What must employers prepare for and why start now?

Information to be provided by the employers in the recruitment process:

Candidates must be informed about the remuneration for the position they are applying for in accordance with the formal requirements outlined in the referred new law:

• the information about the remuneration should include all remuneration components, regardless of their name and nature, as well as other work-related benefits;
• the remuneration may be defined either an initial amount or a range;
• should be based on objective, neutral criteria, particularly regarding gender;
• in addition, the relevant provisions of a collective bargaining agreement or remuneration regulations must also be provided, if the employer is bound by a collective bargaining agreement or has remuneration regulations in place;
• all the information mentioned above should be provided in paper or electronic form with sufficient notice to allow the candidate to review its content and engage in informed and transparent negotiations.

When must all the information be provided?

This information should be provided to the candidate respectively within the following stages:

• in the job advertisement, or
• before the job interview – if the employer has not advertised the position or has not provided this information in the advertisement, or
• before the employment relationship is established – if the employer has not advertised the position or has not provided this information in the advertisement or before the interview.

The new law formulates also other specific requirements for the recruitment process:

In addition, succinctly defined obligations mandate that: 

• job advertisements and job titles are gender-neutral and that the recruitment process is non-discriminatory;
• employers may not ask candidates to disclose information about their remuneration in current or previous employment relationships.

What does this mean for employers?

• The need to audit and redesign recruitment processes (including internal recruitment).
• The necessity to catalogue remuneration components and benefits for specific positions.
• The indispensability to draft new job advertisement content.
• The need of developing new recruitment policies and guidelines, both internal (for managers) and external (for recruitment agencies).
• Legal compulsion of determining initial remuneration levels or ranges for specific positions (although specifying salary "bands" is not currently mandatory, remuneration must be determined based on the required criteria as per the Directive).
• The essentiality to establish  rules for communicating relevant provisions of collective bargaining agreements and remuneration regulations, mapping them, and determining methodologies in this regard.
• The need to assess competitive risks associated with disclosing detailed remuneration information externally.
• As well as a practical must to conduct analyses and implementing measures arising from the above points.

The new law will take effect six months after their publication in the Journal of Laws. This time should be used to prepare workplaces for the new requirements. It is an opportunity to review internal firm documents, such as recruitment policies and remuneration regulations, analyse current recruitment processes for compliance with the amendment, and develop and implement the necessary changes, including drafting new job advertisement templates. Employers should also consider training individuals responsible for recruitment on the application of the new provisions in practice.

The amendment to the Labour Code introducing the new requirements should be also perceived as a trigger to reflect on the level of advancement of the firm for implementing the Directive's prerequisites. In this regard, it is recommended to take action as soon as possible to ensure firms compliance and risks assessment and addressing. It should be noted that some organizations will be required to submit reports on the gender pay gap for the year 2026. Therefore preparatory actions should be undertaken.