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Pay Transparency Directive

Published on : 30/07/2026 30 July Jul 07 2026
Newsletter / Looking Foward
Newsletter

France has yet to transpose the European Directive of 10 May 2023, which aims to strengthen equal pay between women and men through greater pay transparency.

This directive requires that information on remuneration or a remuneration range be provided to a candidate at the time of recruitment, prohibits employers from asking candidates about their previous salary history, strengthens employees’ right to obtain information on remuneration levels, and provides for a mechanism to address unjustified pay gaps.

In principle, the Member States of the European Union were required to transpose this directive by 7 June 2026 at the latest. To date, France has not yet adopted the transposition law. Two draft bills have been put forward for discussion, but no legislation has yet been passed. It can be expected to have a transposition law adopted no later than the upcoming French presidential election in May 2027.

In principle, the directive does not have direct effect in employment relationships: an employee cannot therefore invoke the directive directly against its employer in court. However, French courts could interpret current French law more strictly in the light of European objectives, in line with the approach taken by the French Supreme Court (Cour de Cassation), which places great emphasis on compliance with EU law.

Next steps
For the time being, the government’s delay to transpose the directive presents an opportunity for companies in France to strengthen their work in preparation for the forthcoming transposition law.

It is advisable to anticipate upcoming reforms in advance, particularly regarding the harmonization of pay grade, the structuring of pay scales and the documentation of objective criteria for setting and increasing salaries.

The forthcoming transposition is indeed expected to strengthen employers’ transparency obligations and require more robust documentation of pay criteria.

 
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