What pay equality law already applies in Finland?

Finland already has the Act on Equality Between Women and Men (609/1986), which requires employers with 30 or more staff to run pay surveys as part of a periodic equality plan, well before any EU Directive obligations apply.

When will Finland's new pay transparency law take effect?

There is no confirmed date. Finnish authorities originally aimed for entry into force around May 2026, but the legislative process has slipped, and current estimates point to late 2026 or 2027, though this is not yet settled.

Will small employers in Finland be covered by the new rules?

The draft Finnish bill proposes to extend certain transparency rights, such as pay-range disclosure and bans on salary history questions, to employers of all sizes, while gender pay gap reporting duties are expected to start at 100 or more employees.

What must Finnish employers with 30 or more staff do today?

Under existing Finnish law, employers with at least 30 employees must maintain an equality plan with a pay survey updated at least every two years, independent of the pending EU transposition.

Can Finnish employers ask candidates about salary history?

There is no current legal ban, but Finland's draft transposition bill would prohibit employers from asking about salary history once it becomes law.

What role does the Incomes Register play in Finland's draft law?

Finland's draft bill anticipates that gender pay gap reporting by larger employers would be channeled through the existing Incomes Register infrastructure, though this is not yet finalized or in force.

Pay Transparency in Finland: 2026 Employer Guide

Q: Who enforces pay equality rules in Finland?

The Ombudsman for Equality supervises compliance in Finland, and the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal can issue conditional fines when employers ignore compliance orders.

EU Pay Transparency Directive Status Finland: Deadline Missed, Draft Stage

Finland's transposition is still at the draft legislative stage. The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health published working group proposals in May 2025 to amend the existing Act on Equality Between Women and Men, and a formal draft government proposal was circulated for comments with a deadline of 9 February 2026. The government had originally targeted 18 May 2026 for entry into force, but the process slipped and the bill had not reached, let alone passed, Parliament by the 7 June 2026 EU deadline. As of early August 2026, no enacted text exists; commentary suggests the government intends to keep the Finnish implementation close to the Directive's minimum requirements, but the exact wording, final thresholds, and a confirmed entry-into-force date are not yet settled, and realistic estimates point to late 2026 or into 2027 before the law is in force.

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.

Finland's existing gender pay framework is the Act on Equality Between Women and Men (609/1986), in force since 1 January 1987, which already requires employers with 30 or more staff to draw up equality plans including a pay survey every two years (extendable to three years by local agreement). The EU Pay Transparency Directive has not yet been transposed: a government working group published draft amendments in May 2025 and a formal draft proposal went out for consultation in December 2025, but the bill has not been passed into law. Finland missed the 7 June 2026 EU-wide deadline and remains at the pre-parliamentary draft stage as of early August 2026.

Under current Finnish law, the equality-plan and pay-survey duty applies to employers with 30 or more employees; the pending draft would extend certain transparency rights to all employers regardless of size, with gender pay gap reporting duties proposed to begin at 100 or more employees, though none of this is in force yet.

What employers must do in Finland

All employers under current Finnish law

Avoid unjustified pay differences between men and women performing the same work or work of equal value under the Act on Equality Between Women and Men

Employers with 30 or more employees, current law

Maintain a written equality plan updated at least every two years (up to three years by local agreement)
Include a pay survey comparing pay across employee groups by gender within the equality plan
Identify and explain any pay differences found in the survey

All employers, under the draft transposition bill (not yet in force)

Disclose a pay range to job applicants before interview or in the job advertisement
Refrain from asking candidates about their salary history
Respond to employee requests for written pay comparison information

Employers with 100 or more employees, under the draft bill (not yet in force)

Report gender pay gap data, expected to be channeled through the Incomes Register

Key deadlines

1 Jan 1987 Act on Equality Between Women and Men (609/1986) enters into force

16 May 2025 Government working group publishes first draft transposition proposals

22 Dec 2025 Formal draft government proposal issued for public consultation

9 Feb 2026 Consultation comment deadline

7 Jun 2026 EU-wide transposition deadline; Finland misses it, with the bill still short of Parliament

Uncertain, likely late 2026 or 2027 Expected submission to Parliament and eventual entry into force, not yet confirmed

Penalties for non-compliance in Finland

No transparency-specific fine schedule exists yet since the law is still a draft; under current law the Equality Ombudsman can set a compliance deadline and, if ignored, the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal can impose conditional fines.

The Ombudsman for Equality oversees compliance today, with the National Non-Discrimination and Equality Tribunal handling enforcement orders and fines, and Statistics Finland expected to play a role in future gender pay gap data collection.

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	Helsinki Finland	32500 EUR Above market	Unbalanced
Jane Smith Project Manager	Senior	Helsinki Finland	45000 EUR Above market	In Market
Michael Brown Data Analyst	Mid	Espoo Finland	39000 EUR Above market	In Market
Emily Johnson QA Engineer	Mid	Espoo Finland	36000 EUR Above market	In Market
Robert Wilson HR Manager	Senior	Tampere Finland	50000 EUR Above market	Above Market
Sarah Davis Marketing Specialist	Junior	Tampere Finland	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 Finland

Yes. The EU-wide deadline was 7 June 2026 and Finland had not passed its transposition law by that date; Finnish legislation remains in draft form as of the latest research.

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