77 Amendments of Jessica POLFJÄRD related to 2021/0050(COD)
Amendment 149 #
Proposal for a directive
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The European Parliament rejects the Commission proposal.
Amendment 171 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
(4) Article 23 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union provides that equality between women and men must be ensured in all areas, including employment, work and pay, where Article 51 of the Charter emphasises the due regard for the principle of subsidiarity.
Amendment 203 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 9
Recital 9
(9) The gender pay gap is caused by various factors, part of which can be attributed to direct and indirect gender pay discrimination. A general lack of transparency about pay levels within organisations maintains a situation where gender-based pay discrimination and bias can go undetected or, where suspected, are difficult to prove. Binding mMeasures are therefore needed to improve pay transparency, encourage organisations to review their pay structures to ensure equal pay for women and men doing the same work or work of equal value, and enable victims of discrimination to enforce their right to equal pay. This needs to be complemented by provisions clarifying existing legal concepts (such as the concept of ‘pay’ and ‘work of equal value’) and measures improving enforcement mechanisms and access to justice, while fully respecting the different labour market models in the Member States.
Amendment 223 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 11
Recital 11
(11) This Directive should apply to all workers, including part-time workers, fixed-term contract workers or persons with a contract of employment or employment relationship with a temporary agency, who have an employment contract or employment relationship as defined by the law, collective agreements and/or practice in force in each Member State, taking into account the case-law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (‘the Court’). In its case law, the Court established criteria for determining the status of a worker47 . Provided that they fulfil those criteria, domestic workers, on- demand workers, intermittent workers, voucher based-workers, platform workers, trainees and apprentices should fall within the scope of this Directive. The determination of the existence of an employment relationship should be guided by the facts relating to the actual performance of the work and not by the parties’ description of the relationship. _________________ 47 Case C-66/85, Deborah Lawrie-Blum v Land Baden-Württemberg, ECLI:EU:C:1986:284; Case C-428/09, Union Syndicale Solidaires Isère v Premier ministre and Others, ECLI:EU:C:2010:612; Case C-229/14, Ender Balkaya v Kiesel Abbruch- und Recycling Technik GmbH, ECLI:EU:C:2015:455; Case C-413/13, FNV Kunsten Informatie en Media v Staat der Nederlanden, ECLI:EU:C:2014:2411; Case C-216/15, Betriebsrat der Ruhrlandklinik gGmbH v Ruhrlandklinik gGmbH, ECLI:EU:C:2016:883; Case C- 658/18, UX v Governo della Repubblica italiana, ECLI:EU:C:2020:572.
Amendment 227 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 12
Recital 12
Amendment 233 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) The principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value for women and men should be respected with regard to wage or salary and any other consideration, whether in cash or in kind, which the workers receive directly or indirectly, in respect of their employment from their employer. In line with the case-law of the Court48 , the concept of ‘pay’ should comprise not only salary, but also additional benefits such as bonuses, overtime compensation, travel facilities (including cars provided by the employer and travel cards), housing allowances, compensation for attending training, payments in case of dismissal, statutory sick pay, statutory required compensation and occupational pensions. It should include all elements of remuneration due by law or collective agreement. _________________ 48 For example, Case C-58/81, Commission of the European Communities v Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ECLI:EU:C:1982:215; Case C-171/88 Rinner-Kulhn v FWW Spezial- Gebaudereinigung GmbH, ECLI:EU:C:1989:328; Case C-147/02 Alabaster v Woolwhich plc and Secretary of State for Social Security, ECLI:EU:C:2004:192; Case C-342/93 - Gillespie and Others ECLI:EU:C:1996:46; Case C-278/93 Freers and Speckmann v Deutsche Bundepost, ECLI:EU:C:1996:83; Case C-12/81, Eileen Garland v British Rail Engineering Limited, ECLI:EU:C:1982:44; Case C-360/90, Arbeiterwohlfahrt der Stadt Berlin e.V. v Monika Bötel, ECLI:EU:C:1992:246; Case C-33/89, Maria Kowalska v Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg, ECLI: EU:C:1990:265.
