26 Amendments of Anne SANDER related to 2021/0050(COD)
Amendment 170 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union provides that equality between women and men must be ensured in all areas, including employment, work and pay. Equality between women and men remains a real challenge in all of these areas, and this challenge has been heightened by the COVID-19 pandemic crisis.
Amendment 180 #
(6) Article 1 of Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council42 provides that for the same work or for work of equal value, direct and indirect discrimination on grounds of sex with regard to all aspects and conditions of remuneration is to be eliminated. In particular, where a job classification system is used for determining pay, it should be based on the same criteria for both men and women and should be drawn up so as to exclude any discrimination on grounds of sex. _________________ 42 Directive 2006/54/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 5 July 2006 on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation (OJ L 204, 26.7.2006, p. 23).
Amendment 183 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 a (new)
Recital 6 a (new)
(6a) Commission Recommendation 2014/124/EU of 7 March 2014 on strengthening the principle of equal pay between men and women through transparency calls on the Member States to implement an approach tailor made to the specific domestic situation and to put in place measures to promote transparency, such as the right to obtain information on pay levels, reporting by companies, audits and collective bargaining. The Recommendation states that certain measures should not be required for undertakings and organisations with fewer than 50 employees which meet the workforce- related criteria for small undertakings in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC, as they could place a disproportionate burden on them.
Amendment 186 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 6 b (new)
Recital 6 b (new)
(6b) The EU Action Plan 2017-2019 on tackling the gender pay gap notes that the pay gap can be explained by a number of different factors, including, in particular, segregation on the labour market and stereotypes fuelled by inadequate work- life balance policies. For this reason, it is important to encourage practices that tackle very early on in education and professional life stereotypes leading to differences in the employment of women and men in different fields, as well as practices that support companies in their efforts to ensure equal pay and to attract and retain the under-represented sex.
Amendment 204 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The gender pay gap is caused by various factors, part of which can be attributed to direct and indirect gender pay discrimination. A general lack of transparency about pay levels within organisations maintains a situation where gender-based pay discrimination and bias can go undetected or, where suspected, are difficult to prove. BindingVarious types of measures are therefore needed to improve pay transparency, encourage organisations to review their pay structures to ensure equal pay for women and men doing the same work or work of equal value, and enable victims of discrimination to enforce their right to equal pay. This needs to be complemented by provisions clarifying existing legal concepts (such as the concept of ‘pay’ and ‘work of equal value’) and measures improving enforcement mechanisms and access to justice.
Amendment 242 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) Article 10 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union provides that, in defining and implementing its policies and activities, the Union shall aim to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation. Article 4 of Directive 2006/54/EC provides that there shall be no direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of sex, notably in relation to pay. Gender- based pay discrimination where a victim’s sex plays a crucial role can take many different forms in practice. It may involve an intersection of various axes of discrimination or inequality where the worker is a member of one or several groups protected against discrimination on the basis of sex, on the one hand, and racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation (as protected under Directive 2000/43/EC or Directive 2000/78/EC), on the other hand. Migrant women are among groups who face such multiple forms of discrimination. This directive should therefore clarify that, in the context of gender-based pay discrimination, such a combination should be taken into account, thus removing any doubt that may exist in this regard under the existing legal framework. This should ensure that the courts or other competent authorities take due account of any situation of disadvantage arising from intersectional discrimination, in particular for substantive and procedural purposes, including to recognise the existence of discrimination, to decide on the appropriate comparator, to assess the proportionality, and to determine, where relevant, the level of compensation awarded or penalties imposed.
Amendment 248 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) In order to respect the right to equal pay between men and women, employers must have pay setting mechanisms, which could be developed through social dialogue in cooperation with the social partners, including the trade union organisations recognised at national and cross-industry level, or the professional sectors, or pay structures in place ensuring that there are no pay differences between male and female workers doing the same work or work of equal value that are not justified by objective and gender-neutral factors. Such pay structures should allow for the comparison of the value of different jobs within the same organisational structure. In line with the case law of the Court, the value of work should be assessed and compared based on objective criteria, such as educational, professional and training requirements, skills, effort and responsibility, work undertaken and the nature of the tasks involved49. _________________ 49 For example, Case C-400/93, Royal Copenhagen, ECLI:EU:C:1995:155; Case C-309/97, Angestelltenbetriebsrat der Wiener Gebietskrankenkasse, ECLI:EU:C:1999:241; Case C-381/99, Brunnhofer, ECLI:EU:C:2001:358; Case C-427/11, Margaret Kenny and Others v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Others [2013] ECLI:EU:C:2013:122, paragraph 28.
