EU Pay Transparency Directive Takes Effect June 7

The European Union’s Pay Transparency Directive took effect on June 7, 2026. Euronews reported that the measure requires private and public companies to standardize and open their pay systems. Businesses must now include pay ranges in all job advertisements or disclose them before interviews.

Recruiters are barred from asking candidates about past salaries. Employees may request anonymised data showing average pay levels for their role, broken down by gender. Companies with more than 150 employees must publicly report internal gender pay gaps.

Any unjustified gap exceeding 5 percent triggers a required assessment to address the disparity. Euronews reported that women earn €87.30 for every €100 earned by men across the EU. Female leaders earn 23 percent less than their male counterparts.

Luxembourg is the only member state where women out-earn men, by 0.8 percent. The smallest gaps favoring men stand at 0.7 percent in Belgium and 2.2 percent in Italy. The directive follows 50 years of EU legislation aimed at ensuring equal pay for equal work and preventing discrimination.