Frequently asked questions

The EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) aims to enforce the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value and reduce the gender pay gap. It is initially addressed to Member States, which must transpose it into national law, where specific employer obligations arise. Its core elements include pay information before recruitment, employee rights to information, pay gap reporting, a joint pay assessment for unexplained differences, a reversal of the burden of proof in favour of employees, and effective sanctions.

The directive was adopted on 10 May 2023, published in the Official Journal of the EU on 17 May 2023 and entered into force on 6 June 2023. Member States had to transpose it into national law by 7 June 2026; that deadline has passed. We maintain the current status of implementation in Germany on the page Method and EUPTD.

The directive applies to all employers in the public and private sectors, regardless of company size. This particularly concerns pay information before recruitment and employees' right to information. Pay gap reporting obligations, however, vary by size: they apply from 100 employees, with different deadlines and frequencies (see questions 6 and 31).

The aim is to enforce the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value and reduce the gender pay gap. The directive relies on transparency: employees should understand the criteria used to determine pay, and employers must be able to explain pay differences. A transparent job evaluation provides the technical foundation for this.

The gender pay gap is the difference between the average pay levels of women and men, expressed as a percentage of men's average pay. A distinction is made between the unadjusted gap (all employees) and the adjusted gap, which compares employees performing equal work or work of equal value. Comparisons within groups of employees performing equal work or work of equal value are particularly important for the directive. This requires a job evaluation.

The directive measures the pay gap using pay levels, meaning gross annual pay and the corresponding gross hourly pay, as an average and also as a median. Reports show the gap for the employer as a whole and for groups of employees performing equal work or work of equal value, with basic pay and variable components shown separately. Defining these groups requires a job evaluation.

Yes, but subject to conditions. If the report shows a gap of at least 5% within a group of employees which the employer cannot justify using objective, gender-neutral criteria and has not remedied within six months, the employer must carry out a joint pay assessment with employee representatives and establish remedial measures. The 5% threshold therefore does not trigger an automatic obligation to adjust pay. The key question is whether the difference can be objectively justified, which requires a transparent job evaluation.

Possible measures include reviewing job evaluations and the assignment of employees to grades or reference jobs, adjusting salary structures and salary bands, correcting individual salaries, and targeted development programmes. Salary analysis in easygrading.de (Pro version) helps identify employees outside their salary band and other unusual patterns.

Member States must designate a monitoring body, and employees can also enforce their rights through the courts. Equality bodies and employee representatives can support them. The authority responsible in Germany will be determined by the implementing legislation, which is still pending.

Yes. External remuneration consultants, specialist software and seminars offer support. easygrading.de provides software that enables companies to carry out job evaluations and salary analyses themselves without commissioning a consulting project. Companies that want additional guidance can book the implementation package with five days of advisory support.

The directive sets minimum standards. Member States must implement them and may not fall below them, but can retain or introduce rules more favourable to employees. Until national implementing legislation is in place, the directive generally has no direct effect on private employers. However, it must be taken into account when interpreting existing law and may have direct effect on public employers after the transposition deadline.

The deadline for Member States to transpose the directive was 7 June 2026. The directive also provides staggered reporting deadlines: first by 7 June 2027 for employers with at least 150 employees and by 7 June 2031 for employers with 100 to 149 employees (question 6). German deadlines may differ from those in the directive; the current status is available on the page Method and EUPTD.

Companies should establish the foundations now rather than wait for German legislation. First: evaluate jobs using objective, gender-neutral criteria. Second: assign jobs to grades and salary bands. Third: check current pay in each grade for unusual patterns. Fourth: document criteria for pay and pay progression and involve the works council. easygrading.de supports these steps without a consulting project. The trial demonstrates the process using sample data.

easygrading.de is a web application for job evaluation, salary analysis and salary band design. It primarily supports obligations based on job evaluation: objective, gender-neutral evaluation under Article 4(4), salary bands for each grade (Articles 5 and 6), comparable groups for information requests (Article 7), and gender-specific pay analysis for each grade (Articles 9 and 10). The directive's criteria are integrated into the evaluation model. Whether a company complies with the directive also depends on data quality, processes and the applicable national law.

The Paterson Method (Decision Band Method), an analytical job evaluation method used for decades. Its core idea is that a job's value depends on the type and scope of the decisions it makes. easygrading.de evaluates each job against five criteria (decision-making, knowledge and skills, problem-solving, responsibility and impact) and assigns it to one of 28 grade levels. The origin of the method and its mapping to Article 4(4) are explained on the page “Method and EUPTD”.

In brief, there are three steps: record the organisation and data, evaluate jobs, and review and adjust salaries. The application runs in the browser without local installation. Question 55 describes the full process, and the features are shown on the product page.

