--- title: "Direct discrimination" description: "Direct discrimination under the Pay Transparency Directive: less favourable treatment on grounds of sex than another person gets, got or would get." canonical: "https://gencompl.ai/glossary/direct-discrimination-pay-transparency" language: "en-US" type: "Glossary term" published: "2026-10-14T18:19:46.192Z" modified: "2026-10-14T19:20:33.628Z" --- # Direct discrimination The situation in which one person is treated less favourably on grounds of sex than another person is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation. Also known as: directe discriminatie **What does "Direct discrimination" mean under the Pay Transparency Directive?** Defined in: [Pay Transparency](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/pay-transparency-directive) (32023L0970) [Home](https://gencompl.ai/) › [Glossary](https://gencompl.ai/glossary) › Direct discrimination > The situation in which one person is treated less favourably on grounds of sex than another person is, has been or would be treated in a comparable situation ## Defined in / by - [Pay Transparency Directive (32023L0970)](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/pay-transparency-directive), Article 3(1), point (i) Last updated: 14 October 2026. ## Less favourable treatment because of sex Direct discrimination is the plainest case: a person gets worse treatment because of their sex than someone else gets, got or would get in a comparable situation. The three tenses matter. "Has been" lets a worker compare with a predecessor, and recital 29 confirms the comparison is not limited to workers employed at the same time as the claimant. "Would be" allows a hypothetical comparator, which recital 28 says lifts an obstacle in highly gender-segregated employment markets where no real comparator of the other sex exists. Article 3(2) of the Pay Transparency Directive widens what discrimination includes for its purposes: harassment and sexual harassment related to the exercise of rights under the Directive, any instruction to discriminate on grounds of sex, less favourable treatment related to pregnancy or maternity leave, less favourable treatment based on sex with regard to paternity, parental or carers' leave, and intersectional discrimination. Recital 17 sets the boundary on the other side. Paying workers who do the same work or work of equal value differently remains possible on objective, gender-neutral and bias-free criteria, such as performance and competence. ### The Dutch bill's wording The Dutch implementing bill (Kamerstuk 36949) keeps the term onderscheid and defines direct onderscheid as: > indien een persoon op grond van geslacht op een andere wijze wordt behandeld dan een ander in een vergelijkbare situatie wordt, is of zou worden behandeld The Dutch wording speaks of being treated differently (op een andere wijze) where the Directive says less favourably. As at 13 October 2026 the bill is not yet law. > **What we could not establish** > > Whether a pay difference is direct discrimination depends on facts the definition does not fix: the comparator, the comparable situation and the reason for the difference. Under Article 18(2), an employer that has not met its pay transparency obligations carries the burden of proving there was no discrimination. This entry fixes the term. It does not decide whether the term catches your institution; counsel decides that. ## Questions and answers ### Can a worker compare themselves with a predecessor under the Pay Transparency Directive? Yes. Direct discrimination in Article 3(1), point (i), of Directive (EU) 2023/970 covers the treatment another person has been given, and recital 29 says the comparison is not limited to workers employed at the same time as the claimant. ### Is paying a better performer more direct discrimination? Not by itself. Recital 17 of Directive (EU) 2023/970 says employers may pay workers doing the same work or work of equal value differently on objective, gender-neutral and bias-free criteria, such as performance and competence. ## Sources - [Directive (EU) 2023/970 to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/970/oj/eng) (EUR-Lex · 17 May 2023) - [Kamerstuk 36949, nr. 2: Voorstel van wet (Wet implementatie Richtlijn loontransparantie mannen en vrouwen)](https://zoek.officielebekendmakingen.nl/kst-36949-2.html) (Officiële bekendmakingen · 20 May 2026) ## Related content ### Glossary term - [Intersectional discrimination](https://gencompl.ai/glossary/intersectional-discrimination): Discrimination based on a combination of sex and any other ground or grounds of discrimination protected under Directive 2000/43/EC or 2000/78/EC. - [Indirect discrimination](https://gencompl.ai/glossary/indirect-discrimination-pay-transparency): The situation in which an apparently neutral provision, criterion or practice would put persons of one sex at a particular disadvantage compared with persons of the other sex, unless that provision, criterion or practice is objectively justified on the basis of a legitimate aim, and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary. - [Work of equal value](https://gencompl.ai/glossary/work-of-equal-value): Work that is determined to be of equal value in accordance with the non-discriminatory and objective gender-neutral criteria referred to in Article 4(4). ### Regulation - [Pay Transparency Directive (Loontransparantie)](https://gencompl.ai/regulations/pay-transparency-directive): The Pay Transparency Directive, Directive (EU) 2023/970, had to be transposed by 7 June 2026. The Dutch bill (Kamerstuk 36949) targets 1 January 2027 and has employers with 150 or more workers file a first pay gap report by 7 June 2028, on 2027. As at 13 October 2026 it awaits a vote in the Tweede Kamer.