Iceland: Gender Pay-Gap Reporting Platform Live, Embla Closes Oct 1

Iceland's Directorate of Equality (Jafnréttisstofa) announced on September 27, 2026 that its Embla salary analysis tool closes on October 1, 2026, replaced by a new service and data system for mandatory gender pay-gap reporting under Act No. 53/2026. The new platform gives employers a single channel to submit pay-gap data, exchange information with the directorate, and track their mandatory reporting obligations.

Icelandic employers and public institutions with 50 or more workers must register on the new Jafnréttisstofa platform by October 1, 2026, when the Embla tool closes, and submit their first gender pay-gap report within six months of the 1 September 2026 application, or face non-compliance with Act 53/2026 and its administrative penalties. Employers moving off the ÍST 85 equal-pay certification standard transition onto the same reporting duty.

What changes on October 1, 2026?

The Embla salary analysis tool, used for pay-gap analysis, closes on October 1, 2026. Jafnréttisstofa has taken a new service and data system into use that supports employers' mandatory reporting on gender pay gaps under Act 53/2026, simplifying communication with the directorate and providing a common venue for data submission, information exchange and follow-up on the pay-gap data employers must file.

Act 53/2026, adopted by Alþingi on June 11, 2026 and applying from September 1, 2026, replaces the earlier equal-pay certification and equal-pay confirmation duties with a mandatory gender pay-gap reporting duty. The portal go-live on the island.is digital services portal is the operational step that makes that duty actionable.

Who must report gender pay gaps under Act 53/2026?

The mandatory reporting duty applies to employers and institutions with 50 or more workers on annual average, in both the private and public sectors. Icelandic companies with 50 or more workers and Icelandic public institutions of the same size fall within scope, as do employers transitioning from ÍST 85 equal-pay certification to the new reporting duty.

Entities that held a valid equal-pay certification or confirmation when Act 53/2026 applied are not bound by the initial six-month filing window; those without a valid certification or confirmation must file their first report sooner.

What must employers do, and by when?

Employers in scope must register on the new Jafnréttisstofa platform and prepare to submit gender pay-gap data there, because the Embla tool they may have used for analysis closes on October 1, 2026. First reports are due within six months of the 1 September 2026 application, by March 1, 2027, for entities without a valid certification or confirmation.

What happens if an employer does not comply?

Employers that miss the reporting duty face non-compliance with Act 53/2026 and its administrative penalties, and they can no longer submit through the retired Embla tool. The directorate follows up on mandatory submissions through the new platform, which is also the channel for enforcement of the reporting obligation.

Continuous per-jurisdiction monitoring surfaces the moment a national regulator swaps a reporting portal, so compliance teams can re-tool before the cutover rather than after.

What to check now

• Confirm whether your entity has 50 or more workers on annual average and falls within Act 53/2026 scope.
• Register on the new Jafnréttisstofa reporting platform on island.is before the Embla tool closes on October 1, 2026.
• Check whether your existing ÍST 85 equal-pay certification or confirmation is still valid, which sets your six-month filing window.
• Prepare the gender pay-gap data set your first report will require, in the new platform's submission format.
• Brief HR and payroll on the move from certification to mandatory reporting and the 1 March 2027 first-report deadline.