Digital evaluation saves time compared with workshops and spreadsheets because all jobs are evaluated using the same framework. It improves objectivity and comparability and provides a transparent record of every evaluation step. This makes coordination with the works council and management easier and creates evidence for decisions later on.

easygrading.de analyses current salaries based on job evaluation. Actual salaries can be imported and compared across jobs, including variable pay components. Results are displayed in charts, and a gender analysis shows differences within each grade. Pay is compared with the value of the job rather than the performance of the individual. The Basis version includes job evaluation, your own organisational structure and cross-comparison; variable pay analysis, charts and gender analysis are reserved for Pro.

Yes. easygrading.de helps define and display salary bands for each grade. This provides consistent ranges for job advertisements, employee information requests and comparisons with actual salaries, increasing transparency and comparability.

easygrading.de makes pay differences within each grade visible: its gender analysis compares the salaries of women and men in jobs of equal value, allowing unusual patterns to be investigated. The company must determine whether a difference is justified. The software does not guarantee discrimination-free pay, but provides the data needed to identify and address its causes.

easygrading.de provides gender pay gap analysis for each grade, supplying essential data for reports and joint pay assessments. The software helps calculate the data; preparing and submitting the statutory report remains the company's responsibility.

easygrading.de is primarily aimed at companies with at least 100 employees. They will have to address the directive in the coming years: reporting under Article 9 is staggered by size. Employers with at least 250 employees report annually from 2027, those with 150 to 249 every three years from 2027, and those with 100 to 149 every three years from 2031. This requires a transparent evaluation of their jobs. It is particularly relevant where no systematic job evaluation exists, for example for jobs outside collective agreements or without collective bargaining coverage.

Smaller companies can also make good use of easygrading.de. Requirements such as pay information before recruitment and employees' right to information apply to all employers regardless of size. A well-founded job evaluation provides a reliable basis for this.

You can start immediately after registration. The trial is free for 30 days. A short onboarding session is free, and formal onboarding is not required. Companies that want additional guidance can book the implementation package.

Yes. The interface is designed for a quick start, and the process (answer questions, evaluate jobs, adjust salaries) is explained in three steps. Free online guides are also available.

easygrading.de is a web application hosted in Germany (ALL-INKL), and a data processing agreement is available. No personal data is required for job evaluation. Salary and gender information is needed for salary analysis and gender analysis. Depending on how it is processed, this information may be personal data and therefore subject to the GDPR.

Yes. Several people can work with easygrading.de, for example HR managers, line managers and an evaluation panel. Basis includes one user; Pro includes five users.

easygrading.de is deliberately a standalone web application without interfaces to existing HR systems. This has advantages: no IT project or local installation is needed, and salary data is supplied through targeted file uploads rather than transferred automatically from the HR system.

easygrading.de combines two things that work well in employer communications: a proven method and the requirements of the EU Pay Transparency Directive. Its evaluation logic builds on the Paterson Method (Decision Band Method), an analytical job evaluation approach used for decades. The five criteria and grade levels are mapped to the four dimensions in Article 4(4) of the directive (skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions). The result is a transparent, documented evaluation system employers can rely on when communicating with employees, applicants and the works council.

Transparent job evaluation and salary bands can support an employer's reputation for fairness, for example through salary ranges in job advertisements and clear responses to information requests. However, employer branding only benefits when practice matches the message. A slogan alone cannot replace transparency in everyday work.

First, the company sets up its organisation and answers questions about data, salaries and positions. Each job is then evaluated against the five criteria, typically by an evaluation panel, and easygrading.de assigns it to one of 28 grade levels; role-specific working conditions are added through the supplementary module. Salary bands can then be created, actual salaries analysed across jobs, and the results documented.

Individual adjustments are not possible in the definitions section, which contains the standard definitions of criteria and levels. This ensures consistent, comparable evaluations. Company-specific requirements can be stored in the supplementary company section, allowing the standard definitions to be extended flexibly.

Yes. The trial is free for 30 days and does not need to be cancelled. It is a demo account: you can carry out up to 10 job evaluations, cannot use your own salary data, and salary analyses use a sample company. This lets you explore the process without risk.

Yes. easygrading.de documents every evaluation step and criterion for each job. This allows you to demonstrate to employees, the works council and in disputes why a job is assigned to its grade level.

Implementation is straightforward: you can start directly after registration, a short onboarding session is free, and formal onboarding is not required. Three steps are helpful: involve the works council and evaluation panel early, evaluate jobs and derive salary bands, then review current salaries and plan adjustments. Companies that want guidance can book the implementation package (five days of advisory support, plus a Pro licence).

Further information and support are available directly at easygrading.de and respondeo.de. Free online guides are also available on easygrading.de.