Title II: Equal pay for women and men

The provisions of articles L. 3221-2 to L. 3221-7 apply, in addition to the employers and employees mentioned in article L. 3211-1, to those not governed by the Labour Code and, in particular, to public law employees.

Every employer shall ensure that women and men receive equal pay for equal work or work of equal value.

For the purposes of this Chapter, remuneration constitutes the ordinary basic or minimum wage or salary and all other benefits and accessories paid, directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, by the employer to the employee by reason of the latter’s employment.

Work that requires employees to have a comparable combination of professional knowledge evidenced by a qualification, diploma or professional experience, skills derived from acquired experience, responsibilities and physical or nervous strain is considered to be of equal value.

Disparities in pay between establishments in the same company may not, for the same work or for work of equal value, be based on the fact that employees in these establishments belong to one sex or the other.

The various components of remuneration are established according to identical standards for women and men. The categories and criteria for professional classification and promotion, as well as all other bases for calculating remuneration, in particular job evaluation methods, are established according to rules which ensure the application of the principle set out in Article L. 3221-2 .

Any provision contained in a contract of employment, a collective labour agreement, a wage agreement, a regulation or a wage scale resulting from a decision by an employer or an employers’ association and which, contrary to Articles L. 3221-2 to L. 3221-6, provides for lower pay for one or more employees of one sex than for employees of the other sex for the same work or work of equal value,…

In the event of a dispute relating to the application of this chapter, the rules of evidence set out in Article L. 1144-1 shall apply.

The Labour Inspectorate control officers mentioned in article L. 8112-1 or, where applicable, other equivalent control officers are responsible, within their respective areas of competence, concurrently with the officers and agents of the judicial police, for recording breaches of these provisions.

A decree in the Conseil d’Etat shall determine the terms and conditions for the application of this chapter.