New criteria for equal pay for men and women have been established. Despite significant advances in the labor market in recent years, the IBGE still points to disparities in women’s pay.
According to the institute, women work on average three hours a week more than men and have a higher level of education, but receive 22% less pay.
This pay gap increases according to the position held. Women in leadership positions, for example, are paid around 34% less than men.
Faced with this scenario, although a series of rules aimed at gender equality are already provided for in the CLT, Law No. 14.611/2023 was sanctioned this year, regulated by Decree No. 11.795/2023 and complemented by Ordinance No. 3.714/2023 of the Ministry of Labor and Employment.
The law sets out the new criteria for equal pay for men and women. Among the novelties and changes to the CLT, we highlight:
- Establishment of a fine corresponding to ten times the salary owed to the person discriminated against;
- Creation of wage transparency mechanisms;
- Enforcement against wage discrimination;
- Providing specific channels for reporting wage discrimination;
- Promoting and implementing diversity and inclusion programs in the workplace;
- Encouraging the training and education of women so that they can enter, remain in and move up in the job market in the same way as men.
The Wage Transparency Report was also established, making it compulsory for companies with 100 or more employees to publish their wages and salaries every six months, under penalty of a fine.
The report will be drawn up by the Ministry of Labor and Employment based on the information provided by companies in e-Social and the complementary information that will be collected in the “Equal Pay and Remuneration Criteria” tab to be implemented on the Emprega Brasil Portal.
The report must be published by the Ministry of Labor and Employment through the platform of the Labor Statistics Dissemination Program (PDET), in March and September of each year, and by the companies themselves, on their websites, social networks or similar tools, always in a visible place, in order to ensure wide dissemination to their employees and the general public.
It is worth noting that the data and information contained in the report must be anonymized and comply with the criteria of Law No. 13,709/2018 (LGPD).
Following publication, if unequal pay is found, employers will have 90 days to draw up an action plan to mitigate unequal pay and remuneration criteria between men and women.
Failure to comply with the measures could result in an administrative fine of up to 3% of the company’s payroll, limited to one hundred minimum wages.
Companies will need to adapt in order to prevent inspections and possible fines, as well as investigations by the Labor Prosecutor’s Office and labor lawsuits.
As soon as the data is presented, there may be questions about the regularity and adequacy of the norm resulting from gender equality in positions and salaries. It is essential that companies review their positions and salaries, job descriptions, evaluation methods and promotions in order to map potential labor risks.
It is undeniable that the measures implemented are crucial steps towards achieving gender equality in the labor market, combating discrimination and promoting important socio-economic benefits for the community.
If you have any questions on the subject, our labor team is available to answer them.
