EU Pay Transparency Directive in Romania: transposition status and what employers must do
Last updated: 2026-10-02 · ~10 min read
Directive (EU) 2023/970 must be transposed into national law by 7 June 2026. That deadline has passed and Romania has not yet enacted a dedicated transposition act — a near-complete Ministry draft exists, with no commencement date yet — but existing rules in the Codul Muncii and Law 202/2002 already carry equal-pay obligations, and the Directive's substance is the destination every employer operating in Romania has to reach. This guide sets out where Romania stands, what is already binding, and what to prepare now.
The Romanian picture in five lines
- Transposition status: not yet transposed. The 7 June 2026 deadline has passed; a near-complete Ministry draft is at the minimum level of the Directive (above it on the reply time for worker requests), has no commencement clause, and points to a first report on 7 June 2027.
- Already binding today: the equal-pay principle under the Codul Muncii (Legea 53/2003, art. 6 and art. 159) and Law 202/2002 on equal opportunities and equal treatment between women and men.
- Pay-secrecy clauses are already unenforceable in practice under Romanian anti- discrimination and equal-pay rules, and will be formally banned once Article 7(5) of the Directive is transposed — regardless of company size.
- Pay-gap reporting (Article 9) will apply from 100 employees, phased by size: ≥250 first report by 7 June 2027 (annual); 150–249 by 7 June 2027 (every 3 years); 100–149 by 7 June 2031 (every 3 years).
- Under 100 employees: no Article 9 reporting duty, but Articles 5, 6, 7, 7(5) and the burden-of-proof shift in Article 18 still apply. Gender- disaggregated pay data is operationally required to answer worker requests under Article 7.
What is already in force in Romanian law
Codul Muncii (Legea nr. 53/2003)
Article 6 sets the principle of equal treatment for all employees. Article 159 (3) states expressly that, for equal work or work of equal value, discrimination based on sex in setting or paying wages is prohibited. This is Romania's baseline equal- pay rule and it applies to every employer with at least one employee, immediately, without a size threshold.
Legea nr. 202/2002
The equal opportunities and equal treatment between women and men law reinforces equal pay for equal work or work of equal value, prohibits direct and indirect discrimination, and designates ANES and CNCD as the competent bodies. It is the natural anchor for the Directive's future implementing rules and already provides an enforcement route today.
OG nr. 137/2000 (anti-discrimination)
Ordinance 137/2000, republished, criminalises discriminatory practices in employment and remuneration and gives CNCD the power to sanction. Pay-secrecy clauses that prevent a worker from raising a discrimination complaint are already vulnerable under this framework.
What is not yet in force
The specific transparency obligations of Directive (EU) 2023/970 — Article 5 (pay transparency before employment), Article 6 (transparency of pay setting and progression), Article 7 (right to information), Article 9 (pay-gap reporting) and Article 10 (joint pay assessment) — are not yet directly binding in Romania. Final thresholds, timelines, and sanctions will be set by the national transposition act.
What Romanian employers must be ready for now
Article 5 — Pay transparency before employment
Applicants must be told the initial pay or its range (based on objective, gender-neutral criteria) — in the vacancy notice, before the interview, or otherwise. Employers must not ask applicants about their pay history. Job titles and vacancy notices must be gender-neutral. Applies to all employers, no size exemption.
Article 6 — Transparency of pay setting and pay progression
The criteria used to set pay, pay levels and pay progression must be easily accessible to workers and objective and gender- neutral. Member States may exempt employers with fewer than 50 workers from the pay-progression part; Romania's transposition act will decide whether to use that carve-out. The pay-setting criteria obligation itself applies to all employers.
Article 7 — Right to information
Workers may request, in writing, information on their individual pay level and the average pay levels — broken down by sex — for categories of workers doing the same work or work of equal value. Employers must reply within two months and inform all workers annually of this right. Applies to every employer, regardless of size. This is the operational reason smaller Romanian companies still need to hold gender-disaggregated pay data even though they are out of Article 9.
Article 7(5) — Ban on pay-secrecy clauses
Workers cannot be prevented from disclosing their own pay for the purpose of enforcing equal pay. This provision applies to every employer, regardless of size. Any pay-confidentiality clause in a Romanian employment contract will need to be reviewed and, in most cases, removed or narrowed.
Article 9 — Pay-gap reporting
Only employers with 100 or more workers are in scope. Phasing: ≥250 workers report annually from 7 June 2027; 150–249 report every three years from 7 June 2027; 100–149 report every three years from 7 June 2031. Romanian employers with fewer than 100 workers are out of scope for Article 9 reporting — their obligations sit under Articles 5, 6, 7 and 7(5) instead.
Article 10 — Joint pay assessment
Triggered where Article 9 reporting reveals an unexplained gap of at least 5% in any category of workers that is not remedied within six months. Because it depends on Article 9, it does not apply to sub-100 employers.
Article 18 — Shift of the burden of proof
Where a worker establishes facts from which pay discrimination may be presumed, it is for the employer to prove there was no discrimination. Failure to comply with the transparency obligations of Articles 5, 6, 7, 9 and 10 shifts that burden onto the employer. This is why the foundational obligations matter even for small companies — they are the evidence base that neutralises litigation exposure.
Where every EU member state stands on transposition
All 27 EU member states · Directive (EU) 2023/970 · transposition deadline 7 June 2026, passed · status as at 14 September 2026. Romania is highlighted for context.
22 of 27 member states were in default on the deadline; no Commission infringement step has been taken yet.