Amendment 247 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) In order to respect the right to equal pay between men and women, employers must have pay setting mechanisms or pay structures in place ensuring that there are no pay differences between male and female workers doing the same work or work of equal value that are not justified by objective and gender-neutral factors. Such pay structures should allow for the comparison of the value of different jobs within the same organisational structure. In line with the case law of the Court, the value of work should be assessed and compared based on objective criteria, such as educational, professional and training requirements, skills, effort and responsibility, work undertaken and the nature of the tasks involved.49 _________________ 49 For example, Case C-400/93, Royal Copenhagen, ECLI:EU:C:1995:155; Case C-309/97, Angestelltenbetriebsrat der Wiener Gebietskrankenkasse, ECLI:EU:C:1999:241; Case C-381/99, Brunnhofer, ECLI:EU:C:2001:358; Case C-427/11, Margaret Kenny and Others v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Others [2013] ECLI:EU:C:2013:122, paragraph 28.
Amendment 253 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) In order to respect the right to equal pay between men and women, employers must have pay setting mechanisms or pay structures in place ensuring that there are no pay differences between male and female workers doing the same work or work of equal value that are not justified by objective and gender-neutral factors. Such pay structures should allow for the comparison of the value of different jobs within the same organisational structure. In line with the case law of the Court, tThe value of work should be assessed and compared based on objective criteria, such asincluding educational, professional and training requirements, skills, effort and responsibility, work undertaken and, the nature of the tasks involved and supply and demand for the relevant skills.49 _________________ 49 For example, Case C-400/93, Royal Copenhagen, ECLI:EU:C:1995:155; Case C-309/97, Angestelltenbetriebsrat der Wiener Gebietskrankenkasse, ECLI:EU:C:1999:241; Case C-381/99, Brunnhofer, ECLI:EU:C:2001:358; Case C-427/11, Margaret Kenny and Others v Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Others [2013] ECLI:EU:C:2013:122, paragraph 28.
Amendment 256 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 16
Recital 16
Amendment 266 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 17
Recital 17
Amendment 276 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 18
Recital 18
(18) Member States should develop specific tools and methodologies to support and guide the assessment of what constitutes work of equal value. This should facilitate the application of this concept, especially for small and medium- sized enterprises.
Amendment 299 #
Amendment 308 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 22
Recital 22
(22) Pay transparency measures should protect workers’ right to equal pay while limiting as much as possible costs and burden for employers, paying specific attention to micro and small enterprises. Where appropriate, measures should be tailored to the size of employers taking into account employers’ headcount.
Amendment 315 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 23
Recital 23
(23) Employers should make accessible to workers a description of the criteria used to determine pay levels and career progression. The employer should have flexibility in the way it complies with this obligation taking into account the size of the organisation.
Amendment 328 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 25
Recital 25
(25) Employers with at least 2500 workers should regularly report on pay, in a suitable and transparent manner, such as including the information in their management report. Companies subject to the requirements of Directive 2013/34/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council52 may also choose to report on pay alongside other worker-related matters in their management report. _________________ 52 Directive 2013/34/EU, as amended by Directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 October 2014 as regards disclosure of non- financial and diversity information by certain large undertakings and groups (OJ L 330, 15.11.2014, p. 1).
Amendment 344 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 27
Recital 27
(27) To reduce the burden on employers, Member States could decide to gather and interlink the necessary data through their national administrations allowing for a computation of the pay gap between female and male workers per employer. Such data gathering may require interlinking data from several public administrations (such as tax inspectorates and social security offices) and would be possible if administrative data matching employers’ (company/organisational level) to workers’ (individual level) data, including benefits in cash and in-kind, are available. Member States could decide to gather this information not only for those employers covered by the pay reporting obligation under this Directive, but also with regard to small and medium-sized enterprises. The publication of the required information by Member States should replace the obligation of pay reporting on those employers covered by the administrative data provided that the result intended by the reporting obligation is achieved.
