EU Pay Transparency Directive Status Malta: In Force
Legal Notice 173 of 2026 was published on 5 June 2026 under powers in the Employment and Industrial Relations Act and entered into force essentially immediately, meeting the 7 June 2026 EU-wide deadline. The regulations apply to both public and private sector employers and cover recruitment-stage pay transparency, a worker right-to-information mechanism, gender pay gap reporting for larger employers, and a joint pay assessment procedure where an unexplained gap persists. Because the regulations are so newly in force, some operational detail, including official reporting templates and worked examples of the joint pay assessment process, was still being clarified in practical guidance at last check. Malta's approach is notably faster than the Directive's own default timelines in places, such as an 8-day employer response window for worker information requests instead of the Directive's two-month maximum.
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.
Malta already prohibited gender pay discrimination under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act and the Equality for Men and Women Act, but has now gone further by fully transposing the EU Pay Transparency Directive through the Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations 2026, issued as Legal Notice 173 of 2026. This makes Malta one of only four EU member states, together with Lithuania, Slovakia and Italy, to transpose the Directive by the EU deadline.
Baseline duties, such as disclosing pay ranges to applicants and the salary history ban, apply to all Maltese employers regardless of size; documenting pay-setting criteria applies from 25 employees; and formal gender pay gap reporting applies from 100 employees, with annual reporting for 250 or more and reporting every three years for 100 to 249 employees.
What employers must do in Malta
All employers, regardless of size
- Maintain pay structures that guarantee equal pay for equal work or work of equal value
- Disclose initial pay or pay range to applicants before recruitment concludes
- Stop asking job applicants about their pay history
- Respond to a worker's pay information request within 8 working days
Employers with 25 or more employees
- Document internal pay-setting and pay-progression criteria
Employers with 100 to 249 employees
- Prepare a gender pay gap report every three years, first due 7 June 2027 covering the 2026 calendar year
Employers with 250 or more employees
- Prepare an annual gender pay gap report, first due 7 June 2027 covering the 2026 calendar year
- Conduct a joint pay assessment if an unexplained pay gap of 5% or more is not resolved within 6 months
Key deadlines
Penalties for non-compliance in Malta
Malta enforces breaches through fines rather than purely administrative penalties: violations of the transparency and reporting rules generally carry fines of about 2,500 to 5,000 euros, rising to 5,000 to 7,000 euros for equal pay breaches, and workers can separately claim full back pay plus compensation through the Industrial Tribunal.
The Department for Industrial and Employment Relations acts as the monitoring body, with the National Commission for the Promotion of Equality serving as the designated equality body.
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.
Book a demo| Name | Level | Location | Salary | Labels | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
John Doe
Software Developer
|
Mid
|
Valletta
Malta
|
32500 EUR
Above market
|
Unbalanced
|
|
|
Jane Smith
Project Manager
|
Senior
|
Valletta
Malta
|
45000 EUR
Above market
|
In Market
|
|
|
Michael Brown
Data Analyst
|
Mid
|
Birkirkara
Malta
|
39000 EUR
Above market
|
In Market
|
|
|
Emily Johnson
QA Engineer
|
Mid
|
Birkirkara
Malta
|
36000 EUR
Above market
|
In Market
|
|
|
Robert Wilson
HR Manager
|
Senior
|
Qormi
Malta
|
50000 EUR
Above market
|
Above Market
|
|
|
Sarah Davis
Marketing Specialist
|
Junior
|
Qormi
Malta
|
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
Pay gap insights
Add employee data to see pay gap insights
Tenure distribution
Pay gap per level (quartiles)
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Frequently asked questions about pay transparency in Malta
Yes. Malta fully transposed the Directive through the Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations 2026, which entered into force by the 7 June 2026 EU deadline, so Maltese employers are already subject to these rules.