The Commission’s new FAQs say employers must give job applicants expected pay before an interview, though not necessarily in the vacancy notice, and that the directive does not cover genuinely self-employed workers.
GDPR is the sharpest point of clarification: Brussels says the directive requires disclosure of average pay levels, not individual salaries, and payroll-data processing serves a public-interest equal-pay objective even where comparator groups are small.
The guidance also warns collective bargaining does not automatically make pay structures compliant, because equal-value assessments still must rest on gender-neutral criteria including skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions.
On pay calculations, employers should include all pay elements, including occupational-scheme contributions, while universal perks such as lunch vouchers or voluntary benefits available to everyone can be excluded.
The FAQs are not legally binding—only the EU Court of Justice can authoritatively interpret the law—as many member states have already missed the 7 June transposition deadline.