
The law increasing wage transparency is scheduled to take effect in the summer of 2026.In April 2023 year the Council of the EU adopted a directive on transparency of wages of labor, directed to achieve the situation, where women and men receive the same pay for the same work equal pay. After the directive is implemented, the principles of forming wages will be understood by employees , and large companies should be begin to analyze the indicators of the wage gap and familiarize the employees with the results. In addition, companies will be obligated to disclose the
candidate’s level level or wage range before the interview. The Manager of the Department of Communications of the Ministry of Economy and Communications Laura Laaster reported, that the current draft is in the preparation stage and is planned to be submitted for public consideration in the spring. The document could come
to the government as early as summer of this year, and the new requirements will become enforceable in July 2026 year. Laster said that before negotiating the European Union directive when forming Estonia’s position they gathered
feedback from employers and other organizations. From that time representatives of the ministry visited different participating parties to familiarize the requirements of the directive. Laster noted that Estonia’s acceptance of the directive is slightly more complicated, as the reporting required by the large employers will be based on data from the registry. “This means that the analysis of wages will be executed by the state and will substantially reduce the additional administrativeSuch a solution in
Estonia is in principle possible, as we are moving towards data-based reporting. But planning for new reporting is a complex task, since reporting based on wage data has not been implemented.” Laster cited the requirement for a mandatory labor payment system that did not exist in Estonia until now. ” Many employers already have wage systems, but those, those who have not evaluated the value of labor and do not have a payroll system, we will offer support from the government. To support employers, we will acquire for public use the recommendation methodology of labor valuation and methodological materials in Estonian language,
andbeginningfrom2026yearwe will offertrainingonlaborcostevaluationforpersonnelandmanagers.”