Can you soon ask your boss what colleagues earn? 4 pay-transparency rules coming to Croatia in 2027
An EU pay-transparency directive is on its way to Croatian law. What is already announced, what is still unclear and what to do now.
Published 2026-10-28 · Source checked 2026-10-26
Do you know whether your Nepali friend, a Croatian colleague and you are paid the same for the same job? From 2027 Croatia plans to give workers a way to find out. Croatia has not passed the law yet, so here is what is announced and what is not.
1. It comes from the EU. The pay-transparency directive (EU 2023/970) should have been put into Croatian law by 7 June 2026. Croatia missed that date. Labour Minister Alen Ružić said on 26 October that the rules start to be introduced in 2027, with 2028 as an adjustment year and first employer reporting in 2029 for 2028.[1][2]
Work & SalaryTax refund in Croatia: do you get money back? What to do before the end of February2. Pay information before the interview. The directive says a candidate should get the starting pay or pay range before the job interview, in the advert or another way. It also bans employers from asking what you earned in your last job.[2]
3. A right to ask. In the announced model, workers will be able to ask the employer for pay data, and if unjustified differences are not fixed, a procedure can be started to claim fair pay. The minister gave the current gender pay gap in Croatia as 6.6%, against 11.1% in the EU.[1]
4. Nothing changes on your payslip today. The Labour Act already says equal pay for equal work, but the new details are not law yet. Until then, the numbers you can check are your contract, the minimum wage (still €1,050 gross, with the 2027 figure due by 31 October) and the extra pay for overtime, night and Sunday work.[2]
What to do: keep your contract and payslips in one folder, and write down your job title and tasks. When the law is adopted we will explain how to make a request. Would you ask your employer what colleagues earn, or would you rather not know? Tell us on our Facebook page. See also our guide to the 2027 minimum wage talks.
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Life in CroatiaDalmatian dogs: named after a Croatian region, born without spotsSources
- Dnevnik.hr / Hina – Ružić on inclusive allowance and pay transparency (26 Oct 2026) · Newspaper
- Posao u turizmu – Transparentnost plaća 2026./2027. (26 Oct 2026) · Specialist publication
This explanation is based on linked sources and does not claim independent on-the-ground reporting.
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