To prove gender-based pay inequality, pay slips can be requested in court, according to a ruling by the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation) on March 8, 2023. A step forward that should bring greater transparency to companies.
Can a female employee who considers that she has suffered unequal pay compared with certain male colleagues request the disclosure of comparative data and pay slips held by her employers? In a ruling handed down on March 8, 2023, the French Supreme Court ruled in the employee’s favor, holding that in order to present evidence pointing to the existence of unequal pay, the employee was entitled to request and obtain disclosure of the pay slips of eight other colleagues occupying positions of comparable level to hers, with personal data with the exception of surnames and forenames, detailed monthly remuneration and total gross remuneration per calendar year suppressed. “This ruling addresses a problem of proof in discrimination and unequal rights litigation. The Court of Cassation considers that there is no other way for the employee to prove that he has been discriminated against, and that this communication of information affecting the personal lives of other employees was essential to the exercise of the right to evidence and proportionate to the aim pursued”, comments Alexandra Stocki, a lawyer specializing in employment law.