Adopted on May 10, 2023, Directive (EU) 2023/970 aims to enforce equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms. Member states must transpose this directive by June 7, 2026. It builds on longstanding EU principles of equal pay, addressing implementation challenges by emphasising transparency to prevent gender-based discrimination. Employers must provide information on pay levels and criteria for pay progression. German law, under the Pay Transparency Act enacted in 2017, aligns with the principles set out in the Directive but requires updates for full compliance, while Turkish law lacks provisions equivalent to the Directive’s transparency measures. In contrast, German and Turkish law generally comply with the Directive’s legal regime regarding the shift of the burden of proof. According to the Directive, the burden of proof shifts to employers once prima facie evidence of discrimination is presented. However, failure to meet transparency obligations further shifts this burden without needing prima facie evidence. This solution is not applicable in Turkish law, since there is no transparency regulation requiring the employer to provide employees with pay information. Furthermore, the Directive mandates comprehensive compensation for discrimination, including non-material damages. Member States must implement effective, proportional penalties and may impose structural workplace changes or exclusion from public tenders for repeated violations. Given that Turkish labour law also emphasises equal treatment but lacks specific transparency measures, aligning with Directive (EU) 2023/970 would enhance transparency and employee empowerment in Turkey.
Türk ve Alman Hukukuyla Karşılaştırmalı Olarak Avrupa Birliği’nin Ücret Şeffaflığına İlişkin 2023/970 Sayılı Direktifi Üzerine Bir İnceleme
(AB) 2023/970 sayılı Direktif, 10 Mayıs 2023 tarihinde, eşit veya eşit değerdeki işi gören kadın ve erkekler arasındaki eşitliğin güçlendirilmesi amacıyla kabul edilmiştir. Direktif uyarınca üye devletler ulusal mevzuatlarını en geç 7 Haziran 2026 tarihine kadar Direktif hükümleri ile uyumlaştırmak zorundadırlar. Direktif’in amacı, yasal düzlemde yıllardan beri benimsenmekle birlikte uygulanmasında güçlük yaşanan ücrette eşitlik ilkesinin çeşitli mekanizmalar vasıtasıyla uygulamada da hayata geçirilmesinin sağlanmasıdır. Direktif ile işverenlere ücret düzeyleri ile ücret ilerlemesine ilişkin bilgi sağlama zorunluluğu getirilmiştir. Ücret şeffaflığı Alman hukukunda 2017 yılında yürürlüğe giren Ücrette Şeffaflık Kanunu ile düzenlenmiş olmakla birlikte Direktif hükümlerine uyum sağlanmasını teminen bazı yasal değişikliklerin yapılması gerekmektedir. Türk iş hukukunda ise ücret şeffaflığını düzenleyen bir hüküm bulunmamaktadır. Buna karşılık, her iki hukuk sistemi de Direktif’in ispat yükünün yer değiştirmesine ilişkin öngördüğü hukukî rejimle uyumlu düzenlemeler içermektedir. Buna göre, işçinin ilk görünüş ispatı itibarıyla ayrımcılığa uğradığına kanaat getirilmesi hâlinde, aksini işveren ispatlamak zorundadır. Öte yandan, ücret şeffaflığına ilişkin getirilen zorunluluklara uyulmaması durumunda, gerek Alman hukukunda, gerekse Direktif uyarınca işçinin ilk görünüş ispatına sevk olmasına dahi gerek olmaksızın ispat yükü yer değiştirmektedir. Türk hukukunda ise işverenin işçiye ücret şeffaflığı sağlama borcunun düzenlenmediği dikkate alındığında, işçiye şeffaflık sağlanmamış olması tek başına ispat yükünün yer değiştirmesine sebep olmayacaktır. İlaveten, Direktif cinsiyete dayalı ayrımcılık karşısında kamu ihalelerinden yasaklanmaya kadar kapsamlı tedbirler öngörmektedir. Öte yandan, Türk hukukunda da ücrette cinsiyet eşitliği benimsenmekle birlikte Direktif’te öngörülen hukukî rejim kadar kapsamlı mekanizmalar bulunmamaktadır. Neticeten, bu çalışmada, ücret şeffaflığının Türk hukukunda da benimsenmesinin işçinin hukukunu güçlendirici etkisi olduğu ifade edilerek şeffaflık düzenlemelerine ihtiyaç olduğu savunulmaktadır.
