Employers can no longer ask for your salary history

Employers will no longer be allowed to ask job applicants how much they earned in previous jobs, under new equal pay transparency rules published this week by the government.

The Equal Pay Transparency and Reporting Regulations, 2026, published via legal notice, transpose an EU directive aimed at strengthening the right to equal pay between men and women doing the same work or work of equal value.

The rules apply to public and private employers and give workers new rights to obtain pay comparison information from their employer. Job applicants are also covered by transparency rules during recruitment.

Under the regulations, applicants must be given information about the starting pay or pay range for a role before recruitment is concluded. Where a collective agreement applies, they must also be given the relevant provisions.

Employers must also ensure that job adverts and job titles are gender-neutral and that recruitment processes do not undermine the right to equal pay.

The regulations define pay broadly, covering not only basic wages or salaries but also other variable remuneration, whether in cash or in kind.

Workers will have the right to ask their employer, in writing, for their own pay level and the average pay levels, broken down by sex, for workers doing the same work or work of equal value.

Employers must provide that information in writing within eight days. They must also inform workers every year that they have this right and explain how they can exercise it.

The law does not ban all pay differences between men and women. Employers may still pay workers differently if the distinction is based on objective and gender-neutral criteria, such as performance or competence. However, employers must have pay structures that ensure equal pay for equal work or work of equal value.

Larger employers will also be required to report gender pay gap data.

Employers with 250 workers or more must submit their first gender pay gap report by June 7, 2027, covering the 2026 calendar year. They will then have to report annually. Different reporting dates apply for smaller companies, and for employers with fewer than 100 workers reporting is voluntary.

An employer found to have gender pay gaps of over 5% in any category that cannot be explained using objective, gender-neutral criteria will have six months to remedy the issue.

The Department for Industrial and Employment Relations will act as the monitoring body in most cases. It will be responsible for collecting and publishing employer data in a format that allows comparisons between employers, sectors and regions in Malta.

For public officers appointed within the public service by the Public Service Commission, monitoring duties will be carried out by the People and Standards Division within the Office of the Prime Minister, or any entity that takes over its responsibilities.

The National Commission for the Promotion of Equality is designated as the equality body.

Workers are protected from victimisation if they exercise rights under the regulations or participate in proceedings over alleged breaches.

Those who suffer lost pay because of a breach of equal pay rights may take their case to the Industrial Tribunal and claim full lost pay as well as compensation. Lost pay includes back pay, bonuses and benefits in kind.

Breaches of the regulations are criminal offences, with fines ranging from €2,500 to €5,000, rising to a maximum of €7,500 in some cases.

The regulations also include a transitional carve-out for some seconded or supplied workers in parastatal or government entities where existing collective agreements remain in force.

In those cases, workers may be temporarily blocked from bringing proceedings over pay differences linked to the entity to which they were seconded or supplied. Once the relevant collective agreement expires, the regulations state that such workers will be entitled to the same pay and benefits as employees of the entity to which they are seconded or supplied.