Your pay rights in European Union (Pay Transparency Directive)

Directive (EU) 2023/970 on pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms for equal pay between men and women (Directive (EU) 2023/970 of 10 May 2023 (OJ L 132, 17.5.2023); applicant rights in Article 5)

Member-state deadline to apply these rules: June 7, 2026. Your rights start when your own country's law takes effect.

Under the EU Pay Transparency Directive, you have the right to learn the starting pay or pay range early enough to negotiate, such as in the job ad or before the interview, and employers may not ask about your pay history. Each EU country must put these rights into its own law, and many were late.

Who is covered

All public and private sector employers, of any size, for the job-applicant rights in Article 5. The Directive generally doesn't apply to job seekers directly: each EU member state must write it into its own national law, and your rights come from your country's law.

What you must be told about pay

The starting pay or its range, based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, given early enough for informed pay negotiation: for example in the published job ad, before the interview, or in another way.
Where relevant, the parts of the collective agreement the employer applies to the job.
A gender-neutral job ad and job title.
Information in a format accessible to people with disabilities.

Pay history

Employers must not ask about your pay in your current or past jobs (Article 5), once your country's law is in force.

What you can do

Get the starting pay or pay range for the job early enough to negotiate, such as in the job ad or before the interview (once your country's law is in force).
Expect a hiring process that is not discriminatory, with gender-neutral job ads and titles.
Once hired, ask in writing for your own pay level and average pay by sex for workers doing the same work or work of equal value. The employer must answer within two months.
Once hired, you cannot be stopped from telling others your pay in order to enforce equal pay.
If you suffer pay discrimination, claim full compensation, including back pay, with no fixed upper limit.
Go to court. Equality bodies, unions and associations may act for you or support you with your consent.
National time limits for equal pay claims must be at least three years, and cannot start until you know, or should know, about the violation.

Where to report a violation

Each member state's national equality body and labour inspectorate (there is no EU-level complaint desk)

Each member state sets its own penalties. They must be effective, proportionate and dissuasive, must include fines, and must be tougher for repeat violations. Victims must get full compensation, including back pay, bonuses, lost opportunities and non-material harm, with no fixed upper limit. If an employer did not meet the transparency duties, it must prove there was no pay discrimination.

Sources

The member-state deadline to transpose the Directive was June 7, 2026; that is the date shown here, not the date rights apply in any particular country. Details such as timing, penalties and which agency to contact differ by country. As of the last check, the European Commission had not published which countries have fully transposed it, and the EU's list of notified national measures changes often, so it isn't repeated here. Check your own country's law, or the EUR-Lex transposition page in the sources.