Key takeaways
- Belgium has already required, since the law of 22 April 2012, a biennial pay-structure-analysis report from companies with at least 50 workers.
- The European directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency had to be transposed by 7 June 2026 at the latest: Belgium missed that deadline and asked the European Commission for a six-month extension.
- Once transposed, the directive will require a pay range before hiring, ban asking candidates about their pay history, and strengthen workers' right to information on pay levels.
- The new reporting thresholds set by the directive target companies with 100 workers or more, with a first report due in 2027 for the largest and in 2031 for the smallest of that group.
- An unjustified pay gap of at least 5% triggers, under the directive, a joint pay assessment with staff representatives.
Pay transparency in Belgium does not wait for the European directive to exist: since 2012, a company with at least 50 workers has already had to produce a report on its pay structure. But 7 June 2026, the deadline set by directive (EU) 2023/970 to transpose a much broader framework, passed without a finalised Belgian text for the private sector. This article reviews what is already mandatory, what the directive provides for, and what a Belgian employer should anticipate before the federal text enters into force.
What is already mandatory: the biennial report since 2012
The law of 22 April 2012 against the gender pay gap requires any company employing an average of at least 50 workers to produce a pay-structure-analysis report submitted to the works council or, failing that, the union delegation. The report is drawn up on a full form from 100 workers upward and on a simplified form between 50 and 99 workers.
This report is provided and discussed within three months of the close of the financial year, on a two-year cycle. If it reveals an unjustified gap, staff representatives may request an action plan, and the employer may appoint a mediator from among the staff on the works council's proposal.
Directive 2023/970: a broader European framework, not yet transposed
Directive (EU) 2023/970 of 10 May 2023 aims to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for women and men for the same work or work of equal value, through pay transparency. Member states had to transpose it by 7 June 2026 at the latest.
Belgium did not meet this deadline. The federal government asked the European Commission, over the summer of 2026, for an additional six months to finalise transposition for the private sector, citing operational implementation difficulties. As of this article's writing, no definitive federal text covering private employers has been published in the Moniteur belge. Two federated entities have, for their part, already transposed the part applicable to their own administrative staff: the Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, through a decree of 16 May 2024 in force since 1 January 2025, and the Flemish Region, through a decree of March 2026.
- 1
10 May 2023
Adoption of directive (EU) 2023/970 by the European Parliament and the Council.
- 2
7 June 2026
Transposition deadline into the law of each member state, including Belgium.
- 3
Summer 2026
Belgium asks the European Commission for an additional six months for transposition on the private-sector side, the initial deadline having been missed.
- 4
7 June 2027
First pay-gap report due for employers with 150 workers or more, once the directive is transposed.
- 5
7 June 2031
First report due for employers with 100 to 149 workers.
The new obligations set out in the directive
Once transposed, the directive will change three things for a Belgian employer, regardless of size for some of them.
Before hiring, the employer will have to disclose a pay range or the initial salary for the position to the candidate, and will no longer be able to ask them about their pay history with previous employers.
During the employment relationship, every worker will have the right to ask their employer for information on their individual pay level and on average pay levels, broken down by gender, for categories of workers performing work of equal value.
At company level, a new periodic report on the gender pay gap will be added to the existing biennial report for companies covered by both regimes.
| Belgian report (law of 22 April 2012) | Report provided for by directive 2023/970 | |
|---|---|---|
| Headcount threshold | 50 workers and above | 100 workers and above |
| Frequency | Every two years | Annual (250+) or every three years (100 to 249) |
| Recipient | Works council or union delegation | Designated authority and staff representatives |
| In force in Belgium |
Why prepare before final transposition
Waiting for the definitive federal text before acting leaves very little room for manoeuvre on the day it enters into force. Pay structures, job grids and recruitment processes cannot be corrected within a few weeks, especially in an SME with no dedicated HR department for this undertaking.
Before the Belgian text enters into force
Map roles by work value
Identify groups of comparable functions beyond mere job titles.
Document pay-setting criteria
Formalise objective criteria (seniority, skills, responsibilities) in writing so a gap can be justified.
Review the ranges shown in job postings
Anticipate the obligation to disclose a pay range before the interview.
Train recruiters
Stop asking candidates for their pay history, even out of habit during an interview.
Check the 2012 obligation
If the company has 50 workers or more, confirm the last biennial report was duly submitted to the works council.
An SME that already structures its management of European regulatory obligations avoids discovering, at the moment of transposition, that it must reconstruct after the fact pay data it never formalised.
Secure your company's legal compliance
Our teams support Belgian SMEs in tracking new regulatory obligations, from legal monitoring to compliance.
Going further
Other European reporting obligations follow an equally tight timeline for Belgian companies: the CSRD sustainability report imposes its own data-collection discipline, and GDPR compliance for SMEs shares with pay transparency the same difficulty: processing and publishing personal data within a precise legal framework.
