Salary transparency: are you ready for the new European directive?

Adopted in May 2023, the European Directive on Transparency of Remuneration reinforces the principle of equal pay for women and men, enshrined in Article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. It aims to combat persistent wage inequalities by tackling one of their main causes: lack of transparency. 

As stated on the Ministry of Economy website, the directive requires member states to transpose the new rules by June 2026 at the latest. In the meantime, companies, particularly HR departments and managers, would be well advised to anticipate these changes to avoid any unpleasant surprises. 

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Specific obligations for employers 

 The European directive goes beyond mere good intentions. It introduces specific obligations that will apply to all companies with more than 100 employees. Here are the main ones: 

• Salary transparency from the moment of recruitment: employers will have to disclose the pay scale or base salary when advertising a job vacancy. 

• Prohibition on asking questions about candidates' past salaries. 

• Right to information for employees: they will be able to request information on average pay levels, by gender, for comparable job categories. 

• Mandatory salary reporting: companies with more than 250 employees will be required to regularly publish data on gender pay gaps. This threshold will be lowered to 100 employees in 2031. 

And this is not merely declarative. In the event of an unjustified discrepancy of more than 5%, the employer must justify the objective reasons for this discrepancy or take corrective action.  

Why start now? 

 Even though the deadline for transposition is set for 2026, the time to act is now. As Le Journal des Entreprises points out, companies have everything to gain by anticipating: 

• Prevent internal social tensions 

• Enhancing the employer brand 

• Reducing legal risks 

This is especially true as employees are becoming increasingly attentive to these issues. According to a survey conducted by Eurobarometer in 2023, 68% of Europeans believe that wage transparency is an effective way to combat discrimination (source: European Commission).  

HR and managers: how to prepare? 

For HR departments and managers, several projects are underway: 

• Mapping jobs and salaries to identify potential gaps 

• Establish objective evaluation and compensation criteria 

• Train managers in conducting interviews and best practices in equal pay 

• Update recruitment and internal mobility processes 

This takes time, method... and often tools. 

What if the solution lay in a good HRIS? 

As you can see, salary transparency will no longer be optional. For companies, this means managing much more data, with precision and traceability. This is where an HRIS tool can make all the difference. 

Platforms such as quarksUp offer modular solutions that are perfectly suited to these new requirements. For example, their "Interviews & Evaluations" module allows you to structure evaluation criteria, ensure fairness in progression processes, and base salary decisions on clear and shared criteria. This is a real added value in a context where every compensation decision must be justified. 

Key points to remember about the European directive on remuneration transparency  

The European directive on remuneration transparency heralds a major turning point for companies, and especially for HR professionals. Anticipating this change means giving yourself time to structure your practices, involve management teams, and put the right tools in place. 

By getting equipped now, companies can turn a regulatory constraint into a lever for trust and attractiveness. 

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