Amendment 364 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 29
Recital 29
(29) Joint pay assessments should trigger the review and revision of pay structures in organisations with at least 2500 workers that show pay inequalities. The joint pay assessment should be carried out by employers in cooperation with workers’ representatives; if workers’ representatives are absent, they should be designated for this purpose. Joint pay assessments should lead to the elimination of gender discrimination in pay.
Amendment 405 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 38
Recital 38
(38) Following the case law of the Court55 , Directive 2006/54/EC established provisions to ensure that the burden of proof shifts to the defendant when there is a prima facie case of discrimination. Member States should not be prevented from introducing, at any appropriate stage of the proceedings, rules of evidence which are more favourable to workers making a claim. In any legal or administrative proceedings concerning direct or indirect discrimination, in case the employer did not comply with the pay transparency obligations set out by the Directive, the burden of proof should be automatically shifted to the defendant, irrespective of the worker showing a prima facie case of pay discrimination. _________________ 55 Case C-109/88, Handels- og Kontorfunktionærernes Forbund I Danmark v Dansk Arbejdsgiverforening, acting on behalf of Danfoss, ECLI:EU:C:1989:383.
Amendment 406 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 39
Recital 39
Amendment 410 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 40
Recital 40
(40) In accordance with the case-law of the Court, nNational rules on time limits for the enforcement of rights under this Directive should be such that they cannot be regarded as capable of rendering virtually impossible or excessively difficult the exercise of those rights. Limitation periods create specific obstacles for victims of gender pay discrimination. For that purpose, common minimum standards should be established. Those standards should determine when the limitation period begins to run, the duration thereof and the circumstances under which it is interrupted or suspended and provide that the limitation period for bringing claims is at least three years.
Amendment 419 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 41
Recital 41
(41) Litigation costs create a serious disincentive for victims of gender pay discrimination to claim their right to equal pay, leading to insufficient protection and enforcement of the right to equal pay. In order to remove this strong procedural obstacle to justice, successful claimants should be allowed to recover their procedural costs from the defendant. On the other hand, claimants should not be liable for successful defendant’s proceedings costs unless the claim was brought in bad faith, was clearly frivolous or if the non-recovery by the defendant would be considered unreasonable by the courts or other competent authorities under the specific circumstances of the case, for instance having regard to the financial situation of micro-enterprises.
Amendment 437 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 47
Recital 47
(47) This Directive lays down minimum requirementsa framework, thus respecting the Member States’ prerogative to introduce and maintain more favourable provisions. Rights acquired under the existing legal framework should continue to apply, unless more favourable provisions are introduced by this Directive. The implementation of this Directive cannot be used to reduce existing rights set out in existing Union or national law in this field, nor can it constitute valid grounds for reducing the rights of workers in regard to equal pay between men and women for the same work or work of equal value.
Amendment 447 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 50
Recital 50
(50) This Directive aims at a better and more effective implementation of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work to which equal value is attributed between men and women through the establishment of common minimum requirementsa framework which should apply to all undertakings and organisations across the European Union. Since this objective cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and should therefore be achieved at Union level, the Union may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty on European Union. In accordance with the principle of proportionality as set out in that Article, this Directive, which limits itself to setting minimum standards, does not go beyond what is necessary in order to achieve that objective.
Amendment 464 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 1 – paragraph 1
Article 1 – paragraph 1
This Directive lays down minimum requirementsa framework to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay between men and women for equal work or work of equal value enshrined in Article 157 TFEU and the prohibition of discrimination laid down in Article 4 of Directive 2006/54/EC, in particular through pay transparency and reinforced enforcement mechanisms.
Amendment 480 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2
Article 2 – paragraph 2
2. This Directive applies to all workers who have an employment contract or employment relationship as defined by law, collective agreements and/or practice in force in each Member State with consideration to the case-law of the Court of Justice.
Amendment 482 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Member States with labour market models where autonomous labour market parties are responsible for wage formation shall have the option not to apply this Directive, either totally or in part, provided that there is, in the view of the Member State, sufficient support for this among representative social partners at national level.
