Pay transparency rules in Lithuania
Yes. Lithuania is one of the few EU countries that met the deadline. Parliament adopted the transposing Labour Code amendments on 21 May 2026, and the core rules took effect on 7 June 2026. Pay transparency in recruitment, the ban on asking about salary history, and the right to pay information apply now; centralised gender pay reporting through the state social-insurance system (SoDRA) and the duty to align pay systems are phased in over 2026 and 2027.
The EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) is a European law designed to close the gender pay gap by making pay more open and easier to challenge. It gives job applicants the right to know the pay or pay range before an interview, bans employers from asking about salary history, and lets staff request information on what they and colleagues doing equal work are paid, broken down by sex. Larger employers must report their gender pay gap to authorities, and where a gap of 5% or more in any group of comparable jobs cannot be justified on objective, gender-neutral grounds, they must carry out a joint pay assessment with worker representatives and fix it. Every EU member state had to write these rules into national law by 7 June 2026. Lithuania has done so through amendments to its Labour Code.
What changes for employers in Lithuania
From 7 June 2026 you must run pay on transparent, gender-neutral criteria and be ready to prove it.
Lithuania's transposing law amends a wide set of Labour Code articles. The core duties apply from 7 June 2026: you must set and group jobs using objective criteria (at least skills, effort, responsibility and working conditions), you cannot ask candidates about their pay history, and employees gain a right to information about their own pay and the gender-split averages for their job category. Two duties are phased: employers are expected to align pay structures by the end of 2026, and a centralised reporting flow through the state social-insurance fund (SoDRA) is built out over 2026-2027. Lithuania has 'gold-plated' the Directive: the gender-neutral pay-structure duty applies to employers of all sizes, not just large ones, and reporting runs through a central state channel rather than each employer publishing separately.
Pay in job ads, no salary-history questions
Job ads must show the pay or pay range, and you may not ask candidates what they earn or earned elsewhere.
Lithuania has required a salary or salary range in job advertisements since 2019, so this part is not new in practice; the new law reinforces it and ties it to the Directive. Candidates must be able to see the starting pay or range before they are interviewed, and where pay is set by a collective agreement the relevant terms must be shared before negotiations. The amended Article 41 explicitly bars employers from asking applicants (or existing staff) about their current or previous earnings. Recruitment and interview processes must be kept free of pay-history questions, and pay information given to candidates must be accurate and gender-neutral.
Right to pay information and the gender pay gap
Staff can ask in writing for their pay data and same-job gender averages; you must reply within about a month.
Employees may request written information on their own pay (annual and average hourly) and the average pay of colleagues doing the same or equal-value work, split by sex. Employers must respond within one month and must remind staff of this right each year. Larger employers also feed pay, working-time and job-category data to SoDRA, which compiles gender pay gap figures. Reporting obligations attach to employers with 100 or more insured staff; those with 250 or more report annually and those with 100-249 report less frequently (every three years under the Directive's pattern). The exact first-report dates and the precise start of monthly SoDRA submissions differ between commentators and should be confirmed before you rely on a specific date.
Joint pay assessment and penalties
An unexplained gap of 5% or more triggers a joint pay assessment; fines run into the thousands of euros.
If reporting shows a gender pay gap of 5% or more in any category of comparable jobs that cannot be justified on objective, gender-neutral grounds and is not fixed within six months, the employer must carry out a joint pay assessment with worker representatives and take corrective action. Enforcement sits with the State Labour Inspectorate. Administrative fines for breaching pay-related and transparency duties are reported in the region of EUR 400 to EUR 6,000 (with some sources citing a EUR 460 lower band for certain breaches). Employees can also recover unpaid wages and claim compensation for material and non-material damage, with the burden of proof shifting to the employer in equal-pay disputes.
At a glance
| Pay shown in job ads | Yes - salary or range required in job ads (rule since 2019, reinforced) |
|---|---|
| Salary-history question banned | Yes - cannot ask candidates about current or past pay (Art. 41) |
| Gender pay-gap reporting from | 100+ insured staff (250+ annual; 100-249 less often) |
| First report due | 1 March 2028 (150+); 1 March 2031 (100-149) |
| Penalties | EUR 400 to 6,000 (reporting); EUR 460 to 1,400 (representatives) |
Key figures
| Detail | Value |
|---|---|
| Transposition status | In force - Labour Code amendments adopted 21 May 2026, main provisions effective 7 June 2026 (source) |
| Date adopted by parliament | 21 May 2026 (Seimas) (source) |
| Main entry into force | 7 June 2026 (source) |
| Pay in job ads | Salary or salary range required in job advertisements (since 2019, reinforced by the new law) (source) |
| Salary-history ban | Employers may not ask applicants about current or previous pay (amended Article 41) (source) |
| Right to pay information - response time | Within 1 month of an employee's written request (source) |
| Reporting threshold | 100+ insured staff; 250+ report annually, 100-249 less frequently (every 3 years) (source) |
| Reporting channel | Centralised via the State Social Insurance Fund Board (SoDRA); monthly data submissions (source) |
| First gender pay gap report due | 150+ insured persons: first indicators due 1 March 2028 (for 2027 data), public disclosure by 1 April 2028; 100-149: by 1 March 2031 (for 2030 data) (source) |
| Employer pay-system alignment deadline | 31 December 2026 (source) |
| SoDRA monthly submissions start | 1 January 2027 (source) |
| Joint pay assessment trigger | Unjustified gender pay gap of 5% or more not corrected within 6 months (source) |
| Penalties | Administrative fines EUR 400 to 6,000 for pay-transparency and reporting violations; a separate EUR 460 to 1,400 band applies to fines on individual employer representatives; plus recovery of unpaid wages (source) |
Frequently asked questions
Has Lithuania actually passed the law, or is it still a draft?
It is passed and in force. The Seimas adopted the transposing Labour Code amendments on 21 May 2026 and the main provisions took effect on 7 June 2026, the EU deadline. Lithuania was one of only a handful of member states to meet the deadline.
Do we have to put a salary in our job adverts?
Yes. A salary figure or range must appear in job advertisements. This has been a requirement in Lithuania since 2019 and is now tied to the Directive. You also cannot ask candidates what they currently earn or earned in a previous job.
Which employers have to report their gender pay gap?
Reporting attaches to employers with 100 or more insured staff. Those with 250 or more report annually; those with 100-249 report less frequently (every three years under the Directive's pattern). In Lithuania this runs through the state social-insurance fund, SoDRA, rather than each employer publishing separately. Smaller employers can participate voluntarily.
What triggers a joint pay assessment?
A gender pay gap of 5% or more in any group of comparable jobs that you cannot justify on objective, gender-neutral grounds and do not fix within six months. That triggers a joint pay assessment with worker representatives and a duty to correct the gap.
If Teamed is the Employer of Record, who carries these duties?
Teamed does, as the legal employer in Lithuania. We hold the employment contract, so the salary-range disclosure, the salary-history ban, responses to pay-information requests, and any SoDRA reporting and joint pay assessment sit with us. We work with you so that pay decisions for your team member are set on transparent, gender-neutral criteria you can stand behind.
Pay transparency is moving at different speeds across the EU. When Teamed is your legal employer in Lithuania, these duties sit with us: compliant pay ranges, the salary-history rule, employee pay-information requests, and reporting where it applies. We track the law as it changes so your hiring stays compliant.
