THE NEW ACT TO PROMOTE TRANSPARENCY OF PAY STRUCTURES IN GERMANY

Abstract

In Germany, "Act to Promote Transparency of Pay Structures (Entgelttransparenzgesetz) "entered into force on 06.07.2017. The purpose of this Act is an achievement of the pay equity between men and women, who perform the same work or work of equal value. According to this new Act individual employees are able to claim for information about pay structures and the remuneration of other employees within one comparison group, if the company regularly employs more than 200 employees. Companies with more than 500 employees is obligated to generate regular reports on their efforts to promote equality between men and women. On the other hand, works council (Betriebsrat) are obliged to take the necessary measures to protect workers from discrimination of pay on grounds of sex. But it is uncertain whether the Act will improve gender equality between men and women. Despite all the negative discourses, it is also stated that the Act may contribute to reaching the goal of ensuring equality between men and women after a while.