Right to Pay Information — What Every Employee Can Request Under the EU Directive (2026)

A New Right for Every Employee from 2026

Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency creates a set of rights that did not previously exist in Bulgarian labour law. Articles 6 and 7 of the Directive guarantee every worker the right to know how their pay is determined and how it compares to the pay of colleagues of the other gender in the same category.

This is not an abstract principle. It is a concrete, enforceable right — with a defined response deadline, protection from retaliation, and legal consequences for non-compliance. The objective is clear: workers must have sufficient information to assess whether they are being treated equally.

Bulgaria is transposing the Directive through an amendment to the Anti-Discrimination Act (ADA), with the new Art. 14 of the ADA reproducing the employer’s obligations and workers’ rights. The transposition deadline is 7 June 2026.

Access to Pay Criteria (Art. 6)

Article 6 of the Directive requires employers to provide easy access to the criteria used to determine:

• Pay levels — which objective factors determine the base salary for a given position
• Pay progression — what criteria govern salary increases, bonuses and career advancement

Both sets of criteria must be objective and gender-neutral. This means an employer cannot justify pay differences through negotiation skills, vague “market conditions” or other subjective factors.

In the Bulgarian amendment, §3 (Art. 14(3)) adds “and progression” to the existing obligation to provide access to pay determination criteria.

Small employer exemption

Employers with fewer than 50 workers may be exempt from the obligation to document pay progression criteria. However, this does not exempt them from the obligation to provide criteria for determining pay levels themselves.

What Exactly Can You Request (Art. 7)

Article 7(1) of the Directive (transposed into Art. 14(7) of the amendment) gives every worker the right to request written information about:

1. Their individual pay level — your personal salary and supplementary pay components
2. Average pay levels, broken down by sex, for the category of workers performing the same work or work of equal value

The second point is the key one. It enables every employee to determine whether they receive fair pay compared to colleagues of the other gender performing the same or equivalent work.

What is a “category of workers”?

A “category” refers to a group of workers performing the same work or work of equal value. Categories are determined using objective, gender-neutral criteria — the four criteria from Art. 4 of the Directive: skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions.

This is where the link to job grading systems (job classification) becomes critical — without a formalised classification, an employer cannot correctly determine which workers fall into the same category. See Job Grading and Classification — A Practical Guide.

How to Request and Deadlines

The Directive and the Bulgarian amendment set out a clear procedure for exercising the right to information. Here is the comparison table:

In practice: submit a written request to your employer (email or internal system). You are not required to justify your reason. The employer must respond within 2 months. If the information is incomplete or inaccurate, you may request additional clarification, and the employer has 14 days to provide a reasoned response.

You do not need to exercise the right personally. You can submit the request through a trade union representative or through the Anti-Discrimination Commission. The employer has the same obligations and deadlines.

Ban on Pay Secrecy Clauses (Art. 7(5))

This is one of the most significant changes introduced by the Directive. Article 7(5) explicitly prohibits contractual terms that restrict workers from disclosing information about their pay.

What does this mean in practice?

• Pay confidentiality clauses in employment contracts are void
• Internal policies prohibiting salary discussions are void
• Employees can freely discuss their pay with colleagues, unions and third parties
• Employers cannot impose disciplinary sanctions for disclosing pay

In the Bulgarian amendment, this prohibition is transposed in §6 (Art. 22(2)) — an explicit ban on clauses restricting workers’ right to disclose information about their pay.

Practical advice for employers

Review all employment contracts and internal policies for clauses restricting salary discussions. Such clauses must be removed immediately. Their continued existence after 7 June 2026 constitutes an independent violation. For the consequences of non-compliance, see Penalties for Non-Compliance with the Pay Transparency Directive.

Protection from Adverse Treatment (Art. 7(6))

Article 7(6) of the Directive explicitly prohibits any adverse treatment of a worker who exercises their right to information. This includes:

• Dismissal — you cannot be terminated for requesting pay information
• Demotion — role changes, reduction of responsibilities
• Harassment — psychological pressure, marginalisation
• Indirect measures — denial of training, projects or promotions

If an employer takes adverse action after you exercise your right, the burden of proof shifts — the employer must prove that the measures are unrelated to your request. For more on your employment rights and protection under whistleblowing rules.

5 Practical Scenarios

1. Employee asks: “How much does my male colleague earn?”
   The employer cannot disclose an individual colleague’s salary. However, they are obliged to provide the average pay level by gender for the category of workers performing the same or equivalent work. If the average for men in the category is EUR 2,100 and for women EUR 1,850, those are the figures the employee will receive.
2. Employee asks HR about pay criteria
   The employer must have documented, accessible criteria for determining pay and pay progression. If none exist — that is a violation of Art. 6 of the Directive. The criteria must be objective and gender-neutral.
3. Employee discusses their salary on Slack with colleagues
   This is entirely lawful. Pay secrecy clauses are void. The employer cannot impose any disciplinary sanction, warning, or negative consequence.
4. Trade union submits a request on behalf of an employee
   The employer must respond under the same rules and within the same deadline (2 months) as for an individual request. The request may also be made through the Anti-Discrimination Commission.
5. Employer remains silent for 3 months after a request
   Failure to comply with the two-month deadline is a violation of Art. 7 of the Directive. The consequence is severe: in any future discrimination claim, the burden of proof shifts — the employer must prove that no discrimination occurred, rather than the employee proving the opposite.

What Employers Need to Prepare — 7 Steps

Employees’ right to information means employers must be ready to respond. Here are the concrete steps:

1. Draft a written pay policy with documented criteria for determining pay levels and progression. The criteria must be objective and gender-neutral.
2. Define worker categories through a formalised job grading and classification system. Without clear categories, you cannot calculate gender-based averages.
3. Prepare average values by gender and category — the data must be ready before the first request arrives. Automate the process through app.equalpay.bg.
4. Create response templates for Art. 7 requests — standardised forms that ensure completeness and compliance with the two-month deadline.
5. Establish an annual notification process — every year by 31 January, inform employees of their right to request pay information. Send an email, post on the internal portal.
6. Review and remove pay secrecy clauses — all employment contracts and internal policies must be checked. Clauses prohibiting salary discussions must be removed immediately.
7. Train managers — line managers must understand that they cannot retaliate against an employee who exercises their right to information. Any form of retaliation is a violation of the Directive.

GDPR When Sharing Pay Data

The question of data protection is logical: if an employer provides information about average pay, does that violate GDPR?

Aggregate data — no GDPR issue

The information provided by the employer under Art. 7 is aggregate — averages by category and gender. This data does not disclose any individual colleague’s salary and therefore does not constitute personal data within the meaning of the GDPR (provided the category contains a sufficient number of workers to prevent individual identification).

What is NOT disclosed

The employer is not required and must not disclose a specific colleague’s individual salary. The right under Art. 7 covers only average levels by category and gender — not personal data.

Purpose limitation (Art. 12(1) of the Directive)

Data obtained through exercising the Art. 7 right may be used only for the purpose of exercising the right to equal pay. The employee cannot use this information for other purposes — for example, for commercial negotiations or public dissemination outside the context of pay equality.

For more information on employer GDPR obligations, see GDPR Handbook for Businesses.

Frequently Asked Questions