Spain Prepares New Pay Transparency Rules for Employers
Spain is preparing additional pay transparency rules following the adoption of EU Directive 2023/970. The changes will affect recruitment, salary-setting policies, employee information rights and the reporting of pay differences.
The Spanish Ministry of Labor and Social Economy conducted a public consultation between April 24 and May 8, 2026 on a proposed Royal Decree intended to adapt Spanish legislation to the Directive. The EU deadline for Member States to implement the new framework was June 7, 2026.
This country already has salary transparency requirements, including remuneration registers and, for companies subject to equality-plan obligations, remuneration audits. However, the Ministry’s consultation document indicated that additional changes are required in areas such as recruitment, salary-setting policies, pay gap reporting and the consequences of noncompliance.
Therefore, the precise Spanish procedures will depend on the final legislation and subsequent administrative guidance. Nevertheless, employers can already identify the principal areas that will require attention.
New obligations affecting recruitment and employees
Under Directive (EU) 2023/970, applicants must receive information about the initial salary or salary range for a position. The information may be included in the vacancy notice or provided before the interview, allowing the applicant to negotiate with prior knowledge of the expected remuneration.
Employers will also be prohibited from asking candidates about their current or previous salaries. This may require companies to revise application forms, interview procedures and the instructions given to external recruitment agencies.
Once the employment relationship has begun, employees must have access to the objective criteria used to determine pay, pay levels and salary progression. They will also be entitled to request written information about their individual remuneration and the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for employees performing the same work or work of equal value. The employer must provide this information within two months.
Formal pay gap reporting will be introduced progressively. Employers with at least 250 employees must begin reporting in 2027 and report annually. Companies with between 150 and 249 employees will also begin in 2027 but will report every three years. Employers with between 100 and 149 employees will begin reporting in 2031.
Where reporting reveals an average pay difference of at least 5% within a category of employees, a joint pay assessment may be required if the difference cannot be justified using objective criteria and is not corrected within six months.
What companies should review now
The new rules will require more than a payroll calculation. Employers must be able to explain how positions are classified, how salaries are determined and why employees performing comparable work receive different remuneration.
Companies should therefore review their job descriptions, salary ranges and criteria for recruitment, promotion and salary increases. Exceptional decisions—such as retention payments, market adjustments or personal allowances—should be supported by a documented business reason and an identifiable approval.
The analysis must also cover total remuneration, not only base salary. Bonuses, commissions, overtime, allowances and benefits in kind may all form part of the relevant pay data.
This review is especially important for foreign-owned Spanish companies. The parent company may establish global salary grades or approve bonuses, while the Spanish subsidiary processes payroll and records the expense. If HR, payroll and accounting systems contain different information, local management may be unable to confirm the accuracy of the resulting figures.
International groups should therefore reconcile global compensation policies with the positions that employees actually perform in Spain. They should also ensure that remuneration information held by HR, payroll and accounting is complete and consistent.
The final Spanish rules must still be monitored closely. However, companies should not postpone the internal review until every procedural detail is known. Salary structures and historical remuneration decisions cannot normally be reconstructed at short notice.
Pay transparency is becoming a matter of management control as much as employment administration. Companies that can connect each salary decision with an objective criterion, an identifiable approval and reliable supporting data will be substantially better prepared.
This news item provides general business information and does not constitute legal advice.