Does Austria already have a pay transparency law?

Yes. Austrian employers with 150 or more staff must already publish gender neutral minimum salaries in job ads and prepare biennial internal pay reports under the Equal Treatment Act, rules that predate and are separate from the EU Directive.

What size companies will the new EU rules affect once Austria transposes them?

Based on the Directive's default thresholds, Austrian companies with 250 or more employees are expected to face annual reporting, those with 100 to 249 employees face reporting every three years, and companies under 100 employees are unlikely to face mandatory reporting.

Are there fines for non-compliance in Austria today?

Not directly. Current Austrian law does not impose administrative fines for failing to publish a pay report, though employees can bring claims through the Equal Treatment Commission or the courts; specific fines under the future transposition law have not yet been set.

Who enforces pay equity rules in Austria?

The Equal Treatment Commission and the Ombud for Equal Treatment are the bodies responsible for overseeing Austria's existing equal treatment and pay transparency rules.

When will Austria's new gender pay gap reporting obligations take effect?

No date is confirmed yet, since Austria has not enacted a transposition law; once one passes, the Directive's own schedule points to first reports around June 2027 for larger Austrian employers and June 2031 for mid-sized ones.

Can Austrian employers still ask candidates about their salary history?

No. Even under current Austrian law employers may not ask job candidates about previous pay, a rule that will continue and be reinforced once the EU Directive is formally transposed.

Is there a specific Austrian ministry in charge of the new law?

No single Austrian ministry has publicly confirmed ownership of the file yet; commentary suggests the Ministry of Labour would lead the transposition, working with the existing Equal Treatment Commission and Ombud for Equal Treatment.

Pay Transparency in Austria: 2026 Employer Guide

EU Pay Transparency Directive Status Austria: Deadline Missed, No Draft

As of early August 2026, Austria has not published or enacted a fixed legislative draft (Gesetzesentwurf) to transpose Directive 2023/970, even though the 7 June 2026 transposition deadline has passed. Commentary earlier in 2026 pointed to a draft expected in spring 2026, but no bill has been formally tabled in parliament as of this writing, and no ministry has publicly claimed ownership of the file, though it would likely fall to the Ministry of Labour working alongside the existing Equal Treatment Commission and Ombud for Equal Treatment. Because Austria already regulates job ad salary disclosure and biennial pay reporting for companies with 150 or more employees, the eventual transposition is expected to extend and adapt this existing framework, for example by adding median pay gap reporting, formal joint pay assessments, and an individual right to pay information, rather than building an entirely new system. Until a bill is enacted, none of the Directive's new thresholds or penalty provisions are legally binding in Austria; only the pre-existing Equal Treatment Act rules currently apply.

What is Pay Transparency, and who does it apply to?

The EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) is a binding EU law requiring pay equity for equal work between women and men. It introduces mandatory rules around salary disclosure, pay gap reporting, and worker rights.

Austria's existing pay equity framework is built on the Equal Treatment Act (Gleichbehandlungsgesetz), amended from 2011 onward, which already requires larger employers to publish a gender neutral minimum salary in job ads and to produce periodic internal pay reports. Austria also had to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive by 7 June 2026, a deadline that has now passed without a finalized Austrian law.

Under current Austrian law, only employers with 150 or more employees must produce biennial pay reports, while all employers must use gender neutral minimum salary figures in job ads; once transposed, the EU Directive is expected to bring annual reporting for 250+ employee companies and periodic reporting down to 100 employees, but these lower thresholds are not yet in force in Austria.

What employers must do in Austria

All employers (current law)

State a gender neutral minimum monthly salary, based on the applicable collective agreement, in job advertisements
Refrain from asking job candidates about their previous salary

Employers with 150+ employees (current law)

Prepare an internal pay report (Einkommensbericht) every two years, breaking down average and median wages by gender, employment group and years of service
Share the report with the works council, or make it accessible to employees

Proposed under an eventual transposition, not yet in force

Annual gender pay gap reporting for employers with 250 or more employees, expected to start with 2026 data by around June 2027
Reporting every three years for employers with 100 to 249 employees, phased in between 2027 and 2031
A joint pay assessment with employee representatives where an unjustified pay gap of 5% or more persists
A formal employee right to request individual pay information for comparable roles

Key deadlines

2011 Equal Treatment Act amended to require gender neutral minimum salary disclosure in job ads

2013 Amendment extends biennial internal pay reporting to employers with 150 or more employees

Spring 2026 (expected, not delivered) A draft transposition bill was anticipated but has not been formally tabled in parliament

7 Jun 2026 EU wide transposition deadline passes; Austria misses it with no draft law published

7 Jun 2027 (proposed) First gender pay gap reports would be due for 250+ and 150 to 249 employee companies, once a transposition law is enacted

7 Jun 2031 (proposed) First reports would be due for 100 to 149 employee companies, once enacted

Penalties for non-compliance in Austria

Under current Austrian law there are no direct administrative fines for failing to produce or share an internal pay report; enforcement instead relies on employees or works councils pursuing claims through the Equal Treatment Commission or the courts. The EU Directive requires Austria to introduce effective, proportionate and dissuasive penalties once transposed, but since no Austrian bill has been finalized, no specific fine amounts have been set.

The Equal Treatment Commission (Gleichbehandlungskommission) and the Ombud for Equal Treatment (Gleichbehandlungsanwaltschaft) oversee compliance with Austria's Equal Treatment Act.

How TalentUp can help you with Pay Transparency Compliance

Below you can see a preview of our platform, where we help you stay compliant with Pay Transparency by spotting pay inconsistencies and structural risks in your compensation strategy, analysing data from your company.

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Name	Level	Location	Salary	Labels
John Doe Software Developer	Mid	Vienna Austria	32500 EUR Above market	Unbalanced
Jane Smith Project Manager	Senior	Vienna Austria	45000 EUR Above market	In Market
Michael Brown Data Analyst	Mid	Graz Austria	39000 EUR Above market	In Market
Emily Johnson QA Engineer	Mid	Graz Austria	36000 EUR Above market	In Market
Robert Wilson HR Manager	Senior	Linz Austria	50000 EUR Above market	Above Market
Sarah Davis Marketing Specialist	Junior	Linz Austria	34000 EUR In market	In Market

MEAN PAY

39.4K EUR

MEDIAN PAY

37.5K EUR

MEAN FEMALE PAY

38.3K EUR

MEDIAN FEMALE PAY

36K EUR

MEAN MALE PAY

40.5K EUR

MEDIAN MALE PAY

39K EUR

Gender gap

Variable pay by gender

General gender pay gap

Mean Male Pay N/A

Mean Female Pay N/A

Pay gap insights

Missing data

Add employee data to see pay gap insights

Tenure distribution

Pay gap per level (quartiles)

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Male

Female

Frequently asked questions about pay transparency in Austria

Yes. Austria was required to transpose Directive 2023/970 into national law by 7 June 2026, and as of early August 2026 no Austrian transposition law has been finalized or formally tabled as a bill.

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