Amendment 483 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 2 – paragraph 2 a (new)
Article 2 – paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. This Directive shall not be applicable to employers bound by a collective agreement setting pay levels respecting the principle of equal work.
Amendment 487 #
Amendment 492 #
Amendment 493 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point e
Amendment 496 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point f
Amendment 504 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point g
(g) ‘category of workers’ means workers performing the same work or work of equal value grouped by the workers’ employer based on criteria as laid down in Article 4 of this Directive and specified bygrouped by their respective employers in accordance with national law, collective bargaining agreements, and other relevant practices in the Memployer concerned;ber State.
Amendment 527 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 3 – paragraph 3
Article 3 – paragraph 3
Amendment 533 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that employers have pay structures in place ensuring that women and men are paid equally for the same work or work of equal value. Where wage setting is ensured via collective agreements between social partners member states may entrust the social partners to ensure that women and men are paid equally for the same work or work of equal value.
Amendment 539 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 1
Article 4 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall take the necessary measures to ensure that employers have pay structures in place ensuring that women and men are paid equally for the same work or work of equal value performed for the same employer.
Amendment 553 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 2
Article 4 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall take the necessary measures ensuring that tools or methodologies are establishedguidance to assess and compare the value of work in line with the criteria set out in this Article. These tools or methodologiesis guidance may include gender-neutral job evaluation and classification systems.
Amendment 566 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 3
Article 4 – paragraph 3
3. The tools or methodologiesAn overall assessment according to this guidance shall allow assessing, in regard to the value of work, whether workers are in a comparable situation, on the basis of objective criteria which shallmay include educational, professional and training requirements, skills, effort and responsibility, work undertaken and the nature of the tasks involved and similar criteria defined in national law and collective bargaining agreements. They shall not contain or be based on criteria which are based, whether directly or indirectly, on workers’ sex.
Amendment 571 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Article 4 – paragraph 4
Amendment 594 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Article 5 – paragraph 1
Amendment 605 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Article 5 – paragraph 2
Amendment 621 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 6 – paragraph 1
Article 6 – paragraph 1
The employer shall make easily accessible to its workers a description of the criteria used to determine pay levels and career progression for workers. These criteria shall be gender-neutral and in accordance with national law and practices.
Amendment 640 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 1
Article 7 – paragraph 1
1. Workers shall have the right to receive information on their individual pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by sexpay differences and differences in median pay, broken down by sex in the pay statistics, for categories of workers doing the same work as them or work of equal value to theirs for the same employer, in accordance with paragraphs 3 and 4.
Amendment 646 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 2
Article 7 – paragraph 2
2. Employers shall inform all workers, on an annual basiswithin a reasonable time frame, of their right to receive the information referred to in paragraph 1.
Amendment 661 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 7 – paragraph 4
Article 7 – paragraph 4
4. Workers shall have the possibility to request the information referred to in paragraph 1 through their representatives or an equality body.
Amendment 674 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – introductory part
1. Employers with at least 250 workers shall provide the following information concerning their organisation, in accordance with paragraphs 2, 3, and 5:Member States shall, with regard to their respective labour market models and traditions, take appropriate measures to ensure that employers with at least 500 workers map the pay gap between men and women in the different categories of workers.
Amendment 689 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point a
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point a
Amendment 696 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point b
Amendment 701 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point c
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point c
Amendment 708 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point d
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point d
Amendment 712 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point e
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point e
Amendment 714 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point f
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point f
Amendment 717 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point g
Article 8 – paragraph 1 – point g
Amendment 735 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Article 8 – paragraph 2
Amendment 739 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Article 8 – paragraph 3
Amendment 752 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 4
Article 8 – paragraph 4
Amendment 762 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 5
Article 8 – paragraph 5
5. The employer shall provide the information referred to in paragraph 1, point (g) to all workers and, their trade union representatives, as well as to the monitoring body referred to in paragraph 6. It shall provide it to the labour inspectorate and the equality body upon their request. T or the trade union with which the employer has struck a collective bargaining agreement. The employer shall, upon request, provide the information fromto the previous four years,monitoring body appointed ifn available, shall also be provided upon requestccordance with article 26 of this directive.
