ELA EU Pay Directive

PORTUGAL

Legislation Addressing the EU Pay Directive

  • Succinct summary of the legislation:

    A succinct summary of the legislation:

    a. The draft was published in the supplement to the official Labour and Employment Gazette (Boletim do Trabalho e Emprego), no. 26, of 5 August 2026. This draft may be consulted here(only a Portuguese version is available);


    b. The draft states that it will enter into force on the first day of the month following its publication. With the exception of reporting obligations, the draft does not stipulate any other date by which employers must comply with the implementing legislation;


    c. No secondary legislation or further guidance has been announced yet. 


  • Draft legislation implementation:

    The draft largely follows the Directive but introduces additional or stricter requirements. These include: (a) pay gap reporting applies to companies with 50 or more employees, rather than companies with 100 or more employees, which is the Directive’s threshold; (b) following the reporting, the Authority for the Working Conditions (ACT) may notify companies to justify pay disparities or to propose measures to correct them, for which a specific procedure is defined; (c) temporary agency workers are included in the company’s headcount for reporting purposes; (d) information on initial pay must be provided to candidates prior to the date of conclusion of the employment contract (not in the job advertisement or before the interview); (e) the transparent remuneration policy must be agreed upon with employees’ representatives, if they exist; (f) companies with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from publishing the criteria used to determine pay progression; (g) equal-pay claims are subject to a one-year limitation period from the date of termination of the employment contract; (h) a dismissal or other disciplinary action allegedly taken to punish a breach of labour law is presumed to be unfair where it takes place within three years of the filing of a complaint regarding a breach of rights relating to the principle of equal pay; and (i) the court may award full compensation for patrimonial and non-patrimonial damages even without a specific claim. 

  • How will the Directive's requirements interact with or replace existing national obligations?

    The draft law amends Law 60/2018, so both regimes will be integrated, and employers will not need to comply with separate parallel regimes. The new law modifies the existing legal framework. Existing obligations remain applicable until the new law is enacted; the current pay-gap evaluation plan mechanism would be replaced by periodic reporting and a new process for justifying or correcting the detected pay disparities. The rules existing in the Portuguese Labour Code on gender pay equality will remain applicable after the entry into force of the new legislation (this diploma is not expected to be amended). 

  • When will transposing legislation be published and what to expect:

    A draft transposing law was published in the official labour and employment gazette (Boletim do Trabalho e Emprego) on 5 August 2026. A 20-day public consultation ended on 25 August 2026. 


    According to the draft, the law aims to partially transpose Directive (EU) 2023/970 by amending the following existing legislation: (i)  Law 60/2018 of 21 August, which provides for measures to promote equal pay between men and women; (ii) Decree-Law 78/2026 of 16 March, which approved the organizational structure of the Commission for Equality in Work and Employment (CITE); (iii) the Labour Procedure Code. 


    1.1 Under existing Portuguese law, employers must make the following information available:


    1. Clear description of the remuneration components and criteria


     Employees must be able to understand how their total pay is composed (basic pay and all regular and periodic benefits in cash or in kind).

     Employers must base pay on objective, gender neutral criteria (such as qualifications, responsibilities, effort, working conditions, performance, productivity, seniority, etc.), and these criteria must be identifiable and explainable to workers.

     In practice, this should require a transparent pay policy and a job evaluation system that allows employees to see which factors determine their pay level and progression, and to verify that the same criteria are applied to women and men performing equal work or work of equal value.


    2. Information on pay levels and pay differences within the undertaking


     Employees and their representatives are granted the right to access information allowing them to identify differences in pay between women and men for equal work or work of equal value.

     Law 60/2018 requires the authorities to publish sectoral barometers and company level pay balance reports, showing statistical differences in remuneration between women and men.

     When significant pay differences are identified, employers may be required to present a plan to assess and correct those differences, which must be based on an analysis of the pay components and criteria used in the company. Employees and/or their representatives must be informed of the existence and content of such plans.


