Source date: 2025-10-09
Pay Transparency: What's Changing Published on October 10, 2025 - Updated on June 19, 2026 - Entreprendre Service Public / Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)
The European directive on pay transparency primarily aims to improve transparency in remuneration to reduce wage gaps between women and men. Adopted on May 10, 2023, its transposition into French law is currently underway.
A bill to transpose the pay transparency directive has been submitted to the Council of State for review and is expected to be tabled before Parliament in July 2026, with the aim of having the text examined and adopted as close as possible to the transposition deadline.
Main employer obligations
Obligations before hiring The Directive (EU) 2023/970 initiates pay transparency right from the employer's recruitment process.
Indeed, companies will have to indicate in job postings and before the first interview the proposed salary or at least a salary range.
Furthermore, candidates will be able to obtain information on the relevant provisions of applicable collective agreements.
Also, once the directive is transposed, it will be prohibited to ask candidates about their previous salaries, and employers will be required to ensure compliance with the right to equal pay.
Obligations after hiring Pay transparency also applies internally, implying several changes.
Employers must make available to employees the criteria used to determine:
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pay levels;
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pay progression.
Employers will comply with GDPR to protect this salary data.
However, employees will not have the right to request information about their colleagues' salaries.
Implementation of reporting
Reports must be produced. The indicator regarding the pay gap between women and men by worker category will be subject to different reporting frequencies depending on the company's workforce size.
In particular, this declaration will be made annually for companies with more than 250 employees.
Practical consequences for businesses
To prepare for this transposition, businesses will need to implement several changes:
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updating internal HR processes to formalize evaluation criteria;
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reviewing detailed pay scales to justify pay differences and progression criteria;
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adapting HR and legal tools;
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revising internal and external communication to inform employees and candidates.
Reversal of the burden of proof
The European directive provides for a reversal of the burden of proof regarding remuneration. Previously, the employee had to prove that the employer had violated rules concerning pay transparency. Once the directive is transposed, the burden of proof will fall on the employer.
Applicable sanctions
Sanctions will be provided for in case of non-compliance with pay transparency requirements. Indeed, in case of infringement, the employer will be subject to an administrative fine proportional to the payroll or fixed, depending on the severity of the breach. These sanctions may also apply to job advertisers.
Legal texts and references
See also
Source: Service-Public professionals