By Don Lustenberger
BLOG OVERVIEW: Malta has transposed the EU Pay Transparency Directive (2023/970) through the Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 173 of 2026), becoming one of only four Member States alongside Italy, Lithuania, and Slovakia to meet the June 7, 2026 deadline. Effective immediately for both public and private employers, the regulations introduce some of the EU's most demanding requirements. Workers must receive pay information within eight days of request, far faster than the Directive's two-month maximum, and employers with 25 or more workers must document pay-setting and progression criteria internally. Gender pay gap reporting thresholds, timelines, and the 5% justification trigger track the Directive, while enforcement breaks from the norm: Malta relies on criminal penalties of €2,500 to €7,000 rather than administrative fines. Pay gaps connected to gender and intersectional discrimination carry the steepest exposure.
On June 5, 2026, Malta joined Slovakia, Lithuania, and Italy in becoming the only four EU Member States to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive (the Directive) by the June 7, 2026, deadline. Malta’s Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations, 2026 (L.N. 173 of 2026), made under the Employment and Industrial Relations Act (Cap. 452), applies to both public and private employers.
Of note, Malta’s transposition gives employers eight days to respond to workers’ right to information requests, which is much less time than the two-month floor set by the Directive (regulation 6(2)). Unfulfilled requests may be resubmitted by a workers’ representative or union within 12 days, and thereafter through the Equality Body. Employers who fail to provide accurate and complete information within 45 days of the initial request are subject to criminal exposure.
With respect to pay transparency for applicants, Malta requires employers to provide information about initial pay or pay ranges “prior to the conclusion of the recruitment process” (regulation 4(1)). Though this may occur after an interview, it appears consistent with the Directive’s “prior to the interview or otherwise” wording (Article 5(1)). And while Malta exempts employers with fewer than 50 workers from making available to workers their criteria for pay progression (consistent with the Directive), employers with 25 or more workers must document pay setting and pay progression criteria internally (regulation 5(2)).
When it comes to gender pay gap reporting, employer headcount thresholds and timelines are wholly consistent with the Directive, as is the lack of specificity around defining worker categories (i.e., “workers performing the same work or work of equal value”; regulation 2). Required reporting content also mirrors the Directive (regulation 9(1)), and gaps of 5% or greater must be justified or remediated within six months, otherwise a joint pay assessment is triggered (regulation 10), which is also consistent with the Directive. Regulation 3(2) names performance and competence among a non-exhaustive list of factors that can be used to justify differences in pay.
Also noteworthy, ministries and departments within Malta’s public sector are grouped as a single source for determining worker pay, whereas other public bodies are deemed separate (regulation 8(3)), a distinction that affects how widely pay must be compared across related entities. Additionally, collective agreements are deemed compliant for their present term (regulation 23). And where a pay discrimination claim reaches a Tribunal without workers having been categorized on the basis of the Directive’s four factors of skills, effort, responsibility, and working conditions, the Tribunal will appoint an expert to categorize workers for the employer.
Lastly, Malta enforces these obligations through criminal penalties rather than administrative fines. Violations carry a fine of €2,500 to €5,000 on conviction, rising to €5,000 to €7,000 where the breach is connected to gender and intersectional discrimination, with repeat infringements pushed to the higher end (regulation 20). The Directive requires only that penalties be effective, proportionate, and dissuasive, so the criminal route is a national choice.
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