Does the pay transparency directive now apply to the public sector?

Public sector may already be bound, private employers not yet

The pay transparency directive may already apply in part to the public sector and semi-public sector, even though the Dutch implementing law has not yet been adopted. The directive's transposition deadline was 7 June 2026 and has since passed. Once that date has passed, the state is subject to a different principle than private parties: a directive can, under certain conditions, have direct effect against the public sector, because the public sector is the party that should have transposed the directive. This therefore affects ministries, municipalities, provinces, independent administrative bodies and institutions that fall under the public sector or are affiliated with it.

For private employers, the situation is different. The Act implementing the pay transparency directive (bill 36949) is still under consideration in the House of Representatives; the plenary debate and vote still need to take place, and the Senate must also express its position. As long as that law does not exist, a directive does not have direct effect between a private employer and an employee. For most companies in the Netherlands, the obligations from the directive therefore do not yet apply, even though the transposition period itself has already expired.

The legal basis: article 2 and bill 36949

Article 1 and article 2 of directive (EU) 2023/970 determine the subject matter and scope: the directive applies to employers in both the public and private sectors, with no exception for the public sector. The fact that the transposition deadline of 7 June 2026 has passed while the Dutch implementing law is still before parliament is established in bill 36949: since then, courts should interpret national law in a manner consistent with the directive, and employers in the public and semi-public sector can already be directly bound by the directive, whereas the directive does not have direct effect between a private employer and an employee.