In the coming months, Spanish sports clubs will have to face one of the biggest structural changes in labor relations in recent decades. The approval, at European Union level, of Directive (EU) 2019/1152, on transparent and predictable working conditions, and Directive (EU) 2023/970, on equality and transparency of remuneration, introduces a new regulatory standard that, although it has not yet been formally transposed into Spanish law, is already setting the roadmap to be followed by sports organizations and companies in the sports sector.
Its impact goes far beyond future regulatory compliance, but directly affects the internal organization of salary structures, personnel management, governance and internal control, and exposure to labor disputes accumulated over time.
For many sports entities and companies in the sports sector, the real challenge is not the standard itself, but the gap between their historical operation and the new transparency standards required.
Although the directives have not yet been transposed into Spanish law, their content is definitive and fully known. Waiting for a national standard unnecessarily increases exposure to risk.
Main risks
– Increased wage claims and internal comparisons.
– Increased inspection pressure in labor and compensation matters.
– Need to review historical salary decisions, as the minimum statute of limitations has been extended to three years.
Recommended actions
– Preventive audit of contracts and labor conditions.
– Revision and organization of salary structures and allowances.
– Definition of objective job evaluation criteria.
– Advance preparation of reporting and salary governance systems.
These directives set a new standard for labor governance in sports, turning contractual and compensation management into a strategic element of sustainability, professionalization and reputation for sports clubs.
Regarding the Equal Pay and Transparency Directive.
Salary transparency in hiring processes
The Directive imposes the obligation to disclose the salary or salary range of the position: (i) in the job offer, or (ii) before the first interview.
In practice, this forces sports clubs to define the economic conditions of the jobs more precisely and to review their selection processes. The measure has a particularly strong impact on areas such as administration, technical structure, junior players, marketing, medical services and related foundations.
Salary transparency is becoming consolidated as a basic criterion of good management and professionalization.
Prohibition to ask about previous salary
Clubs may not ask applicants what their salary was in previous employment, and compensation should be based on the value of the position, not the applicant’s previous compensation history.
This change requires revising hiring protocols and decoupling the salary policy from external references that cannot be controlled by the organization.
Individual right of access to compensation information
Employees may request (i) information on their individual salary, and (ii) data on average salaries, disaggregated by sex, corresponding to comparable positions.
For sports clubs, this right reinforces the need for clear, systematized and coherent salary structures, capable of supporting internal comparisons in an orderly and transparent manner.
Limitations on salary confidentiality
The Directive prevents organizations from prohibiting the disclosure of salaries when this is necessary to ensure equal pay.
In sports entities where a culture of internal confidentiality has been the norm, this point forces us to rethink traditional practices and to adequately justify existing salary differences.
Requirement of objective job evaluation criteria
Pay differentials must be based on objective and neutral criteria, linked to the content and responsibility of the position.
Salary uniformity is not required, but differences must be based on clear, understandable and documented reasons, and not on discretionary decisions that are difficult to explain.
This element is key to sustaining differentiated complements, progressions and salary structures within the club.
Reduction of the relevant salary gap threshold
The Directive reduces the significant pay gap threshold to 5%, compared to the 25% currently provided for in Spanish legislation.
This change forces sports clubs to pay attention to salary differences that may have been considered irrelevant until now, and to analyze them more systematically.
Joint compensation assessment
When there are gaps of more than 5 % without objective justification, clubs shall conduct a joint compensation evaluation with the legal representatives of the employees.
This new instrument reinforces the need for planning and periodic review of wage policies and anticipates a higher level of structured dialogue in this area.
Reporting obligations: what changes for sports clubs?
Directive (EU) 2023/970 introduces periodic reporting obligations on the pay gap, the scope and frequency of which depend on the size of the sports organization’s workforce.
The following thresholds and schedules are established:
– Sports clubs with 250 or more employees must prepare and report pay gap information on an annual basis, beginning in June 2027.
– Sports clubs with between 150 and 249 employees: They will be obliged to carry out the reporting every three years, also starting in June 2027.
– Sports clubs with between 100 and 149 employees, reporting obligation will be activated every three years, starting in June 2031.
Extension of the statute of limitations in wage claims
Equal pay actions must be exercisable for at least three years, as compared to the current Spanish regime.
This change makes it advisable to review historical situations and not limit the compensation analysis only to the most recent years.
Regarding the Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions Directive
Directive (EU) 2019/1152 aims to ensure that all workers know, from the start of the employment relationship, the essential conditions of their provision of services and can foresee, with a minimum of certainty, their work framework. This approach, which is reasonable in traditional industrial or service sectors, poses significant challenges in the sports sector, which is characterized by flexibility, operational urgency and constant adaptation to competition.
The main impacts for sports clubs or companies in the sports industry include:
– Reinforced contractual formalization: the requirement of written contracts with extended information affects players, technical staff, medical personnel, junior players with an employment relationship and administrative structures. The absence or deficiency of documents increases the risk of presumptions of lack of definition and full working hours.
– Prior delivery of information: the obligation to provide the conditions before the start of the employment relationship comes into tension with common situations in professional sports, such as emergency incorporations, preseasons, transfer markets or assignments.
– Predictability of the working day: training sessions, training camps, travel, calls and competitive availability must fit into a communicable and justifiable framework, which increases the risk of complaints regarding working hours, breaks and cancellations.