    3. Information enabling employees to challenge discriminatory pay:


     Employees who suspect pay discrimination should be able to obtain sufficient information about the applicable pay criteria and pay levels to substantiate a claim of discrimination.

     If an employee alleges discriminatory pay and the employer does not have or does not present a transparent pay policy, the law establishes a presumption of pay discrimination, shifting the burden of proof to the employer.

     

    4. Non personal but disaggregated information to representatives:


     Information provided to employees’ representatives (and, in some cases, to trade unions and competent authorities) must be disaggregated by sex so that gender based pay differences can be identified, but it must not include nominative (identifying) data about individual employees, except where the law expressly allows it (for example, in proceedings before competent authorities or courts).


    5. Information on measures and policies to promote equal pay


     Employers must inform employees and their representatives about policies and measures adopted to promote equal pay, including any internal procedures for job evaluation, pay setting and pay progression, and any corrective measures taken following the identification of unjustified pay gaps under Law 60/2018


Application

  • Under local law, who are considered to be workers?

    The draft does not introduce a specific definition of “workers” beyond the existing Labour Code concept. It applies to employees who are hired under an employment contract, including temporary agency workers. 

  • Has local legislation clarified what should be considered as "pay structures"?

    The draft defines “pay” (“remuneração”) as base pay and any other fixed or variable benefits, whether in cash or in kind, that the employer owes to the worker in exchange for his/her work. No clarification on the concept of “pay structures” is included in the draft. 

  • Has local legislation clarified how employers should categorise "work of equal value"?

    The draft defines “work of equal value” as the work where functions performed for the same employer are equivalent, considering qualifications or experience, responsibilities, physical and psychological effort, and working conditions. Workers must be grouped into “groups of workers” based on objective, non-discriminatory criteria common to men and women.

Recruitment and job applicants

  • What information must an employer provide to job applicants in relation to pay (i.e. what does "initial pay range" include – basic pay, bonus, family leave payments, pension, stock options, etc)?

    Job applicants are entitled to receive information about the initial pay or pay range for the position and, where applicable, the relevant provisions of the applicable collective agreement. The concept of “pay” referred to above is relevant for this purpose. 

  • How and when must this information be provided?

    This information must be provided before the date of conclusion of the employment contract. It is not required that this information is provided in the job advertisement or before the interview.

  • Does the salary history ban apply equally to internal candidates?

    Yes. The prohibition on salary history enquiries applies to all “candidates for employment” without distinction between internal and external candidates. 

  • Can employers' use salary history information already known to them when determining salaries for internal hires/ promotions?

    The draft prohibits the employer from inquiring about the salary history of candidates in their current or previous employment relationships. It does not expressly address the use of salary information that the employer already knows for internal candidates.

  • Does local law require that the job vacancy notices and job titles are gender neutral?

    The draft does not expressly impose that job vacancy notices and job titles be gender neutral. General anti-discrimination rules under the Portuguese Labour Code nevertheless apply.

Transparency of pay and pay progression policy

  • What information must an employer make available to workers about workers’ pay, pay levels and pay progression under local law?

    Employers must make available to workers information on the criteria used to determine pay, pay levels and pay progression. These criteria must be objective, common to men and women, and non-discriminatory on grounds of sex. 

  • How should this information be provided?

    This information should be made provided to workers by posting it in suitable locations or publishing it on the company intranet.

  • Has local law clarified what are the "objective and gender-neutral criteria" that should be used to determine pay, pay levels and pay progression?

    No.

  • Are there any exemptions based on headcount?

    Yes. Companies with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from the obligation to post or publish information on pay progression.

Individual rights to pay information

A worker is entitled to request and receive information on:


  • their individual pay level; and
  • the average pay levels broken down by sex for workers performing the same work as them or work of equal value to theirs

  • What is considered to be "pay" for the purpose of this provision?

    According to the draft, “pay” (“remuneração”) includes base pay and any other fixed or variable benefits, whether in cash or in kind, that the employer owes to the worker in exchange for his/her work; “pay level” means gross annual pay and the corresponding gross hourly pay. 

