By the Labour Law Department
With Legislative Decree No. 91 of 7 May 2026, the Italian legislature established the new Equality Body, which will begin operating on 1 January 2027 as an independent authority responsible for combating discrimination and promoting equal treatment.
This development also deserves the attention of employers and HR departments, because it does not merely constitute an institutional reform. The new Equality Body will be able to have a tangible impact on the management of disputes, including workplace disputes, by assisting victims, receiving complaints, issuing opinions and recommendations, promoting alternative dispute resolution procedures and, in certain cases, bringing legal proceedings.
In practical terms, a discrimination complaint may more easily move beyond the strictly individual dimension of the employee-employer relationship and become part of a process supported by an independent institutional body.
The Centralisation of Responsibilities
The new Equality Body will replace the National Equality Adviser and UNAR, the National Office against Racial Discrimination, by centralising responsibilities that, until now, were allocated among different bodies. At least from a formal standpoint, this development strengthens the system by ensuring greater autonomy, stronger guarantees of independence, a dedicated structure and broader functions.
However, the reform also raises a critical issue.
The new Equality Body will no longer focus specifically on gender discrimination. It will deal more broadly with equal treatment and discrimination based on gender, race, ethnic origin, religion, personal beliefs, disability, age, sexual orientation and other protected characteristics.
This approach is consistent with the European framework, which aims to establish an integrated system of protection against all forms of discrimination. From a practical perspective, however, it may lead to a loss of specialised expertise in the specific field of equality between men and women. In employment relationships, this area requires highly specialised knowledge of corporate organisation, job classifications, duties, career paths, remuneration policies, incentive criteria and the management of professional progression.
The Connection with Pay Transparency
This issue becomes even more significant when considered together with Legislative Decree No. 96 of 7 May 2026, which implemented EU Directive 2023/970 on pay transparency and equal pay between men and women.
The new pay transparency rules require businesses to make the criteria used to determine remuneration, salary progression and differences in treatment increasingly transparent and verifiable. At the same time, the new Equality Body will have much broader responsibilities that will not focus exclusively on the gender pay gap.
The Operational Implications for Businesses
The operational message for businesses is clear. Companies cannot simply wait for the Equality Body to intervene or rely on the non-binding nature of its opinions. They must prepare in advance.
Businesses should start assessing whether their decisions on recruitment, job classifications, individual salary supplements, bonuses, benefits, promotions and career paths are based on objective, traceable and consistent criteria. This does not mean that every difference in treatment is unlawful. It means that every material difference must be capable of being explained.
Equality as a Corporate Compliance Matter
The real change lies here. Equality will no longer represent merely a principle to be declared. It will become an organisational framework that companies must document.
From this perspective, the new Equality Body and the pay transparency rules form part of the same process: transforming the prevention of discrimination into an ordinary component of corporate compliance.
Avv. Michele Sacchi – Of Counsel, Labour Law