Employers in Montenegro will be required to state the starting salary and salary range in job postings. Employment contracts will no longer be allowed to prohibit employees from disclosing their salary. At an employee’s request, employers must also provide salary data of colleagues. Companies with over 100 employees must submit detailed salary data to the Social Council and trade unions to monitor gender-based pay gaps. In the event of a pay dispute, the burden of proof will lie with the employer.
These changes are part of a draft Labor Law aligned with EU Directive 2023/970 on equal pay and transparency. The draft is open for public consultation until the end of July.
The Union of Free Trade Unions of Montenegro (USSCG) supports these changes, emphasizing that transparency is key to enforcing the right to equal pay for equal work. They argue that treating salaries as confidential data has undermined this right and call for similar reporting obligations for employers with fewer than 100 employees, reflecting the structure of Montenegro’s economy.
USSCG also insists that all employers must have job classification acts, as these are crucial for determining whether roles involve work of equal value. Between 2014 and 2021, Montenegro’s gender pay gap increased from 12.5% to 21.6%, according to the International Labour Organization.
Employers will need to align their internal job classification acts with the new regulations within six months. Job titles used in classifications and job ads must be gender-neutral. For work of equal value, the law considers qualifications, responsibility, effort, working conditions, and outcomes.
The law will also allow adjustments to the minimum wage if purchasing power declines, in addition to cost-of-living changes. The current minimum wage is €600.
The Social Council will receive expanded authority to assess pay differences for work of equal value. It will analyze wage gaps, raise awareness about discrimination, and require employers to explain any pay gap greater than 5% between men and women doing equal work.