Amendment 773 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 6
Article 8 – paragraph 6
Amendment 781 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 8 – paragraph 7
Article 8 – paragraph 7
7. Workers and their representatives, labour inspectThose entitled to informates and equality bodiesion from the employer pursuant to article 2 shall have the right to ask the employer for additional clarifications and details regarding any of the data provided, including explanations concerning any gender pay differences. The employer shall respond to such request within a reasonable time by providing a substantiated reply. Where gender pay differences are not justified by objective and gender-neutral factors, the employer shall remedy the situation in close cooperation with the workers’ representatives, the labour inspectorate and/or the equality bodytake appropriate measures.
Amendment 794 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Article 9 – paragraph 1
Amendment 823 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Article 9 – paragraph 2
Amendment 841 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Article 9 – paragraph 3
Amendment 847 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 9 – paragraph 4
Article 9 – paragraph 4
Amendment 902 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 2
Article 14 – paragraph 2
2. The compensation or reparation referred to in paragraph 1 shall ensure real and effective compensation for the loss and damage sustained, in a way which is dissuasive and proportionate to the damage suffered.
Amendment 906 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 14 – paragraph 3
Article 14 – paragraph 3
3. The compensation shall place the worker who has suffered harm in the position in which that person would have been if he or she had not been discriminated based on sex or if no infringement of any of the rights or obligations relating to equal pay between men and women for equal work or work of equal value had occurred. It shall include full recovery of back pay and related bonuses or payments in kind, compensation for lost opportunities and moral prejudice. It shall also include the right to interest on arrearshad occurred.
Amendment 915 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 1
Article 16 – paragraph 1
Amendment 918 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 2
Article 16 – paragraph 2
Amendment 922 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 3
Article 16 – paragraph 3
Amendment 926 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 16 – paragraph 5
Article 16 – paragraph 5
Amendment 932 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 17 – paragraph 2
Article 17 – paragraph 2
2. Member States shall ensure that national courts have the power to order the disclosure of evidence containing confidential information where they consider it relevant to the claim. They shall ensure that, when ordering the disclosure of such information, national courts have at their disposal effective measures to protect such information.
Amendment 935 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 2
Article 18 – paragraph 2
Amendment 939 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 3
Article 18 – paragraph 3
Amendment 948 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 18 – paragraph 4
Article 18 – paragraph 4
Amendment 953 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 19 – paragraph 1
Article 19 – paragraph 1
Amendment 967 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 1
Article 20 – paragraph 1
1. Member States shall lay down the rules on penalties applicable to infringements of national provisions adopted pursuant to this Directive and shall take all measures necessary to ensure that they are implemented. The penalties provided for shall be effective, and proportionate and dissuasive. Member States shall, without delay, notify the Commission of those rules and of those measures and of any subsequent amendment affecting them.
Amendment 975 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 20 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
Article 20 – paragraph 2 – introductory part
2. Member States shall ensure that fines are applied to infringements of the rights and obligations relating to equal pay for the same work or work of equal value. They shall set a minimum level for such fines ensuring real deterrent effect. The level of the fines shallmay take into account:
Amendment 1057 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 27 – paragraph 1
Article 27 – paragraph 1
This Directive shall not affect in any way the right to negotiate, conclude and enforce collective agreements and to take collective action in accordance with national law or practice. Collectively agreed pay regulations shall be subject to the presumption that discrimination on the basis of gender is excluded. Activities which are assigned to different remuneration groups on the basis of collective bargaining agreements shall not be regarded as equal or equivalent.
Amendment 1084 #
Proposal for a directive
Article 31 – paragraph 2
Article 31 – paragraph 2
2. When informing the Commission, Member States shall also accompany it with a summary of the results of their assessment regarding the impact of their transposition act on small and medium- sizedmid-cap enterprises and a reference to where such assessment is published.