The EU Pay Transparency Directive
Make the pay transparency requirements manageable.
Why now
The requirements to explain pay are getting stricter
Today: the Discrimination Act
- Every year
- All employers map and analyse pay.
- From 10 employees
- The pay mapping must be documented in writing.
- In cooperation
- The employer cooperates with the employees, normally through the union.
Coming: the EU directive
- The pay gap is reported
- From 100 employees, the pay gap between women and men is reported.
- A 5% threshold
- An unexplained gap in a group requires a joint pay assessment.
- Right to information
- Employees can request pay levels for comparable work, by gender.
Whenever the directive becomes Swedish law, the basis is the same: pay must be explainable by objective, gender-neutral criteria.
Sources: the Swedish Discrimination Act, chapter 3; Directive (EU) 2023/970 (not yet transposed into Swedish law).
The situation in Sweden
The EU Pay Transparency Directive sets a common European direction. The Swedish implementation and the detailed requirements are still taking shape. At the same time, Swedish employers have long been responsible for preventive work against pay discrimination, including through pay mapping.
So the essentials can be prepared now: a clear basis for how roles are evaluated, compared and followed up.
Last updated: September 2026
The aim is not for every salary to be the same.
From requirement to practice
Every requirement has its counterpart in blueprnt
So the work does not stop at policies, spreadsheets or individual judgements.
01 · You need
Shared, gender-neutral criteria
You need to show which objective criteria are used to evaluate roles and justify pay.
blueprnt provides
A configured evaluation framework
Your criteria are gathered in a guided structure that is applied consistently across the organisation's roles.
02 · You need
A basis for the right comparisons
You need to identify equal work and work of equal value, even when roles sit in different functions or carry different titles.
blueprnt provides
Clear comparison groups
Roles are evaluated on the same basis, so equal work and work of equal value can be identified beyond title and department.
03 · You need
Assessments that can be traced
You need to document how roles were evaluated, which comparisons were made and what the decisions rest on.
blueprnt provides
A traceable basis for decisions
Evaluations, levels, comments and positions are gathered in one place and can be traced back.
04 · You need
A path from difference to action
You need to investigate pay differences, document explanations and follow up agreed actions over time.
blueprnt provides
Connected analysis and follow-up
Pay differences, explanations, actions and ownership stay together and can be followed from one pay mapping to the next.
Structure comes before the report
Transparency is not created when the figures are reported, but when the basis for the decisions is built.
A shared way of working makes it easier to answer which roles are compared, why they are compared and how identified pay differences are handled.
What blueprnt supports
blueprnt is a system for structure, method and documentation in the work on job architecture, pay mapping and pay transparency. blueprnt does not replace a legal, employment-law or local assessment of which requirements apply in the individual case.
Want to build a clear basis for pay transparency?
See how blueprnt helps you evaluate roles on the same basis, strengthen your pay mapping and build a basis that holds over time.
Or email us at hello@blueprnt.se