Slovakia is set to introduce a new Equal Pay Act effective 1 June 2026

On 1 June 2026, a new Act on the Application of the Principle of Equal Pay for Men and Women for Equal Work or Work of Equal Value should enter into force in Slovakia. The first draft of the new law was published on 19 September 2025 and is currently subject to comments from the public and state authorities. Therefore, changes to the legislative text are possible.

This legislation transposes Directive (EU) 2023/970 and introduces significant obligations for employers aimed at ensuring pay transparency and eliminating gender-based pay discrimination. This law should provide a framework for pay transparency, reporting, and enforcement. Although the initial draft does not go beyond the scope or content of the directive, we still presume a substantial impact on employment practices across both the private and public sectors.

Despite existing anti-discrimination laws, Slovakia continues to have one of the highest gender-pay gaps in the EU. The new law seeks to address this by introducing mandatory transparency measures, reporting obligations, and enforcement mechanisms. Failure to comply may result in fines, reputational risk, and exposure to litigation. The new law applies broadly to all employment relationships governed by the Labour Code, as well as to analogous relationships in the public sector, including state employees, prosecutors and judges.  Its primary objective is to ensure that men and women receive equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, and to eliminate both direct and indirect discrimination in remuneration practices.

Transparency Requirements

Transparent Pay Structures

Employers will be obliged to establish and maintain transparent pay structures.  These structures must be based on objective, gender-neutral criteria. Where employee representatives exist, the employer is required to agree these criteria with them. The pay structure should be documented in a form accessible to employees.

Transparency in Recruitment

In addition to existing regulations, the law will impose transparency obligations at the pre-employment stage, such as:

• gender-neutral language in job advertisements and job titles; and
• a prohibition on asking a candidate about their current or previous remuneration.

Transparency in Pay Determination and Progression

Employers will be obliged to make available to employees the criteria used to determine pay, pay levels, and pay increases.  These criteria must be objective and gender neutral.  For employers with fewer than 50 employees, the obligation to disclose criteria for pay progression should not apply, but the underlying requirement for objective and neutral criteria remains.

Employee Right to Information

The new law will give employees the right to information about:

• their own pay level. 
• The average pay, broken down by gender, for the same or equivalent work, subject to data protection safeguards. 
• Additional explanations and details regarding the pay information provided.

Employers will have to respond to such requests within two months and will also have to inform employees annually about their rights in this regard.

Reporting and Monitoring

Employers with at least 100 employees will be subject to regular reporting obligations on gender pay differences. If an employer has from 100 to 249 employees, it will have to report every three years; if it has over 250 employees, it will have to report annually.

The planned deadline for first report submission is 7 June 2027 for employers with over 150 employees, and 7 June 2031 for employers with 100 to 149 employees.

If a report reveals an unjustified pay gap of at least 5% in any monitored category and the employer fails to justify or correct it within six months, additional remedy obligations will be imposed on the employer.

Enforcement and Sanctions

Right to Compensation

Any individual who suffers harm because of a breach of the equal pay principle may be entitled to monetary compensation according to the new law (e.g., payment of the pay gap difference, compensation for lost opportunities, non-pecuniary harm).

The limitation period for claiming this compensation is three years from the date the individual became aware, or ought to have become aware, of the breach.  Importantly, the limitation period is suspended while the employer investigates the internal complaint. 

Administrative Fines

Employers who fail to comply with their reporting obligations may be subject to an administrative fine up to EUR 4,000.

Labour Inspectorate Sanctions

The Labour Inspectorate will be authorised to impose additional sanctions for breaches of the equal pay legislation, including failures related to pay transparency and other obligations.