Cologne Regional Labour Court limits the right to information regarding pay transpar-ency

Under the EU Pay Transparency Directive (EPTD), workers have significantly broader rights to information regarding the pay of those employees who perform the same work as them or work of equal value to theirs. However, the Directive does not entitle them to information on the specific salaries of individual colleagues. Cologne Regional Labour Court made this clear in its judgment dated 5 February 2026 (case no. 6 SLa 121/25). The decision thus sets out an important limitation of pay transparency and, at the same time, highlights the significance of the EPTD for employers and workers even before its transposition into German law.

Right to information under the German Transparency in Wage Structures Act and the EU Pay Transparency Directive

Under sections 10 ff. German Transparency in Wage Structures Act (EntgTranspG), workers have the right to information on the statistical median pay of the reference group of the opposite sex. This right is, in principle, conditional upon the reference activity being performed by at least six workers of the opposite sex.

Article 7 EPTD provides for a more comprehensive right to information. Workers are entitled to information on the average pay levels of categories of employees performing the same work as them or work of equal value to theirs, broken down by sex. In particular, the right to information is not limited to the average pay levels of the opposite sex, but also includes those of one's own sex within the reference group. Furthermore, this right does not require the reference group or the establishment to be of a certain minimum size. The right under the EPTD therefore goes significantly further than that previously enshrined in German law.

In addition to the scope of the right to information being extended, the question arises, in particular, as to what legal effect the EPTD has, since the transposition deadline expired on 7 June 2026 and there is still no sign of national implementing legislation. As we have previously reported, the Directive already applies directly to public employers. Public employers are therefore already subject to the obligations set out in the Directive, such as providing information or compiling reports. The Directive does not, however, have a direct effect on private employers. We have therefore examined more closely in our article on pay transparency in the absence of implementing legislation the extent to which the Directive is already relevant, particularly following the expiry of the transposition deadline. As regards the right to information, courts are already taking the provisions of Article 7 EPTD into account when interpreting German law. This has also always applied to the directly applicable EU law principle of equal pay for women and men under Article 157 TFEU.

Cologne Regional Labour Court: no right to information regarding individual salaries

In the proceedings before Cologne Regional Labour Court, the employee first requested information, by way of an "action by stages" (Stufenklage), on the specific composition and the amount of the remuneration components of the relevant male workers in her reference group (Sales Managers). This is where the case differs from previous case law: Rather than requesting information on the average or median remuneration of the reference group, the claimant specified in her claim the individual composition and amount of pay received by individual colleagues.

In this regard, the claimant pleaded pay discrimination under the German Transparency in Wage Structures Act (EntgTranspG) and Article 157 TFEU as well as the EPTD. She also based her right to information on the principle of good faith in accordance with section 242 German Civil Code (BGB). In a secondary stage, she asserted a claim for the remuneration calculated on the basis of a pay differential, the exact amount of which would only become quantifiable after the information had been provided. In addition, she asserted a claim for compensation for discrimination under section 15 (2) German General Act on Equal Treatment (AGG).

Cologne Regional Labour Court found that the right to information was not justified under national law, nor under primary or secondary EU law. Consequently, the claimant could not demand payment of any difference in remuneration. The Court also ruled out discrimination under the German General Act on Equal Treatment (AGG). 

German Transparency in Wage Structures Act: The reference group must comprise at least six people

In this specific case, a right to information under sections 10 ff. German Transparency in Wage Structures Act (EntgTranspG) is rejected simply because the relevant reference group consists of no more than five employees and therefore does not meet the minimum requirement of six workers of the opposite sex in accordance with section 12 (3) sentence 2 German Transparency in Wage Structures Act (EntgTranspG).

In this regard, Cologne Regional Labour Court emphasises that, under section 12 (3) German Transparency in Wage Structures Act (EntgTranspG), the employer is required to protect personal data. This means, in particular, that the reference pay does not need to be disclosed if the reference activity is performed by fewer than six people of the opposite sex.

Data protection limits the right to information regarding pay transparency

In the Court's view, no right to information arises from the legal principle of good faith (section 242 German Civil Code (BGB)) either. In this regard, Cologne Regional Labour Court cites the protection of data and personality required under European law. It is clear from both section 12 (3) German Transparency in Wage Structures Act (EntgTranspG) and from the recitals of the EPTD that the exercise of rights to information under EU law must not, in particular, result in individual employees being identifiable. The Court thus makes it clear that data protection not only establishes a national limit on the right to information, but is also an integral part of the regulatory framework under EU law.

Article 7 EPTD: no information on the salaries of individual workers

Compared with the German Transparency in Wage Structures Act (EntgTranspG), the right under Article 7 EPTD is, at first glance, broader, as it does not stipulate a minimum size for the reference group. However, even under the right to information provided for in Article 7 EPTD, there is no right to information regarding individual pay levels.