  • Can any pay components be excluded for the purposes of calculating gross hourly pay (for example, can voluntary benefits, stock options or "pay" components that do not appear on a payslip be excluded?)

    The draft does not expressly exclude any pay components. The broad definition of “pay” suggests that all components are included

  • Within what period of time must the information be provided?

    The information requested by the workers must be provided within two months from the written request

  • How should this information be provided?

    The draft does not specify the format. The information is provided upon written request.

  • Are there any exemptions based on headcount?

    The draft provides no headcount-based exemption for individual information requests

  • Is a worker entitled to request this information individually and/or through workers representatives and/or through an equality body?

    Yes. A worker may request this information individually, through workers’ representatives or through Commission for Equality in Work and Employment (CITE). 

  • What rights does a worker have where the information is alleged to be inaccurate or incomplete?

    The draft does not specifically address the right to challenge inaccurate or incomplete information in this context.

  • Does an employer need to inform workers of their entitlement to request this information?

    Yes. Employers must inform workers annually of their right to request information and the procedure for doing so. 

  • Does local law require that employers provide this information in the local language, or can it be provided in English?

    The draft does not address language requirements. However, it seems that the information should be provided in a language that workers can understand. As a rule, the local language seems to be appropriate. 

Prohibitions on workers disclosing pay information

Contractual clauses that prevent employees from disclosing information about their pay are prohibited under the Directive. 

  • Can employers impose any restrictions on workers to prevent them from disclosing their own pay, and/or average pay information obtained pursuant to an information request?

    The draft expressly provides that any contractual clauses or provisions in collective bargaining agreements that seek to prevent a worker from disclosing information relating to his/her remuneration shall be null and void. However, the employer may require the worker to use the information obtained only for exercising his/her right to equal pay. 

  • If existing contracts contain pay secrecy clauses, what actions (if any) are required to bring those contracts into compliance (e.g., must such clauses be formally rescinded or is the existing pay secrecy clause simply unenforceable)?

    Such clauses are null and void by operation of law. No specific formal action is required; the clauses are simply unenforceable.

Gender pay gap reporting

  • Are the pay gap reporting deadlines the same as those set out in the Directive?

    No. The draft establishes the following deadlines: companies with 250 or more workers must first report by 7 June 2027 and then annually; companies with 150–249 workers must first report by 7 June 2027 and then every three years; and companies with 50–149 workers must first report by 7 June 2031 and then every three years.

  • Please confirm what gender pay gap information employers must provide under local law (and include detail on headcount thresholds).

    Companies with 50 or more workers must provide disaggregated information which enable the following figures to be calculated: (i) the pay gap; (ii) the pay gap in supplementary or variable components; (iii) the median pay gap; (iv) the median pay gap in supplementary or variable components; (v) the proportion of male and female workers receiving supplementary or variable components; (vi) the proportion of male and female workers in each quartile of the remuneration range; and (vii) the pay gap by worker group, disaggregated by base pay and supplementary or variable components. The draft establishes the following headcount thresholds: 250 or more workers (annual reporting) and 50–249 workers (reporting every three years). Temporary workers are counted.

  • Does local law specify a uniform reference or “snapshot” date for assessing headcount or pay data for reporting purposes?

    The draft provides that information relates to the previous calendar year. However, the draft does not define any specific “snapshot date” for assessing headcount or relevant pay data. 

  • What pay information (if any) is an employer required to publish and where does it need to be published (i.e. on its website).

    The law does not require employers to publish information. The entity responsible for the processing of the information received from employers must publish on its website, by the end of the first half of each calendar year, information on the pay gap at national, sectoral and employer level.

  • Is an employer required to provide the information to an authority and if so when?

    INSERT ANSWER

  • Is there any information as to how information held by authorities will be published (i.e. will individual employers be named in annual reports or will published gender pay gap information be sector specific and anonymise employers)?

