framework

On 7 June 2026, Legislative Decree No. 96/2026 entered into force, following its publication in the Italian Official Gazette No. 125 of 1 June 2026. The Decree transposes Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency into Italian law.

This legislative reform forms part of the broader European effort to ensure the effective application of the principle of equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value, already enshrined in Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and Article 37 of the Italian Constitution.

The main innovation does not concern the recognition of the right to equal pay, which is already established under national and European legislation, but rather the introduction of mechanisms enabling employees to identify potential pay disparities and employers to demonstrate the objective nature of their remuneration policies.

Pay transparency therefore becomes an instrument for preventing discrimination and assumes increasing importance in human resources management and employment litigation.

Transparency Obligations During Recruitment

One of the most significant innovations concerns recruitment procedures.

Article 5 of Legislative Decree No. 96/2026 provides that job applicants must receive information on the initial pay or pay range applicable to the position, determined on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria.

Such information must be included in job advertisements and recruitment notices, together with the relevant references to the applicable collective bargaining agreement.

The provision also prohibits employers from asking applicants about the remuneration received in previous employment relationships, including through recruitment agencies or other entities involved in the selection process.

The objective is to prevent previous pay disparities from affecting future employment opportunities and thereby perpetuating existing inequalities.

Companies must therefore review their job advertising practices and recruitment procedures, ensuring that the criteria used to determine initial remuneration are consistent and objectively justified.

Employees' Right to Information on Pay Levels

The new legislation also strengthens the information rights of existing employees.

Under Article 7 of the Decree, each employee is entitled to request and receive, in writing, information on average pay levels, broken down by sex, for categories of workers performing the same work or work of equal value.

Employers are required to respond within two months of receiving the request. However, this right may not be exercised more than once per year.

The legislation also requires employers to inform employees annually of the existence of this right and the procedures through which it may be exercised.

Another particularly significant provision prohibits contractual clauses preventing employees from disclosing their own remuneration.

It should nevertheless be clarified that the right to information does not entail unrestricted access to the individual salaries of colleagues. Information must be provided in compliance with personal data protection legislation and through appropriate measures designed to prevent the identification of individual employees.

New Compliance Obligations for Companies

The Decree introduces specific obligations concerning the collection and reporting of gender pay gap data for employers with at least 100 employees.

The information to be reported concerns not only ordinary remuneration but also supplementary and variable pay components, including bonuses and incentive schemes.

The initial reporting deadlines vary according to company size:

• 250 employees or more: first data collection by 7 June 2027, followed by annual reporting.

• 150 to 249 employees: first data collection by 7 June 2027, followed by reporting every three years.

• 100 to 149 employees: first data collection by 7 June 2031, followed by reporting every three years.

The system is intended to facilitate the identification of unjustified pay differences and encourage greater accountability among employers in the development of their remuneration policies.

It is important to distinguish these periodic reporting obligations from individual employees' rights to information, which also apply to smaller companies.

Implications for Employment Litigation

Pay transparency is also expected to have a significant impact on litigation concerning pay discrimination.

The availability of information on average remuneration and the criteria used to determine pay may facilitate the identification of differences in economic treatment between employees performing equivalent work.

Article 12 of the Decree refers to the judicial remedies provided under the Italian Equal Opportunities Code (Legislative Decree No. 198/2006), extending protection to cases of adverse treatment resulting from the exercise of the newly established rights.

It should nevertheless be emphasised that not every pay difference automatically constitutes discrimination.

Differences in remuneration may be justified by objective and gender-neutral criteria, such as skills, responsibilities, working conditions and other factors relevant to the assessment of the work performed.

The employer's ability to document the reasonableness and consistency of its remuneration decisions therefore becomes increasingly important.

How Companies Should Prepare

The new legislation requires companies to reconsider the organisation and management of their remuneration systems.

Ensuring compliance with the minimum pay levels established by collective bargaining agreements will no longer be sufficient. Employers will also need to examine the overall structure of remuneration and the criteria used to justify differences between comparable positions.

In this context, particular importance should be given to reviewing remuneration policies, establishing objective criteria for awarding bonuses and salary increases, adapting recruitment procedures and implementing internal processes for handling employees' requests for pay information.

A careful preliminary assessment may help identify potential issues before they develop into individual or collective employment disputes.

Conclusions

The implementation of Directive (EU) 2023/970 represents a significant change in the regulation of employment relationships.

Equal pay is no longer merely a principle to be respected, but an objective requiring companies to ensure that their remuneration decisions are increasingly transparent and verifiable.

For employees, the reform introduces more effective tools to understand how remuneration is determined and to identify potential inequalities in treatment.

For employers, it marks the beginning of a period of adaptation requiring a more structured approach to remuneration policies, including with a view to preventing potential liability and employment disputes.

Pay transparency is therefore set to become a central element of employment relationship management and corporate strategies aimed at preventing legal risks.

Last updated: 15 October 2026.