By Law 5316/2026, Directive (EU) 2023/970 is transposed into the Greek legal order and a new framework is established for the implementation of the principle of equal pay between men and women for equal work or work of equal value. The law introduces specific pay transparency obligations, grants employees the right of access to information on pay levels and strengthens the mechanisms of administrative and judicial protection. The main provisions on pay transparency and legal protection enter into force on 1 November 2026.

1. Does the law concern pay equality in general or only discrimination based on sex?

Law 5316/2026 specifically concerns equal pay between men and women. It does not establish a general principle according to which all employees performing similar work must necessarily receive the same pay, irrespective of sex and the particular circumstances of each case. Its purpose is to eliminate the pay gap between men and women for equal work or work of equal value. Accordingly, Article 3, which amends Article 34 of the Labour Law Code, defines the “principle of equal pay” as equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women. This approach is confirmed by Article 8, according to which “men and women are entitled to equal pay for equal work or for work of equal value”.

Therefore, for the application of the law’s specific protective framework, there must be direct or indirect pay discrimination linked to sex. A difference in pay between two employees is not automatically unlawful. It may be justified by objective and gender-neutral criteria, provided that these are genuinely related to the work or the position. Such criteria include skills, effort expended, responsibility, working conditions, seniority and relevant technical or non-technical skills. The criteria must be objective, documented and gender-neutral, so that the employer is able to justify the pay differentiation on the basis of the characteristics of the work and not the employee’s sex.

2. What applies to an employee’s request for information?

Article 10 of Law 5316/2026 establishes an autonomous right to information regarding pay levels. Upon request, therefore, the employee is entitled to receive in writing, on the one hand, information concerning his or her individual pay level and, on the other hand, information concerning the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for the category of employees performing equal work or work of equal value to his or her own. Accordingly, no general right is recognised to know the exact salary of each specific colleague. As a rule, the employee receives aggregate information on the average pay levels of men and women in the relevant category. The law does not expressly require the initial request to be submitted exclusively in writing. It does, however, provide that the employer’s response and information are provided in writing. For evidentiary purposes and in order to clearly determine the commencement of the time limit for responding, written submission is advisable, for example by email or by a document that is formally registered.

The employee may request and receive the information personally, through workers’ representatives or through the Greek Ombudsman. The same means are also provided for submitting a request for additional clarifications where the employer fails to respond or where the information provided is inaccurate or incomplete. The employer is, moreover, required to respond within a reasonable period and, in any event, within two months from the date on which the request was submitted. At the same time, the employer must inform all employees annually of the existence of the right to information and of the steps required for its exercise. If no response is provided, or if it is inaccurate or incomplete, the employee may request additional and reasonable clarifications, details concerning the information provided, as well as a reasoned response. The employer may refuse to provide the information only if the request is manifestly disproportionate or abusive, particularly because of its repetitive nature. In such a case, the employee may submit the request through the Greek Ombudsman, who assesses whether it is well-founded. A general invocation of confidentiality or business secrecy is not sufficient to justify refusal to provide the information.

As regards confidentiality, it is provided that individual or collective agreements and workplace regulations may not prohibit an employee from disclosing his or her own pay where the purpose of the disclosure is to protect the right to equal pay. Other pay-related data obtained through the information procedure may be used exclusively for the exercise of that right, while employees and their representatives are subject to obligations of confidentiality and secrecy. At the same time, the personal data of other employees are protected. Where the disclosure of aggregate information may directly or indirectly reveal the pay of a specific and identifiable employee, access to such information is granted only to workers’ representatives, the Labour Inspectorate and the Greek Ombudsman. The employee concerned may be informed of the existence of a potential claim, without being provided with the exact pay of a specific colleague.

3. What are the consequences for an employer who fails to comply?

Non-compliance may result in administrative and civil consequences, orders to bring the infringement to an end, a shift in the burden of proof and an increased risk of the employer being found liable. More specifically, infringement of the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of sex, of the principle of equal pay and of pay transparency obligations constitutes an infringement of labour legislation and is subject to the administrative sanctions provided for in Article 572 of the Labour Law Code. Such infringements may also include the unjustified failure to provide the information referred to in Article 10. The specific amount and method of calculating the fines are not numerically determined in the law itself but, pursuant to Article 31, will be further specified by decision of the Minister of Labour and Social Security.

It is also provided that the Labour Inspectorate, in cooperation with the Greek Ombudsman, may order the employer to bring the infringement to an end, take specific compliance measures and rectify the unlawful pay practice. If the employer fails to implement the measures, a repeated fine for each quarter during which the non-compliance continues may be imposed.

Furthermore, the employee affected may claim cessation of the infringement and full compensation for the damage suffered. Compensation may include retroactive pay differences, allowances and bonuses, variable remuneration, benefits in kind, default interest, loss of income and professional opportunities, actual loss and loss of profit, as well as monetary compensation for non-pecuniary damage. Compensation must be full, genuine, effective, dissuasive and proportionate to the seriousness of the infringement and is not subject to any upper limit. A mere failure to respond to a request for information does not automatically mean that the employee is entitled to all of the above benefits. It may, however, constitute an administrative infringement and have serious evidentiary consequences, particularly where it is linked to underlying pay discrimination.

Measures for the Protection of the Employee

The affected employee may bring proceedings before the competent courts, administrative authorities and the mediation procedures of the Greek Ombudsman, even after the termination of the employment relationship during which the infringement occurred. With the employee’s consent, the Greek Ombudsman, trade unions and other legal persons or associations with a relevant legitimate interest may bring a legal action or legal remedy in his or her name or intervene in support of the employee. Of particular importance is the shift in the burden of proof under Article 18. Where the employee invokes facts from which direct or indirect pay discrimination on grounds of sex may be presumed, the employer is required to prove that the principle of equal treatment and equal pay has not been infringed. The shift applies in particular where the transparency obligations under Articles 8 to 13 have not been complied with, unless the employer proves that the infringement was manifestly unintentional and minor in nature. The court may also order the production of evidence under the employer’s control, even where it contains confidential information, subject to the adoption of the necessary protective measures.

Moreover, a special procedure is established before the Labour Inspectorate for labour disputes relating to alleged pay discrimination on grounds of sex. The employee may request the adoption of corrective measures, while the employer is called upon to produce the pay-setting policy, the criteria for pay progression, the data used to calculate the applicant’s pay and the average pay levels by sex for the category of employees used for comparison.

Failure to produce the information is regarded as a lack of justification for the pay differences. Differences that are not justified by the employer are presumed to constitute discrimination. Where pay discrimination is established, the employer is called upon to present and implement corrective measures within a reasonable period and, in any event, within six months. Unjustified failure to appear in the procedure or failure to comply gives rise to administrative sanctions.

Finally, dismissal, termination of the employment relationship or any other adverse treatment in response to the exercise of the relevant rights is prohibited. The protection covers, inter alia, the submission of a request for information, a complaint concerning pay discrimination, participation in administrative or judicial proceedings, giving evidence as a witness and any other action aimed at safeguarding the principle of equal pay.