As of 7 June 2026, Legislative Decree No. 96/2026 is fully in force. It also introduces into the Italian legal system a structured framework on pay transparency, with the aim of strengthening the principle of equal pay between men and women for equal work or work of equal value.
The scope of the reform is significant, as it does not merely restate existing principles but has a concrete impact on how remuneration is determined, managed, and communicated within organisations, imposing new information obligations while, at the same time, granting workers more effective monitoring tools.
One of the most impactful aspects concerns the recruitment phase. Employers are now required to disclose, prior to hiring, the initial pay or the relevant pay range and, at the same time, are no longer allowed to request information on candidates’ salary history. This measure is designed to prevent the consolidation over time of any existing pay disparities and to make the negotiation process more transparent and based on objective criteria.
Transparency, however, is not limited to the pre-employment phase. During the employment relationship, companies are required to make accessible the criteria used to determine remuneration, pay progression, and career advancement, which must be based on gender-neutral parameters. In this context, workers are granted the right to obtain information on average pay levels, disaggregated by gender, relating to comparable categories, in order to verify the possible existence of unjustified disparities.
The Legislative Decree also introduces numerous additional obligations, including, in particular, the requirement of gender pay gap reporting for companies with at least 100 employees, as well as a significant strengthening of enforcement mechanisms through the introduction of a sanctions regime and more effective compliance tools.
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