SALARY TRANSPARENCY : What Will Change for Companies in 2026

The European directive on salary transparency must be transposed into French law by June 7, 2026. This reform aims to strengthen gender equality in the workplace and more effectively address pay gaps between women and men.

It reflects a significant shift of the traditional legal principle of “equal pay for equal work,” which is now extended to the concept of work of equal value. The value of a job must be assessed using objective criteria such as skills, effort, responsibilities, and working conditions.

Three Main Transparency Measures

The directive is based on three main pillars.

Transparency in recruitment

Companies will be required to provide candidates with a salary range for the positions offered. Recruiters will also no longer be allowed to ask candidates about their previous salary.

Right of access to salary information

Employees will be able to request their individual salary level as well as the average salary levels, broken down by gender, for employees performing the same work or work of equal value.

This information must be provided in aggregated form to ensure confidentiality.

Analysis of gender pay gaps

Companies must be able to present the criteria used to determine and review salaries, and justify any pay differences between women and men.

2026: A Key Year for Companies

Although some reporting obligations will only take effect in 2027, several measures will apply as early as 2026, including the right of access to salary data and the reversal of the burden of proof in case of litigation.

In this context, companies have a strong interest in anticipating these changes by structuring their compensation policies, clarifying salary progression criteria, and documenting their pay practices.

Salary transparency is therefore becoming a major challenge for securing HR practices and strengthening workplace equality.

Making Salary Transparency a Strategic HR Lever

When approached proactively, salary transparency can become a powerful HR management tool, fostering internal consistency, trust, and organizational credibility.

However, this requires starting the process early and with a structured approach.

In matters of salary transparency, Gest’RH supports organizations at every stage: from the initial assessment to the implementation of concrete actions tailored to their specific context.