In September 2024, the French-speaking Community of Belgium (Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles) became the first jurisdiction in the EU to adopt legislation implementing key elements of the EU Pay Transparency Directive.
The decree entered into force on 1 January 2025 and applies to public-sector employers within the region, including schools, public authorities, and other public institutions.
Wallonia-Brussels Remains a Pioneer, While National Implementation Is Still Underway
While this regional legislation marked an important milestone, Belgium has not yet completed the Directive's implementation at the federal level. The national government continues to work on transposition ahead of the EU deadline of 7 June 2026.
What Does the Wallonia-Brussels Decree Include?
Salary Information in Job Advertisements
Public-sector employers must provide candidates with information about the starting salary or salary range for a position. The information must also be accessible to people with disabilities.
Gender-Neutral Job Titles
Job titles and recruitment procedures must be gender-neutral and free from discriminatory language or stereotypes.
Analysis of Family-Related Leave
The decree requires gender-specific analysis of the impact of family-related leave, such as parental leave, adoption leave, and caregiving responsibilities. This goes beyond some of the Directive's minimum requirements.
Objective and Gender-Neutral Pay Structures
Employers must implement objective and gender-neutral job classification and remuneration systems. The decree also prohibits employers from asking candidates about their previous salary during recruitment.
Reversed Burden of Proof
In cases of alleged pay discrimination, employers may be required to demonstrate that pay differences are based on objective and non-discriminatory factors.
Sanctions for Non-Compliance
Employers that fail to comply with the rules may face financial penalties and potential compensation claims.
What Is Happening at Federal Level?
Belgium already has a relatively advanced legal framework on equal pay, including the Gender Pay Gap Act of 2012. Employers with at least 50 employees are already required to prepare gender pay analyses every two years and discuss the results with employee representatives.
However, the EU Pay Transparency Directive introduces several new obligations that still require federal legislation, including:
Right to Pay Information
Employees will gain the right to request information about their own pay level and average pay levels for workers performing the same work or work of equal value, broken down by gender.
Pay Transparency in Recruitment
Employers will be required to disclose salary ranges before salary negotiations begin and will be prohibited from asking candidates about salary history.
Transparent Pay-Setting Criteria
Employers must establish objective, gender-neutral, and accessible criteria for pay setting and career progression.
Gender Pay Gap Reporting
Large employers will be required to report gender pay gap data in accordance with the Directive's phased reporting schedule.
Joint Pay Assessments
Where unjustified gender pay gaps of 5% or more are identified, employers may be required to conduct a joint pay assessment together with employee representatives.
Status: What Happens Next?
As of June 2026, Belgium is still finalising its federal implementation of the Directive. While several proposals and consultations have been conducted, no comprehensive federal law covering the private sector has yet entered into force. Social partners and government authorities continue to negotiate the details of implementation.
The French-speaking Community remains the only Belgian jurisdiction that has already enacted legislation directly aligned with parts of the Directive, and its approach is widely viewed as a model for broader implementation.
What Should Employers Do?
Employers in Belgium should not wait for the final legislation before preparing. Recommended actions include:
- reviewing pay structures and job classification systems;
- identifying and addressing unexplained pay gaps;
- establishing objective and gender-neutral pay criteria;
- updating recruitment processes to include salary transparency;
- removing salary-history questions from hiring procedures;
- preparing systems for future pay reporting obligations.
Organisations that begin preparing now will be better positioned to comply once Belgium's full implementation framework enters into force.
Follow along with the EU directive implementation here.