Amendment 264 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 16
Recital 16
(16) TWherever feasible, the identification of a valid comparator is an important parameter in determining whether work may be considered of equal value. It enables the worker to show that they were treated less favourably than the comparator of a different sex performing equal work or work of equal value. In situations where no real-life comparator exists, the use of a hypothetical comparator should be allowed, allowing a worker to show that they have not been treated in the same way as a hypothetical comparator of another sex would have been treated or to submit any other evidence available. This would lift an important obstacle for potential victims of gender pay discrimination, especially in highly gender- segregated employment markets where a requirement of finding a comparator of the opposite sex makes it almost impossible to bring an equal pay claim. In addition, workers should not be prevented from using other facts from which an alleged discrimination can be presumed, such as statistics or other available information, e.g. a reference to classifications resulting from collective agreements. This would allow gender-based pay inequalities to be more effectively addressed in gender- segregated sectors and professions, while avoiding the imposition on companies, in particular SMEs and very small enterprises (VSEs), of cumbersome and expensive procedures that might lead to legal uncertainty.
Amendment 270 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) Member States should develop specific tools and methodologies and accompanying mechanisms to support and guide the assessment of what constitutes work of equal value. This should facilitate the application of this concept, especially for small and medium- sized enterprises. In accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, consideration should be given to the existing national solutions that promote greater pay transparency.
Amendment 295 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 20
Recital 20
(20) The lack of information on the envisaged pay range of a job position creates an information asymmetry which limits the bargaining power of applicants. Ensuring transparency should enable prospective workers to make an informed decision about the expected salary without limiting in any way the employer’s or worker’s bargaining power to negotiate a salary even outside the indicated range. It would also ensure an explicit and non- gender biased basis for pay setting and would disrupt the undervaluation of pay compared to skills and experience. This transparency measure would also address intersectional discrimination where non- transparent pay settings allow for discriminatory practices on several discrimination grounds. The information to be provided to applicants prior to employment, if not published in a job vacancy notice, could be provided to the applicant prior to the job interview by the employer or in a different manner, for instance by the social partners.
Amendment 304 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Pay transparency measures should protect workers’ right to equal pay while limiting as much as possible costs and burden for employers, paying specific attention to micro and small enterprises. Where appropriate, measures should be tailored to the size of employers taking into account employers’ headcount and organisations with fewer than 50 employees that meet the workforce- related criteria for small undertakings in Commission Recommendation 2003/361/EC. Where appropriate, measures should be tailored to the size of employers taking into account employers’ headcount. With this in mind, it is necessary to ensure compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 while giving special consideration to the possibility of anonymising data within SMEs and exempting companies with fewer than 50 employees from this procedure.
Amendment 317 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 24
Recital 24
(24) All workers in companies employing more than 50 people should have the right to obtain information, upon their request, on their pay and on the pay level, broken down by sex, for the category of workers doing the same work or work of equal value. Employers must inform workers of this right on an annual basis. Employers may also, on their own initiative, opt for providing such information without workers needing to request it.
Amendment 333 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Employers with at least 250 workers should regularly report on pay, in a suitable and transparent manner, such as including the information in their management report. Companies subject to the requirements of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council52 may also choose to report on pay alongside other worker-related matters in their management report. _________________ 52 Directive 2013/34/EU, as amended by Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 as regards disclosure of non- financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups (OJ L 330, 15.11.2014, p. 1).
Amendment 349 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 28
Recital 28
(28) In order to make the information on the pay gap between female and male workers at organisational level widely available, Member States should entrust the monitoring body designated pursuant to this Directive to aggregate, in cooperation with the social partners and the labour inspectors or other bodies responsible for enforcing observance of workers’ rights, the data on the pay gap received from employers without putting additional burden on the latter. The monitoring body should make these data public, allowing to compare the data of individual employers, sectors and regions of the Member State concerned.
Amendment 377 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 31
Recital 31
(31) It is important that social partners discuss and give particular attention to matters of equal pay in collective bargaining. TIn accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, the different features of national social dialogue and collective bargaining systems across the Union and the autonomy and contractual freedom of social partners as well as their capacity as representatives of workers and employers should be respected. Therefore, Member States, in accordance with their national system and practices, should take appropriate measures, such as programmes supporting social partners, practical guidance as well as an active participation of the government in a social dialogue at national level. Such measures should encourage social partners to pay due attention to equal pay matters, including discussions at the appropriate level of collective bargaining and the development of gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems.
