By June 7, 2026, Croatia must incorporate the EU Directive on strengthening the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women for equal work or work of equal value into national legislation. From that date, the equal principles will apply to organizations employing more than 250 workers. Exactly one year later, on June 7, 2027, this obligation will also apply to organizations employing between 150 and 249 workers, while those employing between 100 and 150 workers must submit their first report by June 7, 2031, at the latest. The last two categories will be required to submit further reports every three years.
Employer Obligations
The Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy states that Croatia has been even better than the EU average in recent years, as in 2020, the pay gap between men and women was 11.2 percent (in favor of men), the following year it was 11.1 percent, and in 2022, this gap slightly increased to 12.5 percent, but we are still above the average. For example, in 2020, the pay gap in Germany was 18.3 percent, and in Austria, it was 18.9 percent. Now the principle of equality will have to be regulated, and the Ministry says that working groups have not yet been formed since these are legislative obligations in 2026. However, time is running out for employers. Among future obligations, they will have to transparently display gross salaries and gross hourly rates, which must be in written form and publicly available, both before hiring and throughout the duration of the employment relationship. They will have to provide detailed information on the criteria for determining salary levels, pay grades, and criteria for salary increases, and states can extend this obligation to all employers. Furthermore, they will have to regulate the procedure in which workers can exercise their right to information about salaries, and they will no longer be prohibited from disclosing their salaries.
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12.5 percent higher salary was, on average, received by men compared to women in Croatia in 2022, which, according to data provided by the Ministry of Labour, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, is better than the EU average
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Employers will also have to report to workers and the state body responsible for monitoring pay equality about the pay gap. If a gap greater than five percent is identified, and the employer cannot justify it with objective and gender-neutral criteria, or if they do not reduce the pay gap below five percent within six months of preparing these reports, they will be required to conduct a ‘joint pay assessment’ procedure in cooperation with a worker representative. Member states are encouraged to cooperate with the pay equality monitoring body and the labor inspectorate.
Without Gender Discrimination
At first glance, it seems that the obligation to report on salaries and the implementation of the ‘joint pay assessment’ procedure requires not only additional administrative burdens and costs for employers but also implies additional obligations for workers. We asked some large domestic corporations what they think about all this, but it seems that it should not be too much of a burden. Generally, they all claim that they already implement a pay policy without gender discrimination, using skills, knowledge, and job positions of their workers as criteria. For example, in Pliva, out of 3,100 employees, 58 percent are women, who occupy 75 percent of managerial positions.
– Pliva’s human resources experts are already conducting various preparatory actions divided into five basic categories. Data and current status are being collected and analyzed for a deeper understanding of our company’s position concerning the set requirements. Communication and training for all participants in the process are also being planned, as well as structuring supervision and reporting – they say at Pliva.
In Podravka’s management, 40 percent are women, and their share in executive functions last year was 36 percent, an increase from 33 percent the year before. Additionally, the share of women in positions requiring higher education last year was 59 percent compared to 56 percent the year before. Overall, 47 percent of women are in the Koprivnica company, but they are also interested in the pay gap data, which is lower than Croatia’s. Thus, in 2022, the gender pay gap was 3.1 percent, and in 2023, it decreased to 2.6 percent, thus below five percent, as mandated by the European directive.
– Podravka introduced a new, fairer pay system last year, which involved many activities, from a complete analysis of job positions, new job systematization, new job descriptions to defining a new base salary for nearly twenty job positions with more than 1,100 executors. This has certainly contributed to reducing the gender pay gap – they say.
Team for Equality, Fairness, and Inclusion
In Atlantic Group, men might be upset (just to make a joke), because according to the latest analysis from 2023, women have an average of 2.54 percent higher earnings than them, which further confirms that the company policy is not just dead letters on paper but a practice in its life and work.
– We are proud of our commitment to gender equality and equal opportunities for all employees. Hiring and contracting conditions are defined according to job systematization and qualifications required for a specific job, regardless of the gender characteristics of candidates or employees. Our statistics confirm the success of these practices, with a ratio of Atlantic Group employees of approximately 50 to 50 percent women and men, both in the overall structure and in managerial positions – says the director of human resources and culture at Atlantic Group, Mojca Domiter.
In INA Group, they have a certified team responsible for equality, fairness, and inclusion, and the entire human resources team is very well aware of the importance of this topic. They remind that several INA Group companies hold the Mamforce standard.
– This confirms that our company is a good place to work for all mothers and women. Additionally, at the end of 2023, we also became holders of the Equal Pay certificate, which confirms that the pay differences in INA are less than the allowed five percent, as stipulated by the European directive – they state.
Depending on Changes in the Law
Konzum adopted a diversity, fairness, and inclusion policy last year, which was also applied by Fortenova Group in the same year. The policy has three main pillars – gender equality, inclusivity, and employee well-being – which includes the right to equal pay. Kaufland already clearly states the gross salary in job advertisements for certain positions, thus confirming its image as a fair and transparent employer, as evidenced by the Equal Pay certificate. Of about 3,400 employees, 71 percent are women, and they also hold 51 percent of managerial positions.
– Since we have equal pay for all, we do not expect a significant administrative burden, but this will, of course, depend on changes in the law – they say at Kaufland.
At Croatian Post, where they have conducted job systematization, they do not see additional tasks and challenges for the human resources department.
– It should certainly be clearly stipulated how employers are obliged to inform workers every year about their right to receive information. At the state level, it would be good to provide a tool that will ensure employers can deliver information without significant administrative burden and provide them with technical assistance and training to help them comply with the Directive’s requirements – they state.
Only Transparently
The director of Končar’s Human Resources Sector, Damir Sertić, says that the company welcomes any legislative framework that mandates better working conditions and greater equality in pay and that it does not mean a significant change for them, as it has long been part of their business policy. Internal regulations and the Collective Agreement enable successful and comparative assessment of the value of workers’ work based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, and the criteria for determining salary levels for individual job positions or salary ranges within a specific job are exclusively neutral (skills, commitment, responsibility, and working conditions, and, if necessary, all other factors relevant to a specific job).
– Regarding the transparency of actions related to salaries, Končar strives to maintain complete transparency, which also includes transparency of salary before hiring and throughout the duration of the employment relationship. Transparency of salaries before hiring is recognized as an important element in eliminating discrimination regarding earnings, which is why job candidates are provided with information about the starting salary, the exact salary range, and specific criteria that need to be met for salary advancement – says Sertić.
Recently, the company adopted the Končar Group Business Strategy until 2030, which, along with the Sustainable Development Strategy, unequivocally prioritizes the issue of gender equality in working conditions among its core determinants.
– Therefore, we can objectively say that we are already well prepared for the application of this European directive in national legislation and that such legal changes will not pose significant administrative challenges for the Končar Group.
They told us much more in the mentioned companies, but unfortunately, there was no more space. We can say that what we heard is encouraging and that at least larger companies in Croatia should not have problems fulfilling the obligations set by the future regulations on gender equality in pay.
