Pay transparency in Ireland

The EU Pay Transparency Directive will have a significant impact on organisations as pay transparency increases and scrutiny shifts from pay levels to how pay decisions are explained and justified. Employees will be able to query how their pay compares against that of their peers completing work of equal value; prospective employees will be able to see pay ranges before they apply for roles; and organisations will need to justify or address pay gaps of 5% or more.

This legislation will have a huge impact on all organisations. To get ahead of this legislation organisations must understand what constitutes work of equal value within their organisation, where their real exposure is, which pay differences they can justify, and where legacy issues might surface once transparency increases.

Why pay transparency matters

The EU Pay Transparency Directive brings both significant risks and valuable opportunities for organisations:

Risks of non compliance
- Financial penalties, administrative fines and reputational damage
- Potential for uncapped employee compensation claims
- Poor employee satisfaction
- Operational disruption and increased administrative burden
- Industrial action
Potential challenges
- Unclear job architecture with no definition of “equal work”
- Pay issues and inconsistencies
- Outdated policies, processes and governance
- Poor data quality and lack of suitable reporting technologies
Opportunities
- Future-proofed talent and workforce strategies
- Increased trust, engagement, and stronger employer brand
- Improved operational efficiency through modernised pay structures
- Clean and organised workforce data

Our integrated pay transparency offering

KPMG is uniquely positioned as a multi-disciplinary firm to support clients on pay transparency. Our integrated approach is helping organisations understand their exposure, respond to new obligations and translate risk into opportunity.

KPMG Ireland brings together KPMG Consulting, KPMG Law, and Tax Transformation & Technology to deliver a truly holistic solution.

Job architecture
- Talent strategy advice, clarifying role structures, levels, and progression
- Best practice methodology to define equal work
- Building of transparent progression processes
Policy & process
- Reviewing, amending and drafting of internal policies and processes
- Designing and implementation of new regulatory processes
Governance & reporting
- Gender pay gap and broader Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting
- Pay transparency analysis and reporting
- Joint pay assessments
Technology & data
- Human Resources Information System (HRIS) transformation to support compliance
- Provision of proprietary tooling to support enhanced reporting
- Consistent, accurate reporting via data integrity
Project and change management
- Focus on comprehensive communications and engagement activities to embed the change
- Monitoring culture change and adoption using Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Effective project management to operationalise key processes in line with legislative timelines
Local legal advice
- Legal Privilege to protect analyses: lower risk of sensitive information disclosure to employees, unions, media or in litigation
- Mitigation of regulatory & reputational exposure - identification of potential discrimination risks & equal-pay claims

In summary, the introduction of the EU Pay Transparency Directive represents a pivotal moment for employers.

Those who take proactive steps now (strengthening job architecture, modernising pay governance, investing in high‑quality workforce data, and embedding a culture of transparency) will not only achieve compliance but gain a distinct competitive advantage.

KPMG Ireland and KPMG Law stand ready to guide organisations through this transformation, helping them turn regulatory change into a powerful driver of trust, fairness, and long‑term organisational resilience.