Pay transparency in Europe 2026: your new right to know what you should earn
For the first time, workers across the European Union have a legal right to know what a job pays before they apply — and to find out whether they are paid less than colleagues doing the same work. The EU Pay Transparency Directive took effect on 7 June 2026: it bans employers from asking about your salary history, requires pay ranges in recruitment, and gives employees the right to request pay information. But there is a catch. By the deadline only a handful of countries — Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania and Malta — had actually written it into national law, while big economies including Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands are running late, most aiming for 2027. So your rights right now depend heavily on where you work. This guide explains what the new rules give you, where each country stands, and how to use them to check whether you are underpaid — and to negotiate.
By the Libravo editorial team · Updated 14 June 2026
What changed on 7 June 2026
The EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) is the biggest change to European pay law in decades. Its aim is to narrow the gender pay gap — still around 12% across the EU — by forcing pay out of the shadows. In practice it gives every worker in a country that has adopted it four concrete rights: to see a pay range before applying for a job, to be free from questions about current or past salary, to request what a role pays and what colleagues doing equal work earn on average, and to see their employer report its gender pay gap. The directive sets the floor; individual countries can go further, and several are.
Pay ranges in job adverts
Employers must now tell candidates the starting salary or pay range for a role — either in the job advert or before the interview. This is the change most people will notice first: the era of the 'competitive salary' advert, where you learn the number only after three rounds of interviews, is ending. It shifts power towards the applicant, who can judge whether a role is worth their time up front and can anchor a negotiation to the employer's own stated range rather than guessing. Where a country has adopted the directive, an advert with no pay information becomes the exception rather than the norm.
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Estimate for the 2026 tax year. Assumes a single employee, no dependants, standard situation. · Source: HMRC
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The ban on salary-history questions
Employers can no longer ask what you currently earn or earned in previous jobs, and can't use that information to set your pay. This matters because the salary-history question is one of the main ways pay inequality passes from job to job: if your last salary was low — often the case for women, or for anyone who once negotiated poorly — basing the new offer on it locks the gap in place. Removing the question forces employers to price the role, not your past. If you're asked anyway in a country that has adopted the rules, you are within your rights to decline to answer.
Your right to request pay information
Once the rules are in force, you can ask your employer, in writing, for your individual pay level and the average pay levels — broken down by sex — for other workers doing the same job or work of equal value. Employers must respond within two months, must tell all staff each year that this right exists, and cannot require you to keep your own pay secret. This is the tool that lets you find out, using real numbers from inside your own company, whether you're paid less than colleagues doing comparable work — the single most useful fact in any pay negotiation.
Gender pay gap reporting — and what triggers an audit
Larger employers must publish their gender pay gap, staggered by size: companies with 250 or more employees report annually from June 2027; those with 150-249 report every three years from 2027; and those with 100-149 join by 2031. Employers under 100 are not required to report. If reporting reveals a gender pay gap above 5% in any category of work that the employer can't justify on objective, gender-neutral grounds, it must carry out a 'joint pay assessment' with worker representatives and correct it. For employees, these public reports are a free benchmark — you can see whether an employer you work for, or are applying to, has a pay problem.
Where each country stands (June 2026)
This is where it gets messy. Although the deadline to adopt the rules was 7 June 2026, by that date only four of the 27 member states had full national law in force: Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania and Malta. Several large economies missed it — Germany had not published a draft, France is aiming for 1 January 2027, Spain had consulted but not published a text, and the Netherlands and Denmark are also targeting 2027. Sweden went further and paused its implementation, seeking to renegotiate the rules at EU level. The practical result is a patchwork: your rights today depend on your country. The European Commission has said the deadline will not move and that late countries could face infringement proceedings, so the gaps should close over 2026-2027 — but for now, check your own national law before relying on a specific right. (Status as of June 2026.)
How to tell if you're actually underpaid
The new rights give you two strong inputs. First, the pay ranges now appearing in job adverts reveal the current market rate for your role — watch what comparable roles at other employers advertise. Second, once your country adopts the rules, a right-to-information request gives you the average pay for colleagues doing equal work inside your own company. Combine those with a cross-country sanity check — the salary calculator below shows the net pay a given gross produces in Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Italy and the UK, so you can compare take-home rather than headline figures — and you have a far stronger basis than the usual guesswork. Being underpaid stops being a feeling and becomes something you can evidence.
How to use your new rights in a negotiation
Information changes the dynamic. If a job advert states a range, open at the upper end and make the employer justify anything lower — it's their number, not yours. If you're already in a role and suspect you're behind, submit a written request for the average pay of colleagues doing equal work; a documented gap is the strongest possible basis for a raise, and the employer knows it is now legally exposed if it can't justify the difference. Keep everything in writing, be specific about the comparison, and frame the conversation around equal pay for equal work rather than personal need. And if an employer refuses a legitimate request or retaliates, the directive protects you — you can raise it with your national equality body or labour authority.
Frequently asked questions
Can employers still ask about my salary history in 2026?
Not in countries that have adopted the EU Pay Transparency Directive — it bans employers from asking about your current or previous pay, or using it to set your offer. If your country hasn't transposed the rules yet, and as of June 2026 most large economies had not, the old practice may still be legal there. It depends on where you work.
Do job adverts have to show salary now?
Under the directive, employers must give candidates the starting pay or pay range before the interview, usually in the advert. This applies in countries that have written the rules into national law. By the June 2026 deadline only Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania and Malta had done so; elsewhere it is arriving over 2026-2027.
Which countries have pay transparency rules in force?
As of June 2026, four EU countries had full national law in force: Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania and Malta. Germany, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and others missed the 7 June 2026 deadline and mostly target 2027, while Sweden has paused its implementation. The rights apply once your country transposes the directive.
What if my country hasn't adopted the rules yet?
Until your country transposes the directive, you generally can't rely on the new rights directly against a private employer. But the deadline has passed and the European Commission has said late countries may face infringement action, so the rules are coming. In the meantime, existing national equal-pay laws still apply, and public-sector workers may in some cases rely on parts of the directive.
How do I request pay information from my employer?
Once the rules are in force where you work, put it in writing: ask for your own pay level and the average pay, broken down by sex, for workers doing the same job or work of equal value. Your employer must respond within two months and can't stop you sharing your own salary. Employers also have to remind all staff each year that this right exists.
Does pay transparency cover bonuses and benefits?
Yes. 'Pay' under the directive means the full package — basic salary plus complementary or variable components such as bonuses, overtime, allowances and benefits in kind. Equal-pay comparisons and gender pay gap reporting are meant to capture total remuneration, not just base salary.
Which employers have to report their gender pay gap?
Reporting is staggered by size: employers with 250+ employees report annually from June 2027, those with 150-249 every three years from 2027, and those with 100-149 from 2031. Employers under 100 aren't required to report. A gap above 5% that can't be objectively justified triggers a joint pay assessment to correct it.
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General information based on Regulation (EC) 261/2004 and its UK retained version, not legal advice. Libravo is not affiliated with any airline.