PAY STRUCTURES AS A KEY TOOL FOR ENSURING PAY EQUALITY
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Abstract
This article examines the transformative potential of mandatory pay structures introduced by EU Directive 2023/970 on pay transparency, focusing on their role as enforcement mechanisms for equal pay principles. While equal pay obligations have long existed in Czech labour law under Section 110 of the Labour Code, their effective enforcement has been hampered by the absence of systematic approaches to pay determination. The directive’s Article 4 requirement for employers to establish pay structures represents a paradigmatic shift from reactive, complaint-based enforcement to proactive, systematic prevention of pay discrimination. Through a combined doctrinal-empirical methodology analyzing CJEU jurisprudence, comparative national experiences, and enforcement data, this article demonstrates how properly implemented pay structures can bridge the longstanding enforcement gap by requiring transparent, documented approaches to pay determination based on objective, gender-neutral criteria. The article argues that pay structures create positive feedback effects for equal pay enforcement by making discriminatory practices more visible, shifting evidentiary burdens, and enabling more effective collective enforcement mechanisms. However, successful implementation requires sophisticated understanding of how traditional job evaluation approaches may perpetuate indirect discrimination. The article concludes with a call for urgent completion of Czech transposition legislation to realize the directive’s potential for transforming equal pay from abstract principle to practical organizational reality.
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