The EU deadline for transposing Directive (EU) 2023/970 was 7 June 2026. On 4 August 2026, Romania had a bill before the Senate's committees, L445/2026, but Parliament had not adopted it and it had not become law.
The directive describes the information candidates and employees must be able to receive after transposition: the initial pay level or range communicated in time for informed negotiations, criteria used to determine pay, and average figures for categories doing equal work or work of equal value. Until Romania enacts its final law, these must be described as provisions of the directive, not obligations already created by L445/2026.
What was in force in Romania on 4 August 2026? The Romanian Labour Code already prohibited sex discrimination in setting and paying salaries, and prohibited discrimination in all pay elements and conditions for equal work or work of equal value. The new mechanisms and deadlines below come from Directive 2023/970. L445/2026 was not law on the verification date.
The 7 June deadline did not turn the Romanian bill into law
Article 34 of Directive (EU) 2023/970 required Member States to bring transposition measures into force by 7 June 2026. That date was a deadline for Romania, not a date on which a bill later introduced in Parliament became applicable automatically.
- The directive is adoptedThe European Parliament and Council adopt Directive (EU) 2023/970.
- Transposition deadline expiresMember States were required to introduce the necessary measures into national law.
- The bill reaches the SenateRomania's proposal is registered for debate as b392 and later becomes L445/2026.
- The file remains in committeeThe Senate lists the bill as pending, with no adoption or publication in Romania's Official Gazette.
On 4 August, the official file for L445/2026 showed the Senate as the first chamber notified and the bill before standing committees. The amendment deadline was 2 September, while the labour and legal committees had until 8 September 2026 to issue their reports.
The National Council for Combating Discrimination, National Agency of Civil Servants, Economic and Social Council, and Senate Human Rights Committee had issued favourable opinions. The Legislative Council had issued negative Opinion no. 631 of 29 June 2026.
A favourable opinion states the consulted institution's view; it does not replace a committee report or chamber vote. The negative opinion did not close the file, whose Senate page showed that the process continued. Amendments may change the text. To become law, it must pass the parliamentary procedure, promulgation and publication in Romania's Official Gazette. The same distinction between a working document and an applicable rule is explained for the 2026 public-sector pay bill, which follows a separate legal path.
Candidates must receive the range in time to negotiate
Article 5 of the directive gives candidates the right to receive the initial pay level or range for the position. The employer must base it on objective, gender-neutral criteria and communicate it in time for informed negotiations.
The EU text allows several methods: the information may appear in the job advert, be provided before the interview or be communicated another way that permits informed negotiation. It is therefore too broad to claim that the directive requires every employer to publish the salary in every advert. Romanian law may impose more specific requirements, but L445/2026 remained a bill when this article was written.
The same article says employers must not ask candidates for their pay history in current or previous employment relationships. Negotiation should start with the role on offer and its criteria, without allowing previous pay to determine the next offer.
Employers must be able to explain pay criteria
Article 6 of the directive requires workers to have easy access to the criteria used to determine pay, pay levels and pay progression. The criteria must be objective and gender-neutral. Under paragraph 2, Member States may exempt employers with fewer than 50 workers only from the pay-progression part.
This rule does not require identical salaries for everyone with a similar job title. Objective differences may include responsibility, relevant skills, effort and working conditions. Employers must apply and explain the same criteria without sex discrimination.
Employees will be able to request averages, not a colleague's named salary
Article 7 provides for a written request covering two types of information:
- the employee's own pay level;
- average pay levels, broken down by sex, for categories of workers doing the same work or work of equal value.
The employer must provide the information within a reasonable period of no more than two months after the request. Workers must receive annual information about this right and the necessary steps. If the response is incomplete or inaccurate, the directive allows a request for reasonable clarification and a substantiated reply.
This mechanism does not automatically disclose a colleague's named salary. The directive uses a worker's own level and averages for comparable categories, while Article 12 allows states to restrict access where data would disclose an identifiable person's pay directly or indirectly.
Reporting begins in stages according to workforce size
Article 9's reporting duty covers pay differences between women and men, including variable components and differences by worker category. The directive sets this minimum timetable:
| Number of workers | First report | Later frequency |
|---|---|---|
| At least 250 | 7 June 2027 | Every year |
| 150-249 | 7 June 2027 | Every three years |
| 100-149 | 7 June 2031 | Every three years |
| Fewer than 100 | Voluntary under the directive; national law may require reporting | Depends on national law |
The 2027 reports cover the preceding calendar year. This describes the data period required by the directive. It does not by itself prove that penalties under a future Romanian law will apply retroactively to 2026; the national law's final form and application date must be checked after publication.
The 5% threshold is not a finding of individual discrimination
Article 10 contains the 5% threshold for a joint pay assessment. An employer subject to reporting must conduct the assessment with worker representatives only when all three conditions are met:
- reporting shows a difference of at least 5% between the average pay levels of women and men in a worker category;
- the employer has not justified the difference using objective, gender-neutral criteria;
- the unjustified difference has not been remedied within six months of reporting.
A 5% difference between two people's salaries does not automatically prove discrimination. The threshold concerns a category average, employer reporting and the trigger for a joint assessment under the conditions above. An individual case requires analysis of the work compared, pay criteria and relevant evidence.
A range of 6,000-8,000 lei gross means 3,523-4,680 lei net in this example
We added this tax example in the 4 August 2026 update using the rules applicable in August. Both endpoints assume a full-time employee whose main job is with that employer, with no dependants, eligible children, meal vouchers, income-tax exemption or relief for employees under 26.
Lower endpoint
6,000 lei gross
3,523 lei net
- Employee taxes
- 2,477 lei
- Employer CAM
- 135 lei
- Company cost
- 6,135 lei
Upper endpoint
8,000 lei gross
4,680 lei net
- Employee taxes
- 3,320 lei
- Employer CAM
- 180 lei
- Company cost
- 8,180 lei
Amounts are rounded to the nearest leu. Benefits and variable pay are excluded.
At the lower endpoint, employee taxes total 2,477 lei and net salary is 3,523 lei. At 8,000 lei gross, employee taxes reach 3,320 lei and net salary is 4,680 lei. In this scenario, a 2,000 lei gross difference produces a 1,157 lei net difference.
Clarify an offer range before comparing it: is it gross or net, does it include a bonus, and are benefits separate? Test other endpoints with the salary-range mini-calculator. Then check each amount in the gross-to-net salary calculator, or find the gross salary for a target with the net-to-gross calculator. The methodology page explains the rounding and rules.
What to check next
We will update this article when L445/2026 receives committee reports, passes a chamber, is adopted, promulgated or published in Romania's Official Gazette. Until then, check the date of material shared online and the source of every claim about pay transparency.
We checked the legal sources and parliamentary status on 4 August 2026: Directive (EU) 2023/970, the Romanian Senate file for L445/2026, and the Labour Code published by Romania's Legislative Portal. This article explains the general state of the rules and does not replace legal advice on an individual situation.