– Changes of conditions in writing: usual changes in clubs (schedules, technical functions, changes of team or subsidiary) must be properly documented. Sporting improvisation is no longer a valid legal cover.
– Limitations on probationary periods, moonlighting and part-time work: common practices should be reviewed on a case-by-case basis to avoid invalid clauses or unjustified restrictions.
– All this places sports clubs as a preferential focus of attention for the Labor and Social Security Inspection, with a reinforced sanctioning regime and an obvious associated reputational impact.
Beyond future regulatory transpositions, these changes set a new standard for labor governance and professionalization, which fully affects the way in which sports entities and companies in the sector organize, explain and document their compensation policies.
Comparative Tables
Directive (EU) 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions.
Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay equality and transparency.
Transposition of Directive (EU) 2019/1152 on transparent and predictable working conditions.
| SCOPE | GENERAL IMPACT OF THE STANDARD | SPECIFIC APPLICATION TO SPORTS CLUBS | ACTUAL RISK TO THE CLUB |
| Formalization of the contract | All contracts must be in writing | Affects: – Players – Coaching staff – Medical staff – Quarry (if employment relationship) – Offices | Presumption of indefinite and full time, especially dangerous in quarry and staff. |
| Time of delivery | Information before the start of the relationship | Frequent non-compliance at: – urgent incorporations – preseasons – transfers and market reinforcements | Risk of inspection + nullity of disciplinary or salary clauses. |
| Mandatory minimum content | Extension of essential conditions | Special attention to: – Exact sports functions – Work center (facilities, travel) – Variable remuneration system (bonus, premiums) | Disputes over interpretation of bonuses, objectives or availability. |
| Predictability of the workday | Right to know the work pattern | Very high impact on: – training sessions – training camps – travel – call-ups – competitive availability | Risk of complaints about working hours, breaks and cancellations. |
| Changes of conditions | Modifications must be communicated in writing | Common changes in clubs: – training schedules – technical functions – change of team/branch | Sporting improvisation ≠ legal coverage |
| Trial period | Not extendable by agreement | Affects: – signings – young technicians – administrative personnel | Risk of nullity of “extended” probationary period |
| Concurrent employment | Prohibited to hinder it unjustifiably. | Review of clauses: – sports exclusivity – image – compatibility with national teams, campuses, clinics. | Exclusivity clauses must be justified. |
| Part-time work | Voluntary changes only | Frequent at: – quarry – auxiliary staff – non-professional categories | Risk if “de facto increased hours”. |
| Cancellation of assignments | Right to retribution in the event of cancellation without notice | Training sessions cancelled, promotional events, friendly matches cancelled | Financial risk + legal precedents |
| Contracts in force | Right to request updated information | Current players and staff may request contractual review. | Obligation to respond within 15 working days |
| Time recording | Reinforcement of the duty of proof | Special vigilance in: – non-sporting staff – junior staff | Frequent ITSS reports in clubs |
| Penalty regime | Reinforcement of LISOS sanctions | Clubs = sector observed by ITSS | Fines + reputational impact |
Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay equity and transparency introduces a new.
| Scope | Mandatory measure | Practical application in sports clubs |
| Recruitment | Preliminary information on salary or salary range for the position | The club should define salary bands before initiating recruitment processes in areas such as administration, technical structure, youth, services, communication, or related foundations. |
| Selection | Prohibition of asking about the candidate’s previous salary. | It is necessary to review and adapt the hiring protocols, eliminating any reference to the salary received in previous clubs or entities. |
| Right to information | Individual right to know one’s own salary and the average salaries of comparable positions. | The club must have structured salary information available to respond to staff requests in a clear and consistent manner. |
| Internal transparency | Salary confidentiality cannot be imposed for pay equity purposes. | It is essential to prepare internal criteria and clear messages for possible salary comparisons between employees. |
| Job evaluation | Salary structures based on objective and neutral criteria. | The club should review allowances, progressions, and salary differences between similar positions, ensuring that they meet clear and documentable criteria. |
| Remuneration record | Existence of non-discriminatory salary structures | The compensation register should be used as a real tool for internal control and consistency, not just as a formal formality. |
| Remuneration audit | Gap analysis and objective justification of differences | The audit should reflect the club’s organizational reality and serve as a basis for identifying improvements in salary policy. |
| Wage gap threshold | Relevant gap from 5 % and above | The club must analyze and justify even moderate wage differences that may have previously gone unnoticed. |
| Joint remuneration assessment | Evaluation when the gap exceeds 5% without objective justification. | It is necessary to prepare structured review dynamics with the legal representation of the workers. |
| Reporting (≥ 250 people) | Annual pay gap reporting as of June 2027. | Large-structured sports clubs shall systematize and update salary data annually. |
| Reporting (150-249 people) | Triennial reporting beginning June 2027 | Medium-sized clubs should plan for medium-term salary reporting and maintain consolidated information. |
| Reporting (100-149 people) | Triennial reporting as of June 2031 | Clubs in the process of growth should anticipate the collection and organization of salary information. |
| Content of reporting | Average and median pay gap, fixed and variable, distribution by category | Requires consolidating salary information from all areas and functions of the club. |
| Statute of limitations | Minimum three-year time limit for pay equity actions | The club should review historical salary decisions and not limit the analysis to recent years. |
