Employer Obligations Under the Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations, 2026

Author: Pamela Dingli

Just two days before the deadline, Malta transposed the Pay Transparency Directive by means of the Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations, LN 173 of 2026. Now that the Directive has been transposed, one should take note of the main obligations being imposed on employers in terms of these new Regulations (the “Regulations”).

Under these new Regulations, equal pay in Malta is no longer an aspirational principle it is a legally enforceable obligation with real consequences for non-compliant employers.

• The new Regulations apply to employers in public and private sectors and to all workers who have an employment relationship as defined by Maltese law. It must be noted that the main employment law in Malta, the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (hereinafter “the EIRA”), defines a contract of employment as an agreement whether oral or in writing, in any form, whereby a person binds himself to render service to or to do work for an employer, in return for wages. In certain instances, protection is extended to applicants for employment.

• All  employers  shall  ensure  that  they  have  pay structures that ensure equal pay for equal work or work of equal value. As the principle in the EIRA stands, the new Regulations state that nothing shall preclude an employer and a worker or a union of workers as a result of negotiations for a collective agreement, to  agree on different salary scales, brackets or steps, annual increments and other benefits linked to seniority as long as salary scales have a maximum that is achieved within a specified period of time.

• Employers  are  not  precluded  from  paying  workers performing the same work or work of equal value differently or from setting pay progressions, on the basis of objective, gender-neutral and bias-free  criteria  including  but not limited to performance and competence.

• With regards to job vacancies, applicants shall have the  right  to receive from a prospective employer, information about the initial pay or its range, and where applicable, the relevant provisions of the collective agreement applied by the employer in relation to that position. Employers shall not ask applicants about their  pay  history  during  their  current  or  previous  employment relationships. Job vacancy notices and jobtitles shall be gender-neutral and recruitment processes shall be led in a non-discriminatory manner.

• An  employer with twenty-five or more employees are obliged to adopt  and  maintain  written policies  or  criteria  establishing  the  objective  and  gender-neutral criteria used to determine workers’ pay, pay levels and pay progression (latter for employers with more than fifty employees). Such written policies or criteria shall be accessible to workers at all times.

• Employers shall, within eight days of a demand, reply to employee requests in writing related to the employee’s individual pay level and the average levels broken down by sex, for categories of workers performing the same work as them or work of equal value to theirs. The law provides a mechanism ensuring compliance if the employer does not abide by this deadline or fails to provide full and correct information by the deadline. Employers shall inform all workers, on an annual basis, of their right to receive the information and of the steps that the worker is to undertake to exercise that right.

• Employers shall not prevent employees from disclosing their pay to the relevant authorities or to the employees’ representatives or the chosen union for the purpose of the enforcement of their rights.

• Employers  employing  at  least  one  hundred workers  shall  prepare  a  Pay  Gap  Report  containing  the gender pay gap, the  gender  pay  gap  in  complementary  or  variable components, the median gender pay gap, the  median  gender  pay  gap  in  complementary  or variable components, the proportion of female and male workers receiving complementary or variable components, the proportion of female and male workers in each quartile pay band; and the gender pay gap between workers by categories of workers,  broken  down  by  ordinary  basic  wage  or  salary  and complementary or variable components. All employers shall submit the relevant reports within fourteen working days from the end of a relevant yearly period as follows:

• 250+ workers: Annually, starting June 7, 2027.
• 150–249 workers: Every 3 years, starting June 7, 2027.
• 100–149 workers: Every 3 years, starting June 7, 2031.
• Fewer than 100 workers: Voluntary reporting.

• The accuracy of the information contained in the Pay Gap Report shall be confirmed by the employer’s management following consultation  with  the  employees’  representatives.

• Where the Pay Gap Report indicates that there is a gender pay gap in terms set by the law, the employer concerned shall conduct, in consultation with the employee representatives, a joint pay assessment to identify, remedy and prevent differences in pay between female and male workers.

• It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  employer to  use  appropriate means to bring the new Regulations as well as of any measure taken to the attention of his workers.

• Liability of employers in breach of the new Regulations extend beyond criminal liability. Victims of pay breaches can apply to the Industrial Tribunal for full back pay plus compensation for lost opportunities, non-material damages, and intersectional discrimination.

What Equal Pay in Malta Means Going Forward

It is to be noted that the Regulations did not admit a transitional period, thus they came into force immediately. The Government did not opt for the usual two-month transitional period as seen in other new legal notices published earlier in the year. This might have left some employers with little time to put compliant systems in place, especially when it comes to formal pay policies or criteria.

The legal and HR community has broadly welcomed the new Regulations, at least in terms of their intent. There is little dispute over the core aim of promoting pay transparency and closing pay gaps. The concept of equal pay itself is not novel, but the mechanisms for enforcing it are evolving. A wait-and-see attitude is no longer viable for employers. Going forward, they will be required to show that their compensation decisions are evidence-based, open to scrutiny, and untainted by discrimination.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do the Equal Pay Regulations apply to all employers in Malta?

Yes. The Regulations apply to both public and private sector employers and cover all workers in an employment relationship as defined under Maltese law.

When do employers need to start reporting gender pay gaps in Malta?

Employers with 250 or more workers must report annually starting June 7, 2027. Those with 150–249 workers report every three years from the same date. Employers with 100–149 workers begin three-year reporting from June 7, 2031.

Can employers in Malta still pay workers differently for the same role?

Yes, but only on the basis of objective, gender-neutral and bias-free criteria such as performance or competence. Differences in pay must be justifiable and documented.

What happens if an employer breaches the equal pay obligations?

Liability extends beyond criminal penalties. Workers can apply to the Industrial Tribunal for full back pay, compensation for lost opportunities, non-material damages, and redress for intersectional discrimination.

Are employers required to tell workers about their pay rights?

Yes. Employers must inform all workers annually of their right to request pay information, and must respond to such requests in writing within eight days.

What are the immediate steps to be taken by all Employers?

All Employers are meant to  comply with obligations of transparency and equal pay since the 5^th June 2026. Employers with at least 25 employees have to adopt  and  maintain pay structures and  written policies  or  criteria  establishing  the  objective  and  gender-neutral criteria used to determine workers’ pay and pay levels. This shall include pay progression for employers with more than fifty employees.