Meet Ken. Having wowed bosses at his interview with tales of leveraging synergies, he negotiated a premium salary. Three years later, however, long-standing employee Breda has the measure of him. Ken is grand, but he’s not exactly a rock-star contributor. Breda suspects Ken is on €20,000 more for doing the same work. But what can she do?
New European Union (EU) pay transparency rules, set to come into effect on June 7th, are about fairness for workers like Breda. The rules should lift the lid on practices that unfairly reward one person over another for doing the same job, or work of equal value.
Ireland is going to miss the deadline, however. The EU Pay Transparency Directive is “crucial to empower workers, and especially women, to enforce their right to equal pay”, the Department of Equality has said – but the legislation required to incorporate it into Irish law isn’t in place yet.
There have been delays in Europe, the Government is working on it and workers can expect changes on a “phased basis”, the department says.
So, what does this mean for Breda, and can she expect compensation when the rules eventually kick in?
