At a glance
- The Swedish government has published its legislative agenda for the coming months, confirming that its bill to implement the Gender Pay Transparency Directive (Directive) will be presented in January 2026. The bill will amend the existing Discrimination Act to bring Swedish laws into alignment with the Directive obligations.
- Notwithstanding that it is not an EU Member State, Norway's status as a country within the European Economic Area means that it may also implement the Directive by June 2026.
- Norway already has gender pay gap reporting regulations under the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act, which apply to employers with 50 or more employees.
- However, Norway's existing laws are not wholly Directive compliant. This means that new reporting obligations may be introduced for employers of 250 or more employees from June 2027.
- Norway may also introduce new rules requiring employers to disclose salaries / pay ranges and preventing employers from asking candidates about their previous salary.
- Further, Norway's laws may provide for employees to be able to request information about their own pay and average pay by gender for work of equal value. Employers may also be required to proactively explain pay-setting criteria.
- Final confirmation of Norway's approach to the Directive will be determined in due course.
More to explore
