Skip to main content
Glossary termPublished inPay Transparency

Work of equal value

Also known as gelijkwaardige arbeid

What does "Work of equal value" mean under the Pay Transparency Directive?

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)

Article 4(4) of the Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970):

  • 4. Pay structures shall be such as to enable the assessment of whether workers are in a comparable situation in regard to the value of work on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria agreed with workers’ representatives where such representatives exist. Those criteria shall not be based directly or indirectly on workers’ sex. They shall include skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions, and, if appropriate, any other factors which are relevant to the specific job or position. They shall be applied in an objective gender-neutral manner, excluding any direct or indirect discrimination based on sex. In particular, relevant soft skills shall not be undervalued.

Defined in / by

Last updated: 14 October 2026.

Different jobs, the same value

Work of equal value lets two different jobs be compared. The Pay Transparency Directive does not ask whether the tasks are the same; it asks whether the jobs are of equal value when measured on the criteria in Article 4(4): skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions, plus other factors relevant to the specific job. Recital 26 says the four factors were identified in existing Union guidelines as essential and sufficient for any sector, and that the employer weighs each one by its relevance to the job. Article 4(4) adds that relevant soft skills shall not be undervalued.

The comparison has wide limits. Recital 28 allows a hypothetical comparator where no real one exists. Recital 29 says workers can be in a comparable situation without working for the same employer, where the pay conditions come from a single source such as statutory provisions, a collective agreement covering several employers, or conditions laid down centrally within a group. Recital 30 asks Member States to provide tools and methodologies to help employers assess what is work of equal value.

The Dutch bill's wording

The Dutch implementing bill (Kamerstuk 36949) defines gelijkwaardige arbeid as:

arbeid waarvan is vastgesteld dat die gelijkwaardig is overeenkomstig de in artikel 8, tweede lid, bedoelde criteria

New Article 8(2) of the Wet gelijke behandeling van mannen en vrouwen names the same four criteria, and new Article 11(1) takes over the single-source test. Unlike Article 4(4), the bill's Article 8(2) does not say the criteria are agreed with workers' representatives; the bill gives the works council a consent right over them instead (Wet op de ondernemingsraden, Article 27(1)(c)). As at 13 October 2026 the bill is not yet law.

Questions and answers

What criteria decide whether work is of equal value?

Article 4(4) of Directive (EU) 2023/970: skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions, and, if appropriate, other factors relevant to the specific job or position. The criteria must be objective and gender-neutral, agreed with workers' representatives where they exist, and relevant soft skills shall not be undervalued.

Can work of equal value be compared across employers?

Recital 29 of Directive (EU) 2023/970 says workers may be in a comparable situation without working for the same employer where the pay conditions can be attributed to a single source, such as statutory provisions or a collective agreement covering several employers.

Glossary

  • Indirect discrimination

    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.

  • 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.

  • Category of workers

    Workers performing the same work or work of equal value grouped in a non-arbitrary manner based on the non-discriminatory and objective gender-neutral criteria referred to in Article 4(4), by the workers’ employer and, where applicable, in cooperation with the workers’ representatives in accordance with national law and/or practice.

Regulations

  • Pay Transparency Directive (Loontransparantie)

    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.

    Next
    Wet implementatie Richtlijn loontransparantie mannen en vrouwen enters into force