    Yes. Information is provided to an entity responsible for the processing of data (not identified in the draft). This entity publishes information on its website, including employer-level data. 

  • Does local law specify how employers should consider employees that choose not to identify with a particular gender?

    No.

National Workforce Thresholds

  • Does national law apply different workforce thresholds than those set out in the Directive (100/150/250 employees) for any pay transparency or reporting obligations?

    Yes. The draft extends the reporting obligation to companies with 50 or more workers. The Directive thresholds of 100/150/250 are replaced by 50/150/250


  • Are there any sector-specific or size-specific exemptions or adjusted requirements?

    Companies with fewer than 50 employees are exempt from providing information on the criteria used to determine pay progression. No sector-specific exemptions are provided.

Dealing with Gaps & Joint Pay Assessments

  • Where gender pay differences are not justified on the basis of objective, gender-neutral criteria, in what timescale must an employer remedy the situation?

    Where pay differences are identified following the report, the Authority for Working Conditions (“ACT”) shall notify the employer to provide, within 90 days, a justification or proposed measures to rectify the detected differences. ACT will analyse the justification or corrective measures submitted by the employer within 45 days. In the absence of a justification or the submission of corrective measures, and where an unjustified pay gap of at least 5% persists, ACT will notify the employer to submit a joint pay assessment within 45 days, with the participation of employees’ representatives, where they exist. Within 90 days, the employer must implement the measures set out in the joint assessment and submit a report to ACT. This report must include information on the implementation of adopted the measures and an analysis of the professional assessment and classification systems. 

  • Does local law specify how an employer should remedy the situation?

    Yes. Please see the answer to previous question.

  • How must an employer work in close cooperation with workers’ representatives, the labour inspectorate and/or the equality body in remedying the situation?

    The joint pay assessment must include the participation of workers’ representatives, where they exist. In addition, employers must work in cooperation with ACT in order to justify pay differences or to adopt measures to correct them. ACT has also participation in the joint pay assessment, as described above

  • Does local law define ‘close cooperation’ – is it just in consultation with, or must there be agreement?

    The draft refers to the “participation” of workers’ representatives in the joint pay assessment. This participation appears to be a consultation (an agreement does not seem to be required). 

  • In what circumstances does local law require an employer to conduct a joint pay assessment?

    Where unjustified pay differences of at least 5% persist after the employer’s justification or corrective measures have been assessed, ACT will require a joint pay assessment with the participation of the workers’ representatives, if they exist.

  • What information must be included in the joint pay assessment?

    The joint pay assessment must include: (i) the analysis of the proportion of men and women in each group of workers; (ii) information on the average pay levels of men and women and the respective supplementary or variable components for each group of workers; (iii) any differences in average pay levels between men and women in each group of workers; (iv) the reasons for such differences in average pay levels, based on objective criteria common to men and women, if any, established by the employer or, where they exist, jointly with employees' representatives; (v) the percentage of workers of both sexes who benefited from an increase in their remuneration following their return from any parental or family assistance leave provided for in the Labour Code or the General Law on Public Employment, if such increase occurred in the relevant worker group during the period of leave; (vi) the measures to be adopted to correct pay differences where they are not justified on the basis of objective criteria common to men and women; (vii) an assessment of the effectiveness of the measures contained in previous joint pay assessments, where applicable. 

  • To whom must an employer make the joint assessment available?

    The joint pay assessment must be communicated to workers and their representatives within the 45-day deadline. Within 90 days, the employer must implement the measures set out in the joint assessment and submit a report to ACT. This report must include information on the implementation of adopted the measures and an analysis of the professional assessment and classification systems.

Data Protection

  • Where the provision of information would lead to the disclosure of the pay of an identifiable worker, does local law limit access to the relevant information and if so, how?

    The draft provides that data processing must ensure the protection of personal data under applicable legislation. The employer may require workers to use information only for exercising equal-pay rights. 

Breach of pay transparency and pay gap reporting requirements

  • What sanctions, penalties or other measures may be imposed on an employer in the event of breach of gender pay reporting or pay transparency requirements under local law?

