Slovakia’s 150-seat parliament has approved a new law aimed at narrowing the gender pay gap, with 123 of 137 MPs present voting in favour.
The bill was approved by the government in December 2025.
“This is a law we could have had years ago – I’ve been bringing it to parliament since 2017. In the end, though, it was the EU that forced our hand,” said Simona Petrik, an opposition MP from Progressive Slovakia.
The legislation will require employers to introduce transparent pay structures based on objective criteria such as responsibility, workload and working conditions, and to publish salary ranges in job adverts. Workers will gain the right to request information about their own pay and average earnings in comparable roles, with companies obliged to justify or address gaps of more than 5%.
According to Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Hlas), there will no longer be room for subjective salary decisions “based on personal preferences”.
The law also introduces the right to financial compensation in cases of pay discrimination and will be monitored by the Labour Ministry. Officials say women in Slovakia earn on average 16% less than men in similar roles, a gap the reform aims to reduce.
Larger employers will have to submit regular pay reports to the ministry – annually for employers with more than 250 employees and every three years for medium-sized employers – providing data to help monitor pay inequality.
Employers who breach the rules could face fines of up to EUR 100,000, while administrative failures such as not submitting reports may incur smaller penalties.
Some opposition parties – SaS and KDH – opposed the changes, citing concerns over increased administrative burdens on employers.
SaS MP Jana Bitto Ciganikova argued that employers typically chose between equally qualified candidates based on ability rather than gender, and suggested that disparities might instead stem from regulatory burdens linked to hiring women. She warned that additional obligations and sanctions, even if well intentioned, could prove counterproductive by discouraging employers from hiring women. Rather than imposing stricter rules, she said she would favour voluntary transparency and incentives for companies. Ciganikova also rejected measures such as quotas or additional leave provisions tied to gender-specific health issues, arguing that such policies risked stigmatising women in the workplace rather than improving equality.
The National Union of Employers (RUZ) also confirmed the concerns raised by the two opposition parties.
The law implements EU pay transparency rules and is due to come into force on June 7.
“The law has been adopted, but it still has gaps we have repeatedly pointed out,” said MP Petrik, whose amendments were rejected in the April 15 vote. (The Slovak Spectator)