Slovakia will have to be until 7 June 2026 to adopt the European Directive on the strengthening of the application of the principle of the same remuneration for men and women for the same job or work of the same value. This will also arise new obligations for employers, which should be prepared in advance. This was pointed out by experts from the law firm Ružička and Partners.
The Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic is currently preparing a proposal The new Act on Transparency of Remuneration, which follows the European Directive, and the minimum requirements for assessing the transparency of remuneration of women and men at work should be introduced. Employers could thus be obliged to report reports on the differences in remuneration of women and men and in cases of unjustified differences subsequently the obligation of a joint assessment of remuneration, which will also include measures to address remuneration differences.
The law should also amend the procedure for protecting the rights of employees who feel that were discriminated against by failure to comply with the principle of the same remuneration because of the gender, including remedy and compensationif the breach of this principle is proven. At the same time, sanctions should be determined in the case of breach of rights and obligations related to the application of the principle of the same remuneration.
The aim of the European Directive, to which a new proposal of the Ministry of Labor is linked, is to reduce the differences in the remuneration of women and men. Primarily, some obligations should apply to employers with at least 100 employees, but EU Member States may also introduce this obligation for companies with fewer employees. The Directive also applies to employees, dealers and jobseekers.
Experts therefore recommend companies to perform a remuneration system analysis in advance so that HR processes can subsequently be adjusted. If inequality in the reward of women and men proves in the analysis of companies, they should then start the process of review and revision of remuneration structures. “Therefore, the employer will probably have to deal with minimal remuneration differences if necessary. If the difference in men and women’s remuneration is proven at least five percent in any category, and this difference has not justified the employer based on objective, gender -neutral criteria and did not correct such an unjustified difference, He will be obliged to carry out a joint assessment of remuneration in cooperation with employees’ representatives, ” closed the law firm.