    The draft classifies breaches as follows: 


     very serious administrative offences for breach of the obligations to ensure the existence of a transparent pay policy based on the assessment of the functions, pay transparency in recruitment, reporting obligations and joint pay assessment obligations; 

     serious offences for breach of individual information-access rights; and 

     minor offences for breach of obligation to disclose the criteria for determining pay, pay levels and pay progression.


    In the event of a repeat offence or repeated breaches of the rights and obligations relating to the principle of equal pay, the following additional sanctions may be imposed: 


    (i) Revocation of all tax and financial incentives; 

    (ii) Revocation of public benefits; 

    (iii) Deprivation of financial incentives; 

    (iv) Deprivation of the right to participate in auctions, concessions or public tenders for a period of up to two years; 

    (v) Mandatory training on pay transparency.

Rights to equal pay – rights of action

  • What rights of action under local law are available to a worker as a result of any alleged infringement of the right to equal pay?

    Workers have the following rights of action as a result of any alleged infringement of the right to equal pay: 


     Request Commission for Equality in Work and Employment (CITE) to issue an opinion on alleged pay discrimination; 

     File a judicial action for equal pay under the Labour Code and Labour Procedure Code; in the event of an allegation of pay discrimination, it is incumbent upon the employer to demonstrate that it has a pay policy that ensures equal pay to equal work or work of equal value, in particular with regard to the pay of the person alleging discrimination, by comparison with the employees in relation to whom they claim to be discriminated against.

     Dismissal or disciplinary sanctions allegedly imposed to punish a labour infraction within three years after a complaint are presumed abusive.


Workers Representatives

  • How does local law define ‘workers’ representatives?

    The draft does not include a definition of “workers’ representatives”. Under the Labour Code, “workers’ representatives” include trade-union delegates, works councils and members of health and safety committees.

  • If the employer does not have any workers’ representatives, what are its obligations in relation to the provisions of the Directive referring to workers' representatives?

    The draft consistently uses the phrase “where they exist” regarding workers’ representatives. Where no representatives exist, employers are still required to comply with the substantive obligations, but the consultation or participation requirement does not apply.


  • What rights do workers' representatives have?

    Under the draft, workers’ representatives have rights to participate in agreeing a transparent pay policy; access pay-gap information by worker group; request additional clarifications on pay data; participate in joint pay assessments: receive the joint pay assessment; and, for trade-union representatives, request CITE opinions on pay discrimination. 



  • If workers’ representatives have not been engaged in the right way and/or in a timely fashion, what are the consequences under local law?

    The draft does not specify the consequences of failing to consult with workers’ representatives, except for misdemeanour liability in the event of an employer failing to fulfil their obligations

  • What obligations exist in relation to workers’ representatives’ rights to be consulted on pay gap information and access to the relevant methodologies applied?

    Workers’ representatives can access pay-gap information by worker group and request additional clarifications within 30 days. 

  • What rights of action are available to a worker or workers’ representatives in event of breach of gender pay reporting or pay transparency requirements under local law?

    Workers or workers’ representatives may file complaints with ACT and CITE. 

Member State Support

  • What support in terms of technical or other assistance and training has been provided, or is promised, for employers?

    Under the draft, CITE is responsible for: providing digital tools and methodologies for job evaluation; raising awareness among public and private employers; providing training to employers and workers’ representatives on pay equality and transparency; and promoting studies on the causes of the pay gap. 

  • Is this available to all employers or, for example, are there headcount limits?

    The draft does not impose headcount limits on access to CITE’s support. 

  • To whom must an employer make the joint assessment available?

    c) CITE’s website: https://cite.gov.pt/. 

Other/Additional

  • Is there anything else notable in your jurisdiction? For example, additional secondary legislation or guidance.

    N/A

Contact Information

Primary Representative

Pedro Pardal Goulão

Partner


pgoulao@mlgts.pt

Next Gen Representative

Helena Tapp Barroso

Partner


htb@mlgts.pt