Spain Pay Transparency Law: EUPTD Transposition Status
Local term: transparencia retributiva
As of 28 September 2026: Spain published a draft Royal Decree amending Royal Decree 902/2020 for public consultation in August 2026, closing on 24 August 2026. Existing pay register and pay audit duties continue to apply.
Status snapshot
| Status | Draft published |
|---|---|
| National instrument | Draft Royal Decree amending Royal Decree 902/2020 on equal pay. |
| Official source | Draft Royal Decree (Ministry of Labour and Social Economy) |
Pay gap reporting required before the Directive
Pay register (registro retributivo)
| Who reports | All employers |
|---|---|
| How often | Kept up to date, at least annually |
| What is reported | Average and median pay by sex for each job group, category or level, broken down by pay element. Employers with 50+ employees must justify gaps of 25% or more |
| Published or internal | Internal. Available to employee representatives |
| Legal basis | Royal Decree 902/2020 |
Pay audit (auditoría retributiva)
| Who reports | Employers required to have an equality plan (50+ employees) |
|---|---|
| How often | For the life of the equality plan (up to four years) |
| What is reported | Job evaluation and diagnosis of pay by sex, with an action plan |
| Published or internal | Internal. Part of the registered equality plan |
| Legal basis | Royal Decree 902/2020 and Royal Decree 901/2020 |
When Directive (Article 9) pay gap reporting starts
Article 9 reporting covers seven indicators: the mean and median gender pay gap, the mean and median gap in variable pay, the proportion of women and men receiving variable pay, the proportion of women and men in each pay quartile, and the gender pay gap by category of workers.
Not yet legislated.
Things to work on now
- Priority for Spain. Keep your pay register and pay audit current: both already apply.
- Priority for Spain. The draft is expected to go beyond the Directive's minimum. Review it against your equality plan.
- Map the draft. Compare the published draft with your current practice and note where it goes further than the Directive.
- Job architecture. Build or review gender-neutral job evaluation so you can group roles into categories of workers doing work of equal value (Article 4). This is needed whatever the final text says.
- Pay ranges. Agree pay ranges for roles so you are ready for pre-employment disclosure (Article 5).
- Shadow reporting. Run a trial gender pay gap calculation on 2026 data using the Directive's Article 9 indicators, including by category of workers.
- Remediation budget. Model the cost of closing unexplained gaps of 5% or more, which would trigger a joint pay assessment (Article 10).
Legislative timeline
- 2020Royal Decree 902/2020 introduces pay registers and pay audits
- 4 August 2026Draft Royal Decree published for consultation
- 24 August 2026Consultation closes
Frequently asked questions
Has Spain transposed the EU Pay Transparency Directive?
Spain published a draft Royal Decree amending Royal Decree 902/2020 for public consultation in August 2026, closing on 24 August 2026. Existing pay register and pay audit duties continue to apply.
When does gender pay gap reporting start in Spain?
Some reporting already applies under national law: all employers keep a pay register by sex, and employers with 50+ employees carry out a pay audit as part of their equality plan. Reporting under the Directive (Article 9), including gaps by category of workers, is not yet legislated in Spain.
What should employers in Spain do now?
Keep your pay register and pay audit current: both already apply. The draft is expected to go beyond the Directive's minimum. Review it against your equality plan. Compare the published draft with your current practice and note where it goes further than the Directive.