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Gender equality of senior managers: the penalty procedure and its implementation specified

Publié le null - Legal and Administrative Information Directorate (Prime Minister)

Companies with more than 1,000 employees must publish annually possible gender gaps in senior management. As from 2029, corrective measures will be taken if necessary at the risk of being penalized. Thus, the penalty procedure relating to this device has been clarified. It will apply from 1er March 2029.

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Image 1Crédits: nenetus - stock.adobe.com

Companies for which the proportion of women or men is less than 40 % in senior management or members of senior management on 1er March 2029 will need to take corrective action. Only companies with more than 1,000 employees will be covered for the third consecutive year.

They will have 2 years to comply. After this period, they may be subject to a financial penalty of up to 1% of the wage bill.

This penalty procedure and the conditions for its application were specified by a decree of May 15, 2023.

Implementation of the penalty procedure

At 1er march 2029, the application of a penalty shall follow the following steps:

  1. Where the company has not complied within two years, the labor inspectorate's supervisory officer shall ascertain that this has not been done and shall forward a report on the situation to the regional director for economic, labor and solidarity affairs (DREETS).
  2. If DREETS intends to impose a penalty, it shall notify the employer of this intention within 2 months of receipt of its report. The employer may submit his observations and justify his failure within one month (this period may be extended by one month if the circumstances so warrant). It is also possible for the employer to ask to be heard.
  3. If DREETS decides to apply a penalty, it must notify the employer of the reasoned decision setting the penalty rate to be applied. Such notification shall be made within two months of the expiry of the time limit for submission of observations by the employer.
    The company's initial situation, the measures taken by the company in terms of representation of women and men, the good faith of the employer and the reasons for default presented by the employer shall be taken into account.
  4. Within two months of such notification, the employer must inform the administration of the remuneration and earnings on which the penalty will be calculated.
  5. DREETS establishes a collection document (a document issued by the tax administration allowing it to seize unpaid amounts owing after recovery) that sets the amount of the penalty. It transmits this title to the departmental or regional director of public finance, who will ensure its collection.
  6. If the employer does not provide the requested information (the remuneration and earnings on which the penalty will be calculated) within the required time limit or if it provides incorrect data, the penalty will be calculated on the basis of 2 times the value of the monthly social security ceiling per company employee per month included in the calendar year.

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