Malta has introduced a comprehensive pay transparency framework through the Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 173 of 2026), transposing the requirements of Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency ahead of the EU implementation deadline.
The new Regulations represent a significant development in Malta’s employment law landscape, moving beyond the traditional principle of equal pay for equal work towards a more structured and data-driven approach to identifying and addressing pay disparities. The framework introduces enhanced transparency obligations, employee information rights, objective job classification requirements, and reporting obligations for larger employers.
A key feature of the new regime is the formal recognition of the principle of “work of equal value”, requiring employers to assess roles through objective, gender-neutral criteria, including skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions, rather than relying solely on job titles or traditional organisational structures. Employers will therefore need to review how roles are categorised and how remuneration decisions are determined.
The Regulations introduce obligations throughout the employment lifecycle. During recruitment, employers will be required to provide information on initial pay levels or ranges and refrain from requesting candidates’ salary history. During employment, employees will have enhanced rights to access information relating to their own remuneration and average pay levels for comparable categories of workers, while employers must ensure that pay structures and progression criteria are transparent.
Larger employers will also become subject to mandatory gender pay gap reporting obligations, requiring disclosure of specified remuneration data, including gender pay gaps, variable remuneration differences, workforce distribution across pay quartiles, and pay differences between categories of workers. Where unjustified pay disparities are identified, employers may be required to undertake joint pay assessments with employee representatives.
The Regulations further strengthen enforcement mechanisms by providing employees and other entitled parties with access to judicial remedies, including claims for recovery of pay differences and compensation. They also introduce penalties for non-compliance and protections against victimisation of individuals exercising their rights under the new framework.
The Regulations also introduce the single source principle and the possibility of relying on hypothetical comparators further expands the scope of equal pay assessments, potentially allowing comparisons beyond traditional organisational boundaries where remuneration conditions are determined by a common authority, and reliance on hypothetical comparators in the absence of one to make a claim for discrimination.
From a compliance perspective, employers should begin preparing by auditing existing remuneration structures, reviewing job classification methodologies, establishing internal processes for responding to pay information requests, and ensuring that management teams understand their obligations under the new regime. Employers should also consider the interaction between pay transparency obligations and data protection requirements, particularly where disclosure of remuneration information may risk identifying individual employees.
The new framework marks a substantial shift in the regulation of pay equality in Malta. Employers will need to adopt a proactive approach to remuneration governance, ensuring that pay decisions are transparent, objectively justified, and supported by appropriate internal processes.
For assistance with the interpretation or implementation of the Regulations, please feel free to reach out to Karl Briffa and Julia Darmanin, who will be happy to assist with any queries or advisory support.
By: Julia Darmanin and Karl Briffa