- Current status
- No published text — draft never published
- Direction vs the Directive
- Not yet classified
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
- Current status
- French Community only; no federal or Flemish text
- Direction vs the Directive
- Above the minimum, on a partial scope
- In force
- 1 January 2025 (French Community)
- First report
- Not yet set by the Government
- Current status
- Bill before parliament
- Direction vs the Directive
- At the minimum, with two gaps
- In force
- On promulgation
- First report
- 7 June 2027 (150+)
- Current status
- No draft text located
- Direction vs the Directive
- Not yet classified
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
- Current status
- Finalised after consultation, not yet lodged
- Direction vs the Directive
- Not yet classified — text unread
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
- Current status
- Bill before parliament
- Direction vs the Directive
- Below the minimum
- In force
- 1 Jan 2027 — core duties 1 Jan 2028
- First report
- 2028, for the year 2027
- Current status
- No bill — draft lapsed at the March 2026 election
- Direction vs the Directive
- Not verified — text unread
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
- Current status
- Partially in force — recruitment duties only
- Direction vs the Directive
- Below the minimum
- In force
- 13 July 2026
- First report
- None enacted
- Current status
- Bill before parliament, in committee
- Direction vs the Directive
- At the minimum, with two shortfalls
- In force
- Not fixed — 1 Jan 2027 proposed
- First report
- 7 June 2028
- Current status
- Deposited in the Sénat, accelerated procedure
- Direction vs the Directive
- Above the minimum, and below it
- In force
- Not fixed — runs off promulgation
- First report
- Left to decree
- Current status
- No draft — the 2017 Act still governs
- Direction vs the Directive
- Below the minimum
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
- Current status
- In force — obligations start 1 November 2026
- Direction vs the Directive
- At the minimum, above it on recruitment
- In force
- 6 July 2026 — duties from 1 Nov 2026
- First report
- 7 June 2027
- Current status
- Nothing published and nothing announced
- Direction vs the Directive
- Not yet classified
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
- Current status
- General scheme only — deprioritised twice
- Direction vs the Directive
- Not yet classified — no bill text
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
- Current status
- In force — the deadline was met
- Direction vs the Directive
- Above the minimum, and below it
- In force
- 7 June 2026
- First report
- 7 June 2027 (plus the existing report)
- Current status
- Draft standalone act — pre-Cabinet
- Direction vs the Directive
- At the minimum, above it on recruitment
- In force
- —
- First report
- 7 June 2027 (draft)
- Current status
- In force — reporting architecture still pending
- Direction vs the Directive
- Above the minimum, and below it
- In force
- 7 June 2026
- First report
- 1 March 2028
- Current status
- No bill deposited
- Direction vs the Directive
- Not yet classified
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
- Current status
- In force — the deadline was met
- Direction vs the Directive
- At the minimum, above it on reply time
- In force
- 5 June 2026
- First report
- 7 June 2027
- Current status
- Bill before parliament — debate January 2027
- Direction vs the Directive
- Below the minimum, above it on pay secrecy
- In force
- Not fixed — left to royal decree
- First report
- 7 June 2028
- Current status
- Partial — recruitment duties only
- Direction vs the Directive
- Below the minimum
- In force
- 24 December 2025
- First report
- None enacted
- Current status
- Draft — consultation closed 25 August 2026
- Direction vs the Directive
- Above the minimum, below it on recruitment
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
- Current status
- Ministry draft — near-complete
- Direction vs the Directive
- At the minimum, above it on reply time
- In force
- No commencement clause in the draft
- First report
- 7 June 2027 (draft)
- Current status
- In force — one deadline has already passed
- Direction vs the Directive
- At the minimum, above it on remedies
- In force
- 7 June 2026 — pay structures due 31 Jul 2026
- First report
- 7 June 2027 (five-month stub period)
- Current status
- With the social partners since February 2026
- Direction vs the Directive
- Not yet classified
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
- Current status
- Draft Royal Decree — not yet gazetted
- Direction vs the Directive
- Above the minimum, below it on recruitment
- In force
- Day after gazette publication
- First report
- 7 June 2027
- Current status
- Inquiry report and referral — no bill laid
- Direction vs the Directive
- Not yet classified
- In force
- —
- First report
- —
Direction is assessed provision by provision, not country by country: a member state can sit above the Directive on one article and below it on another, and the two are never netted off. Where a country is shown as unclassified, no operative text has been read. This overview supports professional judgement and is not legal advice.
Take the ClearPay Assessment — a structured diagnostic calibrated against every requirement of Directive (EU) 2023/970, with a Romania-specific overlay.
What to do in the next 12 months
- Map your workforce by category of workers doing equal work or work of equal value. This is the unit of measurement for Articles 7, 9 and 10 and it is not the same as a job title.
- Hold gender-disaggregated pay data by category — base pay and variable components — so you can answer an Article 7 request within two months.
- Review employment contract templates and remove pay-confidentiality clauses; refresh recruitment practices to publish salary ranges and to stop asking about pay history.
- Document objective, gender-neutral pay-setting criteria and make them accessible to workers — this is the Article 6 baseline that applies regardless of size exemptions.
- Run a diagnostic gap analysis now, before the transposition act crystallises the sanctions regime. Fixing unjustified gaps is faster and cheaper than defending them under Article 18.
- Track the transposition bill. Romania missed the 7 June 2026 deadline and the Ministry draft has no commencement clause yet; the final act will confirm the start date, thresholds, sanctions, and any national additions beyond the EU baseline.
See where your company stands
MERAKI HR runs a structured diagnostic that maps your company against the Directive and against Romania's current equal-pay rules. You get a written report with the specific articles that apply to your headcount, the gaps to close first, and a Romania-specific transposition note.
This guide is general information about Romanian and EU law and not legal advice. Confirm the current transposition status and any employer-specific obligations with a qualified adviser before acting. Sources: Directive (EU) 2023/970; Codul Muncii (Legea 53/2003); Legea 202/2002; OG 137/2000.