Directive (EU) 2023/970, adopted on May 10, 2023, aims to enhance the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms. This Directive shall be transposed by the Member States by June 7, 2026. The Directive seeks to address the longstanding principle of equal pay, which faces implementation challenges, by introducing pay transparency as a core mechanism to prevent gender-based discrimination.
The principle of equal pay was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957. Various directives have since been adopted, including Directive 75/117/EEC in 1975, which emphasised administrative and judicial mechanisms for addressing discrimination but lacked provisions on the burden of proof. This was addressed by Directive 97/80/EC in 1997, which shifted the burden of proof to employers in cases of gender discrimination. Directive 2006/54/EC further reinforced these principles and highlighted the need for equality bodies. Directive 2023/970 builds on these by emphasising pay transparency and proactive measures against discrimination.
The Directive applies to all employers and includes provisions for job applicants. It identifies transparency as crucial for achieving gender equality, addressing the barriers to recognising and proving pay discrimination. Pay includes base wages, bonuses, allowances, and other benefits. Justifiable pay differences must be based on justifiable criteria, such as skills, effort and working conditions. Transparency implies openness, accountability, and communication. It includes collective measures such as pay reporting and individual measures like employee rights to access pay information. Employers must provide information on pay levels and criteria for pay progression. Job applicants must also receive information on initial pay or pay ranges, promoting informed decision-making, and demonstrating gender-neutral pay criteria. Additionally, pay reports must include gender-based pay differences, quartile distributions, and the proportion of employees receiving supplements, with varying requirements based on employer size.
German law mandates median earnings disclosure for comparison groups, whereas Turkish law lacks such provisions. Enacted in 2017 to align with Directive 2006/54/ EC, the German Pay Transparency Act also aims to eliminate gender pay disparities. Employers with more than 500 employees must prepare a pay report every three years (or every five years if bound by a collective agreement). This report must outline measures taken to ensure gender equality and pay equality, as well as the average number of employees by gender and full/part-time status. On the other hand, the Directive requires more frequent and detailed pay reports, applicable to employers with at least 100 employees, covering gender pay differences, median pay levels and the proportion of employees receiving supplements.
In German law, employees have the right to request information about their wages and the pay elements. The employer must also provide the median earnings of the comparison group. The obligation to provide information applies to workplaces with more than 200 employees. Requests can be made every two years. The Directive, on the other hand, does not limit the information request period, whereas German law imposes a two-year interval. In addition, German law lacks provisions equivalent to the Directive’s transparency on pay progression criteria.
The burden of proof shifts to employers if an employee demonstrates prima facie evidence of discrimination. If employers fail to meet transparency obligations, they must prove the absence of discrimination without requiring prima facie evidence from the employee. This principle has been reinforced by past CJEU rulings, and German law practices comply with it.
Compensation for gender-based pay inequality must cover all damages, including non-material damage. Member states must ensure effective, proportional and deterrent penalties, potentially including structural workplace changes and exclusion from public tenders for repeated violations. Turkish law also emphasises equal treatment but lacks specific transparency measures. The law provides limited compensation for discrimination and lacks provisions for suspending or interrupting the period of limitation in employment. Aligning Turkish practices with the Directive would enhance transparency and empower employees.
Pay transparency must not violate personal data laws. Whereas the Directive mandates that employers cannot seek job applicants’ previous pay information unless relevant to the job, this issue raises different opinions in Turkish doctrine.
In conclusion, Directive (EU) 2023/970 strengthens the principle of equal pay through transparency, building on nearly seventy years of EU law. It introduces innovative measures, such as employee access to pay information and simplified burden of proof, aiming to foster a sociocultural shift towards valuing workers and ensuring gender equality in pay. German law requires adjustments to fully align with the Directive, while Turkish law could benefit from adopting similar transparency measures to balance employer-employee power dynamics.