Amendment 385 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 33
Recital 33
(33) Involving equality bodies, besides other stakeholders, is instrumental in effectively applying the principle of equal pay. The powers and mandates of the national equality bodies should therefore, without prejudice to the role of the social partners and the labour inspectorates or other bodies responsible for enforcing observance of workers’ rights, should be adequate to fully cover gender pay discrimination, including any pay transparency or any other rights and obligations laid down in this Directive. In order to overcome the procedural and cost- related obstacles that workers who believe to be discriminated against face when they seek to enforce their right to equal pay, equality bodies, as well as associations, organisations, bodies and workers’ representatives or other legal entities with an interest in ensuring equality between men and women, should be able to represent individuals. They should be able to decide to assist workers on their behalf or in their support, which would allow workers who have suffered discrimination to effectively claim their rights and the principle of equal pay to be enforced.
Amendment 440 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 48
Recital 48
(48) In order to ensure proper monitoring of the implementation of the right to equal pay between men and women for the same work or work of equal value, Member States should set up or designate a dedicated monitoring body. This body, which may be part of an existing body pursuing similar objectives, and cooperates in particular with the social partners and labour inspectors or other bodies that enforce the rights of workers, should have specific tasks in relation to the implementation of the pay transparency measures foreseen in this Directive and gather certain data to monitor pay inequalities and the impact of the pay transparency measures.
Amendment 454 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 52
Recital 52
(52) In implementing this Directive Member States should avoid imposing administrative, financial and legal constraints in a way which would hold back the creation and development of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Member States are therefore invited to assess the impact of their transposition act, on small and medium-sized enterprises in order to ensure that they are not disproportionately affected, giving specific attention to micro-, small and medium- sized enterprises, to alleviate the administrative burden, and to publish the results of such assessments. Member States are also invited to provide financial support and to establish support mechanisms for small and medium-sized enterprises to enable them to comply with the provisions of this Directive.
Amendment 538 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Member States, in cooperation with the social partners, shall take the necessary measures to ensure that employers have pay structures in place ensuring that women and men are paid equally for the same work or work of equal value.
Amendment 546 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. Member States, in cooperation with the social partners, shall take the necessary measures ensuring that tools or methodologies are established to assess and compare the value of work in line with the criteria set out in this Article. These tools or methodologies may include gender- neutral job evaluation and classification systems. The measures implemented shall fully respect the autonomy of the social partners and encourage social dialogue, thus providing a framework for pay- setting practices.
Amendment 568 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 3
Article 4 – paragraph 3
3. The tools or methodologies shall allow assessing, in regard to the value of work, whether workers are in a comparable situation, on the basis of objective criteria which shall include educational, professional and training requirements, skills, effort and responsibility, work undertaken and the nature of the tasks involved and the specific characteristics of the undertaking concerned. They shall not contain or be based on criteria which are based, whether directly or indirectly, on workers’ sex.
Amendment 576 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
4. Whenever differences in pay can be attributed to a single source establishing the pay conditions, the assessment whether workers are carrying out the same work or work of equal value shall not be limited to situations in which female and male workers work for the same employer but may be extended to that single source. The assessment shall also not be limited to workers employed at the same time as the worker concerned. Where no real comparator can be established, a comparison with a hypothetical comparator or the usethe use of other evidence allowing to presume alleged discrimination shall be permitted, in particular based on existing collective agreements and taking into account the specific characteristics of other evidence allowing to presume alleged discrimination shall be permitt undertaking concerned. The implementation of such a comparison mechanism should not represent an administrative or financial burden for undertakings, in particular for SMEs and VSEs. Existing national indicators should be used.
Amendment 638 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Workers of undertakings with more than 50 people shall have the right to receive information on their individual pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for categories of workers doing the same work as them or work of equal value to theirs, in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4.
Amendment 1015 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 26 – paragraph 2
Article 26 – paragraph 2
2. Each Member State shall designate a body (‘monitoring body’) for the monitoring and support of the implementation of national legal provisions implementing this Directive and shall make the necessary arrangements for the proper functioning of such body. The monitoring body may be part of existing bodies or structures at national level. This body may also be required to cooperate with labour inspectorates or other bodies that enforce the rights of workers, including the social partners.
Amendment 1024 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 26 – paragraph 3 – point a
Article 26 – paragraph 3 – point a
(a) to raise awareness among and provide support for public and private undertakings and organisations, social partners and the general public to promote the principle of equal pay and the right to pay transparency;
Amendment 1037 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 26 – paragraph 3 – point c
Article 26 – paragraph 3 – point c
(c) to aggregate data received from employers pursuant to Article 8(6), and publish this data in a user-friendly manner; ensuring compliance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and with business secrecy provisions.