The gender pay gap remains a significant concern today. In this context, the Government of Spain has established the mandatory Pay Registry for all companies, regardless of size, with the aim of closing wage gaps and promoting gender equality in the workplace. Below, we explain what this obligation entails, who must carry it out, and how to implement it correctly.

What is the Pay Registry and why is it mandatory?

The Pay Registry, under Article 5.1 of Royal Decree 902/2020, is a transparency measure requiring companies to record and break down, by gender, all salaries, salary supplements and extra-salary benefits of their workforce. This obligation applies not only to operational staff but also to senior management and executives, in order to ensure pay equity between men and women at all levels of the organisation.

Since its implementation in April 2021, companies must update the registry annually, reflecting remunerations received between 1 January and 31 December of the previous year. This ensures a clear and up-to-date view of pay equity within the company. If you want to go deeper into the step-by-step process, take a look at our guide on efficient payroll management for companies.

What must the Pay Registry include?

The Pay Registry must contain the average values —both arithmetic mean and median— of salaries, salary supplements and extra-salary benefits actually received by the workforce during the reference period, broken down by gender and distributed by professional groups, job categories, level, role or any other applicable classification system.

Therefore, the Pay Registry will include only these average values and not the individual remunerations of each employee, although this information is necessary to perform the required calculations. Furthermore, where a company with 50 or more employees shows an average pay difference of 25% or more between genders —considering the total pay mass or the mean of paid benefits— the company must include in the registry a justification that this difference is due to reasons unrelated to gender.

Consequently, the registry must not only disaggregate pay components by nature (basic salary, salary supplements and extra-salary benefits) but also reflect each specific pay component received by the workforce (for example, seniority allowance, profit-sharing bonus, night-work supplement, etc.), including extra-salary benefits (such as compensations or reimbursements for job-related expenses, supplementary benefits, distance and transport allowances, relocation or suspension indemnities, subsistence and accommodation allowances).

Who must prepare the Pay Registry?

All companies, under Article 28.2 of the Workers’ Statute, regardless of their size, are required to prepare a Pay Registry covering their entire staff, including management and senior executives.

Compliance with this obligation is essential to reflect gender pay differences and ensure pay equity within the organisation.

What happens if you fail to comply with the Pay Registry?

Any company decisions that result in direct or indirect gender-based pay discrimination may incur sanctions by the Labour Inspectorate, varying in severity and based on company size. Sanctions are classified as minor, serious and very serious, with fines ranging between:

• Minor infractions: €70 to €750.
• Serious infractions: €751 to €7,500.
• Very serious infractions: €7,501 to €225,018.

In addition to fines, companies that fail to maintain an adequate registry may face judicial and administrative actions for pay discrimination.

Access to the Pay Registry

All employees have the right to access the company’s Pay Registry for their employer, provided that access is granted via its transfer to the employees’ legal representatives, if any exists.

If there is no legal representation, employees may only access information on pay differences between men and women within their own roles, groups or professional levels. Additionally, any competent authority, such as the Labour Inspectorate, may access the registry when necessary to verify compliance with regulations.

Confidentiality and Data Protection

Since the Pay Registry contains sensitive personal data, it is essential to ensure confidentiality and comply with the law, as stated in Article 1 of Royal Decree 902/2020 of 13 October, in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation and Organic Law 3/2018 of 5 December on Personal Data Protection and guarantee of digital rights. To protect employee privacy, companies must avoid displaying individualised information and ensure data is presented anonymously.

The Spanish Data Protection Agency (AEPD) has clarified that, as this is a legal obligation, employee consent is not required to prepare the registry.

Pay Registry and the pay gap – Making it easier for our clients

Pay equity is a fundamental objective, and the Government of Spain has established the mandatory Pay Registry for all companies. Its purpose is to reduce pay gaps and ensure transparency by recording salaries, supplements and extra-salary benefits broken down by gender and by professional category. This allows the company to comply with current regulations and avoid potential sanctions.

At Blegal we want to make it easier for our clients to meet this obligation without needing to hire external services. We can generate a complete file with the Pay Registry and pay gap data, including all the necessary employee information in a clear, organised format, ready to submit or audit.

This service is free of charge, except in cases where the data needs to be reviewed or reconciled, or for clients with a high volume of employees. This way, companies can access all the information quickly and securely, simplifying procedures and ensuring regulatory compliance.

Our aim is to make management simpler for our clients, ensuring they can comply with the law efficiently and without additional complications.

The Pay Registry is essential for ensuring pay equity and transparency in companies. All companies, regardless of size, must implement it and update it annually to comply with regulations and avoid sanctions. If you have not yet begun, it is important to do so as soon as possible to prevent future issues.

At Blegal, we are here to assist you in implementing and complying with this obligation. As your legal partner, we offer specialised labour management advice, from routine tasks such as preparing payrolls to designing equality plans and complex labour policies.

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