What the EU pay transparency directive asks employers to tell people
The news. The context. Your next move.
The Comms Brief helps internal communication professionals understand what is changing at work and decide what to do next. We explore the news, research and ideas shaping internal communication, change and leadership. Each episode connects a…
A background episode, not a new announcement. Directive (EU) 2023/970 asks employers to tell applicants about pay, to make pay criteria accessible, to answer pay information requests and to inform all workers every year of their right to ask. Through a fictional employee, Priya, we look at why part of this lands on internal communication, and one small first step. The episode does not report the position in any individual country. This is not legal advice.
The fictional scene (Priya and her manager) is an invented thinking example, not a real case.
Sources
Directive (EU) 2023/970, adopted 10 May 2023. Articles 2, 5, 6, 7, 9, 34 (transposition by 7 June 2026) and 37 (addressed to the member states). EUR-Lex: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/dir/2023/970/oj/eng (read 13 October 2026; published in the Official Journal on 17 May 2023).
European Commission, EU action for equal pay: https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/policies/justice-and-fundamental-rights/gender-equality/equal-pay/eu-action-equal-pay_en (read 13 October 2026; page shows no overall date; latest dated item 14 August 2026). Source for: the 7 June 2026 deadline and the statement that particular attention will be given to assessing conformity of national legislation after it.
European Commission, "New EU rules on pay transparency explained", 5 June 2026: https://commission.europa.eu/news-and-media/news/new-eu-rules-pay-transparency-explained-2026-06-05_en (read 13 October 2026). Source for: the Commission's description that the rules are now taking effect across the EU.
Limits
The directive is addressed to member states, which must bring national laws into force to comply with it. What applies to an employer therefore depends on the countries where its people work. We did not check national laws against government sources and give no count of countries. The description of the rules is our plain-language reading of the directive text.
Your next move
List the countries where you employ people, and ask HR and legal who answers an employee who asks how pay is decided, and what they say today. Ask for two sentences a manager could say out loud.
We use AI to expand the context, sharpen the analysis and make your attention go further. Sponsored by Springcast.
The Comms Brief
The Comms Brief helps internal communication professionals understand what is changing at work and decide what to do next.
We explore the news, research and ideas shaping internal communication, change and leadership. Each episode connects a development to its meaning for employees and leaders, then offers a practical next step to consider in your organisation.
The news. The context. Your next move.
We use AI to expand the context, sharpen the analysis and make your attention go further.
Sponsored by Springcast.