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International: HR Trend Watch – Closing the gap

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In brief

Closing the Gap: The EU Pay Transparency Directive 

As more companies embrace inclusion and diversity as a board level priority and take progressive steps to build a more inclusive workforce we are seeing an evolution in equal pay laws across the globe as  lawmakers respond to the need to close the diversity gap.

Most recently, the European Commission has proposed a directive aimed at requiring pay transparency, which, if passed, would affect each of its 27 member states. We outline the key proposals and their impact on European employers below and highlight additional recent global developments in equal pay.

European Union: Commission proposes pay transparency rules to secure equal pay

The EU Commission has proposed a directive that would reinforce the entitlement to equal pay for men and women for the same work, or work of equal value, including by giving employees the right to comparative pay information and by requiring gender pay gap reporting for employers with 250+ employees, amongst other measures. Some EU member states already have aspects of these rules, while others do not, meaning that the rules could be a significant additional compliance burden for some organizations. The rules, if adopted, would be unlikely to come into force before late 2024.

For more information on this development, see our latest alert here.

Global equal pay developments

 EU   EBA consults on guidelines on sound remuneration policies
 Middle East  Labour law updates in the GCC promoting gender equality – Ensure your current salary practices are compliant
 Spain  The New Provisions Governing Equality Plans, Transparency and Equal Pay
 UK  Extension to gender pay gap reporting deadline
New guidance published on gender pay gap reporting requirements
 US  US pay equity and transparency developments what you need to know going into 2021
 New pay data reporting obligations for California employers
 Importance of paying attention to pay equity during COVID-19
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Michael has more than 15 years' experience as an employment law and industrial relations lawyer, acting for clients in a range of industries, including banking and finance, insurance, health and pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, real estate, media and entertainment, information technology and professional services. He has developed and published compliance programs and best practice policies locally and within Asia Pacific. He is the author and a developer of CCH’s Employment Contracts Manager, a software package that builds and tailors smart employment contracts. He has also authored a large number of chapters in every edition of CCH’s Australian Master Human Resources Guide. Articles written by Michael on employment law topics have appeared in the Melbourne University Law Review, CFO Magazine, Human Capital, Lawyers Weekly, Human Resources, and CCH’s Employment Law Bulletin. He has also spoken at events arranged by the College of Law, Macquarie Graduate School of Management, and various professional associations. He wrote and produced “Dismissal Impossible,” a training video on unfair dismissal and sexual harassment, for the Australian Stock Exchange. Michael regularly conducts employment-related litigation before State and Federal courts and industrial tribunals at an original and appellate level.

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Dr. Bernhard Trappehl chairs the EMEA Employment Practice Group and manages relationships with several of the Firm’s largest clients. He served as managing partner of the Firm’s German/Austrian offices between 2007 and 2012. He frequently speaks at seminars and provides in-house trainings on a wide range of employment matters, and regularly contributes to publications, books, newspapers and law journals.

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Tatiana Garces Carvajal is a lawyer and a specialist in Labor Law, graduated from Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, with post-graduate studies in Commercial Law from Universidad de los Andes. She has over 30 years of experience advising major clients on matters related to individual and collective Labor Law. For three years, she worked at Alcalis de Colombia, occupying the positions of Director in charge of the HR Department, head of the Legal Division of the Betania Plant, and as a Lawyer in the Legal Department. Previously, she worked as Head of the Personnel Department at AGA Ltda., and as a paralegal at the law firm Esguerra, Gamba, Barrera y Arriaga Asociados. In addition to her experience as professor, lecturer, author of several publications and arbitrator in labor collective disputes, she served as technical adviser to the employers’ delegate for Colombia at the 98th Session of the International Labor Organization in Geneva (2015). She also participated at the 93rd Conference (2009). Currently, Tatiana is a member of the Javeriana University Law School Council representing graduates from Universidad Javeriana. She joined Baker McKenzie Bogotá office in 1992 as an Associate in the Labor Law department and was appointed partner on July 1st, 2000. In 2017 she was appointed as Managing Partner for Baker McKenzie Bogotá office, which made her the first woman in Colombia to hold this position in a law firm. In addition to this position, she led the Employment and Compensation group in Latin America, until June of 2021. In the exercise of these functions, Tatiana was part of the Steering Committee of the Global Employment and Compensation Group, as well as of the Global Policy Committee of Baker McKenzie. Currently, she is part of the Employment and Compensation Steering Committee for Latin America, leads the Bogotá Employment & Compensation practice and as a member at large is part of the Global Employment & Compensation Steering Committee of Baker McKenzie.

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Susan Eandi is the Chair of Baker McKenzie's North America Employment and Compensation Practice Group, head of the Global Employment and Labor Law Practice for North America, and a member of the North America Regional Management Council. She also serves on the Firm's Antiracism Legal Impact Board.
Susan speaks regularly for organizations including ACC, Tech GC, Silicon Valley AGC and World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Susan publishes extensively in various external legal publications in addition to handbooks/magazines published by the Firm.
Susan is a recognized leader in employment law by International Employment Lawyer, The Daily Journal, Legal 500 PLC and is a Chambers-ranked attorney.

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George practices trial and appellate litigation. He has been lead counsel before various administrative tribunals and the courts throughout the country, including the Supreme Court of Canada. He represents defendants in high-profile and reputation threatening cases, such as large-stakes labour litigation, fraud and trade secrets litigation, partnership disputes, multimillion dollar employment class-actions, large-issue employment litigation, and prominent administrative and public law issues, including those involving the Charter. George also advises Boards on business critical issues, including financial, regulatory, and executive level sensitive matters.

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