New Laws Based on EU Pay Transparency Directive Take Shape in Belgium

The EU Pay Transparency Directive was signed into law in early 2023, but there is still one major step before these laws have real-world impacts: transposition into local law. The individual EU member states have until 2026 to do so, but recently, one jurisdiction became the first to meet this milestone.

The French Community of Belgium, also known as the Wallonia-Brussels Federation or Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, has over 4.5 million French-speaking residents and is one of three federated communities within Belgium. The French Community signed its new pay transparency reporting and pay gap reporting requirements into law in September of 2024.

These new regulations transpose only parts of the EU directive, as the remainder will need to happen at the national level. However, the French Community’s choices and approach may give us some indications of what full transposition may eventually look like. This article gives an overview of existing pay equity and transparency legislation in Belgium, as well as the new legislation that covers the French Community.

Existing pay equity legislation in Belgium

Belgium’s first laws to address the gender pay gap were implemented in 1975 as part of Collective Labour Agreement 25. This law mandates equal pay for equal work across gender lines. In 2012, new legislation introduced reporting requirements that include a routine pay equity analysis for all organizations of a certain size.

Requirements

Here is what is required throughout Belgium:

• All organizations need to conduct an annual audit and send the results to Belgium’s National Bank. This audit must include the differences in total pay and labor costs paid to men and to women.
• Organizations with 50 to 99 employees need to conduct a wage structure analysis every two years. These employers can use the simplified short form of the report. This analysis covers direct remuneration and bonuses or benefits.
• Organizations with 100 or more employees also need to conduct a wage structure analysis every two years. However, they must use the complete form. This requires information beyond what’s needed for the simplified short form, like the employee’s qualifications, seniority, work category, and function; this information is broken down by gender.
• If the wage structure analysis reveals any inequalities, the organization must create an action plan for developing a more equitable pay structure.
• Any specific cases of pay inequality must be mediated and settled. Employees who have experienced pay discrimination can file a complaint.

Deadline & place to report

The wage structure analysis covers two financial years and is always due on March 31 of the year after the two years covered by the analysis. Once it’s complete, this report is sent to the organization’s works council or trade union delegation, with a meeting to follow. In this conversation, the works council and the organization choose whether to create an action plan to guide the creation of a new pay structure.

If the works council or the union delegation requests it, a mediator becomes involved with the action plan. This mediator is appointed by the employer, and their scope of work involves advising the employer on the action plan, listening to employees who believe their pay may be unfair, and aiding the employer to investigate and settle cases of pay inequality.

Penalties for non-compliance

Organizations that are out of compliance with Belgium’s pay auditing and analysis requirements face fines. Failure to submit an analysis that gives a data breakdown could result in criminal or administrative fines from 200 to 4,000 euro.

French Community of Belgium becomes the first to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive

The French Community’s pay transparency legislation lines up with the main requirements of the EU directive. However, this legislation goes further in several ways, as we’ll specify below.

Here are the new requirements, grounded in the EU directive, for the French Community of Belgium. This new legislation goes into effect on January 1, 2025.                                       

• Employers must inform applicants of the starting pay or pay range. This information must be made available as soon as the job opening is announced. (And not, for example, during or after the interview.) It also must be in a format accessible to people with disabilities. (This is an extension of the EU pay transparency directive.)
• Job titles must be worded in such a way that is non-discriminatory (This is not covered under the EU directive.)
• In their reports, companies will need to state how much family-related responsibility leave they granted. This includes maternity, childbirth, adoption, and parental leave. (This is an extension of the EU pay transparency directive.)

In requiring transparent pay information to be made available at the very beginning of the job application and hiring process, the French Community is increasing the public visibility of pay information. This means that businesses will need to make sure that their pay structures accurately reflect the organization’s values. It also means that HR personnel and managers must be able to comprehend and communicate the pay structure.

Further support with PayEquity by beqom

Reporting: Our software solution lets you generate a report tailored to Belgium’s existing requirements with just a few clicks. Other features help you view and report on family-related responsibility leave.

Pay equity analysis: When you need to examine or revisit your pay structure, PayEquity by beqom gives you the insight you need to make data-driven decisions. This supports you in adjusting the pay structure, closing any pay gaps, or creating an action plan to meet Belgian requirements.

Job evaluation: One key to creating a fair pay structure is ensuring equal pay for equivalent work. The job evaluation tool lets you compare employees’ pay across jobs that may look quite different or require different skillsets.

Compensation assistant: Once your company has done the hard work of closing the pay gap, the compensation assistant tool advises you on pay and promotion decisions to make sure the gap never reappears.