French companies will have to comply with the pay transparency rules of European Directive 2023/970 against pay discrimination and against the pay gap between women and men in the EU. This directive was adopted by the European Council in April 2023 and must be transposed into national law, before June 7, 2026, to apply.
What will change
But how will this directive combat pay gaps? First of all, it imposes transparency on companies. Employers will be required to inform job seekers of the starting salary or give a range. On the other hand, they will be prohibited from requesting the salary history of candidates.
As the Council explains, employees will also have the right to request “information to their employer on average pay levels, broken down by sex, for categories of workers performing the same work or work of the same value”as well as the criteria used to calculate salary increases.
The directive will also require companies with more than 250 employees to indicate, each year, the gap between the salaries of men and women. For companies with more than 150 employees (initially), this will be every 3 years. And if there is a discrepancy of more than 5% that is not justified, the company will have to take action.
Employees will be better equipped to combat gaps
The directive also provides compensation for employees who are victims of pay discrimination based on sex. And “it will now be up to the employer to prove that they have not broken EU rules on equal pay and pay transparency”according to the European Council, and not the other way around.
- In 2023, the European Council adopted a directive which imposes transparency on companies, in order to combat unjustified pay gaps, in particular between women and men.
- This must be transposed into national law before June 7, 2026.
- The directive will force employers to be transparent from the hiring process
- It also provides compensation for victims of pay discrimination based on sex.