In the view of Cologne Regional Labour Court, the information required under Article 7 EPTD relates exclusively to one's own individual pay level and to average pay levels for comparable groups of employees. The reporting obligations under Article 9 EPTD include information on the average pay gap. The specific pay levels of individual employees are therefore not referred to in either case. The Directive therefore expressly does not provide for a right to disclosure of the individual remuneration of specific comparable employees. 

This distinction is of considerable practical significance. Irrespective of the question of exactly how the EPTD already operates under national law (more on this below), the Court limits the scope of the right to information under EU law.

EU Pay Transparency Directive in the absence of implementing legislation: What applies already?

In this specific case, Cologne Regional Labour Court is examining Article 7 EPTD and considering its content and scope. Does this mean that the Directive is already binding on private employers, even in the absence of an implementing act? Can employees already request information from their employers on the basis of Article 7 EPTD, in particular without having to meet the requirements of the German Transparency in Wage Structures Act (EntgTranspG), for example regarding the minimum size of the reference group and the establishment? 

For the time being, the decision does not alter our previous view: Even after the transposition deadline has expired, the Directive does not have any direct effect on private employers – however, it is entirely realistic to expect the Directive to be applied via primary EU law and by way of interpretation by the courts in accordance with the Directive.

However, this consequently applies only to periods following the adoption of the EPTD. As the German Federal Labour Court (BAG) clarified in its judgment of 19 February 2026 (8 AZR 83/25), the EPTD has no bearing on cases that were concluded prior to its adoption. The decision was based on a request for information covering the years 2017 to 2020; the action had also been brought in 2022, and thus before the Directive was adopted.

Cologne Regional Labour Court did not need to examine this in depth, as the deadline for transposing the EPTD had not yet expired at the time of the decision. However, the Court ruled out a right to information under Article 8 TFEU, Article 157 TFEU and Article 21 Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, on the brief grounds that these provisions do not grant the claimant a right to information. The Court rejected a claim under Article 7 EPTD on the grounds that it does not cover an individualised request for information (see above). 

It remains to be seen what significance the Court attaches to Article 7 EPTD following the expiry of the transposition deadline for private employers. But one thing is clear: The provisions of the Directive are becoming increasingly relevant to how applicable law is interpreted. It is noteworthy that Cologne Regional Labour Court at least explicitly addresses this issue, even though it did not need to clarify it conclusively for the purposes of its decision.

In this specific case, the Regional Labour Court was able to leave open the question of the Directive's effect between private parties (at that time, before the transposition deadline had expired), as the information requested regarding the specific pay levels of individual employees was not covered by Article 7 EPTD in the first place.

The EPTD is already influencing labour court case law

Notwithstanding the above, two important conclusions can be drawn from the judgment: Firstly, it is clear that the legal assessment and the impact of the EPTD will change once the transposition deadline has expired, even in the absence of transposition legislation. The Court deemed it necessary to make explicit reference to the EPTD and its transposition deadline under Article 34 EPTD.

It is also significant that Cologne Regional Labour Court – although it does not comment specifically on the effect of the EPTD – addresses the substantive limits of the right to information under Article 7 EPTD. This illustrates that the requirements under EU law (even before the transposition deadline has expired) are by no means insignificant. The Court examines the EPTD in detail and even draws on its content, within the context of assessing a right to information under section 242 German Civil Code (BGB), to interpret the limits under data protection law. The assessments under EU law thus form a discernible part of the Court's reasoning, even if they do not support the specific form of the right to information asserted in the present case.

What employers should bear in mind now regarding pay transparency

• No information on individual pay levels: In the view of Cologne Regional Labour Court, neither the German Transparency in Wage Structures Act (EntgTranspG) nor the EU Pay Transparency Directive (EPTD) establishes a right to disclosure of the specific remuneration of individual comparable employees.
• Data protection continues to set limits: Even under the EPTD, rights to information are still subject to the protection of personal data and individual pay levels – according to Cologne Regional Labour Court.
• The impact of the EPTD on private employers remains partly unclear: Cologne Regional Labour Court leaves open how the EPTD will affect individual rights to information vis-à-vis private employers once the transposition deadline has expired.
• EPTD is already gaining practical significance: Labour courts are increasingly taking the requirements and assessments set out in the Directive into account in their decisions.
• Companies should start preparing now: Even in the absence of German implementing legislation, employers should align their remuneration structures with the EPTD and ensure that the necessary pay data is available to meet future information and reporting obligations.

We would like to thank Maria Osmakova for her valuable contribution to the preparation of this article.