The Pay Transparency Act, in force since July 2017, gives employees in Germany the right to find out what colleagues of the other sex earn for similar work. The information is not given automatically. The employee must ask for it in writing, and the right applies only in establishments with more than 200 employees. Surveys in 2018 and 2022 both found that about four percent of employees had made such a request.
An EU directive of 2023 moves this obligation to the employer. Employers must tell staff about the right every year and state pay ranges when they hire. The member states had until 7 June 2026 to adopt it. As of September 2026, Germany had not yet passed the law to implement it.