The Directive is considered EEA-relevant and is expected to be implemented into Norwegian law by 

. Reporting obligations will be introduced gradually:

 must report every three years, also from 

, with subsequent reports required every three years.

The Directive allows Member States to go beyond these minimum requirements. This means Norwegian authorities may decide to extend reporting duties to employers with fewer than 100 employees – for instance, down to 50 employees, in line with the current activity and reporting duty (ARP) under the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act.

Comparison with current Norwegian law requirements

Many Norwegian employers are already subject to the Activity and Reporting Duty 

(Norw: aktivitets- og redegjørelsesplikt, abbr.: ARP

) under the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act, which requires both public and private employers with more than 50 employees to actively promote equality and to report on these efforts in their annual reports. Unlike the Directive, the ARP covers several grounds of discrimination beyond gender. However, the ARP does not impose equally detailed requirements for transparency and reporting. Employers should therefore expect more comprehensive processes relating to pay reviews, employee access to information, and reporting.

The Directive introduces new obligations and strengthens several existing requirements under Norwegian law, including:

 Employers must disclose starting salaries or pay ranges in job postings and may no longer ask candidates about current or previous salary. The statement “

 Employees will have the right to request information about their own pay and the average pay levels, broken down by gender, for work of equal value. This extends current Norwegian rights, where employees must suspect discrimination before they can request pay information. Employers must also proactively provide information on pay-setting criteria and pay progression. To comply, employers will need to systematically define what constitutes equal work and work of equal value across the organisation.

 Employers with 100 employees or more will be required to regularly submit pay gap statistics directly to public authorities, with parts of this information made publicly available. For companies with more than 250 employees, the reporting requirements are stricter and must cover additional forms of remuneration. If reporting reveals a pay gap of more than 5% that cannot be explained by objective, gender-neutral criteria, the employer may be required to conduct a detailed pay audit and prepare an action plan in cooperation with employee representatives.

The Directive requires Member States to impose effective sanctions for non-compliance. These may include fines, liability for compensation, and exclusion from public procurement processes. Employees subjected to discrimination will be entitled to compensation, including back pay and damages for non-economic loss. The burden of proof will also shift: if pay gaps are revealed, it will be the employer’s responsibility to prove that the differences are justified and based on gender-neutral, objective factors.

Although the rules will not take effect until 2026 (with reporting obligations beginning in 2027), we recommend that employers begin preparations now:

Review current practices for pay setting and employee access to pay information – do they align with the upcoming requirements?

Evaluate recruitment processes – how will pay ranges be communicated, and how will interviews be conducted to ensure compliance?

Update employee handbooks and internal policies with the new rights and procedures.

Prepare for new reporting routines – particularly if the organisation has more than 100 employees. Consider how data will be collected, analysed, and quality assured.

Involve HR and employee representatives early – both to ensure ownership of the process and to be well prepared if significant pay gaps are identified.

The Directive will require adjustments for many employers, especially those without systematic processes for pay setting and documentation. At the same time, it also offers an opportunity: greater transparency can build trust, reduce conflict, and make your business more attractive.

The new EU Pay Transparency Directive – is your business ready?

The rating is described in the following way by IFLR: 

“The Rising Stars Awards Europe provides law and professional services firms recognition for the effort of their up and coming practitioners in the legal profession. A Rising Star is defined as an associate or of counsel (or a recently raised partner), with up to fifteen years professional experience, are under forty years old, and have been acting at a partner level. The awards cover both jurisdictional categories and practice area categories. Winners are judged on their professional accomplishments, advocacy and influence within their specialism between 01 January to 31 December of the preceding year, as well as peer review and referee commentary.” 

- I am truly honored to be ranked as one of three rising stars in Norway regardless of practice area, states Agathe Løwenborg. Its inspirational to see that the work our team does for our clients receive this kind of recognition. 

Agathe Løwenborg has been with our firm since 2010 and made partner in 2017. She is part of our market leading employment law department and primarily provides legal assistance to employers and employees in evaluations, negotiations and procedure regarding dismissals, restructuring and transfer of undertakings.

Agathe Løwenborg wins IFLR Rising Stars Award

Frode Martin Toftevåg

Steffen G. Rogstad

Norwegian employment regulation is constantly evolving — and becoming increasingly complex. Providing sound advice requires deep insight into both national developments shaped by social partners and government, and international obligations under EEA and public international law. Missteps can lead to missed opportunities, workplace issues, costly disputes and reputational harm.

The right advisors provide confidence — and tangible value. For over 30 years, Arntzen has been a market leader in employment and pensions law in Norway.

 in a lawsuit brought by its former General Counsel

 with redundancies and union negotiations with the Norwegian Union of Journalists

Areas of expertise

The sale of Edison Norge AS includes the oil fields Dvalin (10 %) and Nova (15 %), two development assets planned to start production in the near future. Dvalin is a subsea tie-back to Heidrun and will export natural gas through the Polarled pipeline, and Nova is a tie-back to the Gjøa platform. Both assets are low-emission development projects. More information about the transaction is available in the 

 on the transaction.

Arntzen de Besche acts for Edison in connection with the transaction. The core advisory team at Arntzen de Besche is led by Anders Rødland (E&P/M&A) and Jens Baumann Melberg (M&A/E&P), and also includes Rune Tjomsås Andersen (tax) and Frode Martin Toftevåg (employment law). The assignment is the latest addition to a long list of previous deals in the oil and gas sector on which Arntzen de Besche has advised, and reflects the firm’s strong presence as advisor on both seller and buyer positions in the E&P transaction market.

Arntzen de Besche represents Edison Spa in sale of Edison Norge

As settlement for the transaction, Kverva and EBE Eiendom combined will receive approximately 153 million shares in Storm Real Estate, making them the two largest shareholders in Storm Real Estate. As a result of the transaction, both Kverva and EBE Eiendom are required to, and intends to make a mandatory offer to acquire all outstanding shares in Storm Real Estate not already owned by the companies. 

At the time of the completion of the transaction, KMC Properties will own 39 industrial properties with a combined value of approximately NOK 3 billion and which are located in six countries. In connection with the transaction, Storm Real Estate intends to implement a NOK 300 million private placement directed towards certain shareholders of the company and new investors, by issuing up to 42 million new shares. Furthermore, Storm Real Estate intends to issue a secured bond of NOK 1,850 million in the Nordic bond market, divided into one or two tranches. The transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including among other the approval by the extraordinary general meeting of Storm Real Estate, which is expected to be held in mid-December, as well as the approval by the Oslo Stock Exchange for continued listing following completion of the transaction. 

The transaction is expected to be completed no later than the end of January 2021. 

The core team from Arntzen de Besche has consisted of André Michaelsen, Vidar Løhre and Gro Elin Sønderland.

Employment and pensions

News

The new EU Pay Transparency Directive – is your business ready?

Agathe Løwenborg wins IFLR Rising Stars Award

What we have done

Arntzen de Besche represents Edison Spa in sale of Edison Norge

Arntzen de Besche assists KMC Properties AS in transaction

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