Bulgaria

Has the country ratified ILO Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No. 100)?

Yes

If yes, when?

1955

Has the country ratified ILO Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111)?

Yes

If yes, when?

1960

Has the country ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women?

Yes

If yes, when?

1982

OECD's Recommendation of the Council on Gender Equality in Education, Employment and Entrepreneurship

N/A

Does the law mandate equal remuneration for men and women workers for work of equal value?

No provisions could be located

Does the law mandate equal pay for equal work and/or non-discrimination in relation to employment and occupation?

Yes

Legislative reference

1986, Labour Code, Sections 243(1) and (2) Available, in the original version, here.
Pursuant to Section 243(1) of the Labour Code, women and men are entitled to equal pay for equal or equivalent work. This requirement applies to all payments under the employment relationship as per Section 243(2) of the Labour Code.

2003, Protection against Discrimination Act, Sections 14(1) and (2) Available in English (unofficial translation) here.
The provision of Section 14(1) of the Protection against Discrimination Act provides that the employer provides equal remuneration for equal or equivalent work. This applies to all remuneration paid directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind, regardless of the duration of the employment contract and the length of working time as per Section 14(2).

Are there any category of workers excluded?

There are no excluded categories of employees in the legislation with regard to the provisions in Labour Code or Protection against Discrimination Act.

Is there a definition of remuneration?

According to Section 243(2) of the Labour Code the right to equal remuneration for identical and equal work "shall apply to all payments under the employment relationship".
According to Section 14(2) of the Protection against Discrimination Act, equal remuneration for the same or equal work "shall apply to all remuneration, paid directly or indirectly, in cash or in kind".

Is there a definition of work of equal value?

No provisions defining work of equal value could be located. However, according to Section 14(3) of Protection against Discrimination Act the criteria for assessing the labour remuneration and the evaluation of the labour performance are the same for all workers and employees. The criteria are determined by collective agreements or by the internal rules for the wage, or by the statutory terms and conditions for assessing the employees in the state administration, regardless of the grounds under Section 4(1) of Protection against Discrimination Act (sex, race, nationality, ethnic belonging, etc).

Does the law mandate for objective job evaluation (to ensure equal pay for work of equal value)?

Protection against Discrimination Act, Section 14(3) stipulates that "The criteria for assessment of the work in determining the labour remuneration and the assessment of the job fulfilment shall be equal for all employees and shall be set by the team employment contracts or by the internal rules for the salary, or by conditions and order for giving testimonial of the employees of the state administration".

Does the country have proactive and wage transparency laws and measures to address discriminatory pay gap (including any other measures to address undervaluation of women's work)?

Yes

If yes, which laws and measures?

Pursuant to Section 22(1) of the Ordinance on the Structure and Organization of the Wage (OSOW) of 2007, the organization of the wage in enterprises is regulated by internal rules, which are an internal act of the enterprise within the meaning of Section 37 of the Labour Code. Trade unions are entitled to participate in the drafting process of all internal rules and regulations related to employment relationships at the enterprise's level.

The internal rules on wages must include the determination of minimum values or ranges of basic salaries by job level, as well as the procedure and method for determining and amending the additional salaries (Section 22(3), items 3 and 4 of OSOW). They may also include rules and procedures for evaluating labour performance (Section 22(4), item 4 of OSOW). The internal rules on wages, which are approved by the employer, may not contradict national normative acts or conditions of work agreed in the collective agreement (Section 22(2) of OSOW). The prohibition of contradiction of internal rules on wages with the normative acts also includes the obligation not to provide for discriminatory clauses. The inclusion of such clauses would contradict Section 8(3) of the Labour Code, which provides that there shall be no direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of nationality, origin, sex, sexual orientation, race, skin colour, age, political and religious beliefs, membership of trade unions and other public organizations and movements, family and financial status, presence of mental or physical disabilities, as well as differences in the duration of the contract and the length of work hours. The employer's approval of the internal rules on wages, in which there are discriminatory clauses, is a violation of labour law. In this case, the supervisory authorities can apply coercive administrative measures and impose administrative penalties following the Labour Code. Given the above, the process of regulating the organization of wages in the enterprise ensures transparency, and when determining the basic salary and procedures for assessing performance in connection with the payment of additional remuneration. Further information is available here.

Are there any provisions on minimum wage?

Yes

If yes, could you please specify whether at the national and/or sectoral level?

National

If yes, could you please provide details and appropriate reference?

Pursuant to Section 244 of the Labour Code, the Council of Ministers determines:
1. the minimum wage for the country;
2. the types and minimum amounts of the additional remuneration and compensations under the employment relationship, insofar as they are not determined by this Code.
The minimum wage is determined at national level by the Council of Ministers.
Available, in the original version, here.

Are there any provisions in collective agreements related to the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value?

Yes

If yes, could you please provide further details and appropriate reference?

Pursuant to Section 50(1) of the Labour Code, a collective agreement regulates matters of the employment and social security relations of workers and employees which are not governed by mandatory provisions of the law. The collective agreement may not contain clauses which are less favourable to workers and employees than those laid down in the law or collective agreement to which the employer is bound (Section 50(2) of the Labour Code). Collective agreements are concluded by enterprises, industries, sectors, and municipalities (Section 51(1) of the Labour Code). There are, therefore, many collective agreements in the country and no information can be provided on each of them and respectively on the clauses included therein.

It should be noted, however, that pursuant to Section 51b(4) of the Labour Code, when the collective employment contract at sectoral or branch level is concluded between all representative organizations of workers and employees and employers of the sector or branch, at their joint request the Minister of Labour and Social Policy may extend the implementation of the contract or of individual clauses thereof to all enterprises in the sector or branch. Currently, a Branch Collective Labour Contract has been extended to employees in the brewing industry. Section 27 of this collective agreement defines a condition "for equal work equal pay". Available, in the original version, here.

Other useful info

N/A

Other useful databases

ILO NORMLEX website
ILO NATLEX website