Quick answer: If you run a small company in the EU, pay transparency is not a policy binder. It is what you put in the job ad and what you stop asking in the interview. Directive (EU) 2023/970 must be transposed by Member States by 7 June 2026. After national law lands, all employers owe applicants an initial pay or range and must stop asking pay history. Gender pay gap reporting is separate and only starts from 100+ workers, phased from 7 June 2027. In Poland the hiring rules already apply to everyone since 24 December 2025.
This is practical hiring ops, not legal advice. National law controls. Talk to local counsel for edge cases.
What does the EU Pay Transparency Directive actually require?
It requires Member States to write national rules that make equal pay enforceable through transparency, not a single EU form every company fills on one day.
The full name is Directive (EU) 2023/970 of 10 May 2023. It entered into force on 6 June 2023. The hard date founders keep hearing is 7 June 2026, which is the transposition deadline in Article 34(1). That is when Member States must have implementing law ready. Your day one duties start when that national law applies to you.
Primary text lives on EUR-Lex. The Commission also keeps a plain explainer and an equal pay overview.
In my opinion the SERP mess starts here. Enterprise posts talk about 2027 reports. Founders with 15 people need the hiring loop, not a reporting dashboard.
Which rules hit all employers, and which hit large ones only?
Hiring transparency hits everyone. Gap reporting hits larger headcounts later.
| Obligation | Who | Size floor in the Directive |
|---|---|---|
| Initial pay or range to applicants (Art. 5(1)) | All employers after national transposition | None |
| Ban on asking pay history (Art. 5(2)) | All employers | None |
| Gender neutral vacancy notices and titles (Art. 5(3)) | All employers | None |
| Accessible pay / pay level / progression criteria for workers (Art. 6) | All employers (Member States may ease the progression piece under 50) | None for the core duty |
| Worker right to individual and category pay info on request, reply in 2 months (Art. 7) | All employers after transposition | None |
| Gender pay gap reporting (Art. 9) | Large / mid large only | From 100 workers |
| Joint pay assessment if a ≥5% unjustified gap sits unfixed (Art. 10) | Only employers under Art. 9 reporting | Same as reporting |
Reporting dates under Article 9:
| Headcount | First report by | Then |
|---|---|---|
| 250+ | 7 June 2027 | Every year |
| 150 to 249 | 7 June 2027 | Every 3 years |
| 100 to 149 | 7 June 2031 | Every 3 years |
| Under 100 | No EU mandatory report | Member States may still require one |
So if you have 40 people in Warsaw, you still change how you write ads and run interviews. You do not, under the Directive alone, file EU gender pay gap reports.
Do I have to put the salary in every job ad?
You must give applicants the initial pay or its range early enough for an informed negotiation. The ad is the best ops default, not the only legal shape.
Article 5(1) literally says the info can come in a published vacancy notice, prior to the job interview, or otherwise. The Commission short hands it as vacancy notice or ahead of the interview. Recital 32 also says the range should not freeze bargaining outside that band.
What fails in practice is late disclosure at offer letter time, or a different story from every interviewer. If your applicant tracking system publishes the role publicly, put the range in the posting. Then nobody has to remember a pre interview script under pressure.
Same article bans fishing for prior pay. Do not ask what someone earned at the last job. Do not leave a current salary field on the application form. Do not brief an agency to dig it up for you.
Gender neutral titles and ads sit in Article 5(3). Drop the old “young salesman” style wording while you are editing templates anyway.
If you also use AI to screen, that is a separate EU stack. We already covered the live AI Act pieces for hiring teams in EU AI Act and AI hiring tools.
What is already live in Poland?
Poland’s hiring rules already apply to all employers since 24 December 2025. The rest of the Directive package was still incomplete when we checked.
The statute is the Kodeks pracy amendment published as Dz.U. 2025 poz. 807 (Dziennik Ustaw). It entered into force six months after publication, on 24 December 2025. New Article 18³ca covers remuneration info (initial amount or range on objective, gender neutral criteria), delivery early enough for negotiation, and gender neutral vacancy notices. Article 22¹ was amended so employment history data the employer may demand excludes prior pay.
Zielona Linia’s public employment services note tracks that hiring block as live (explainer). Secondary sources in mid 2026 still described the fuller package (employee pay info rights, gap reporting, joint assessments, full penalty design) as draft, often labelled UC127. Directives do not usually bind private employers horizontally the day the EU deadline passes. National text does.
Founder safe line: fix Polish job ads and interview scripts now. Watch RCL and Sejm for the rest. Do not wait for a 2027 reporting chart that does not apply to a 15 person team.
What should a 15 person team edit this week?
Edit the hiring loop you actually run, not a compliance binder.
- Write salary bands per role. Use objective, gender neutral criteria (skills, effort, responsibility, working conditions). Write the criteria down somewhere the hiring manager can find.
- Put initial pay or range in every public job ad. State gross, and whether the figure is monthly or annual. Note material variable pay if it matters.
- Remove pay history from forms and scripts. Application fields, phone screens, reference checks, agency briefs. Allowed talk is expectations around the published range, not “what are you on now.”
- Rewrite titles and ad copy for gender neutrality. Same template for every channel you post to. More on channels in where to post jobs for free and how to post a job on LinkedIn with an ATS.
- Script the pre interview fallback. If a role somehow went out without a range, send the range before the interview starts. Do not improvise at the table.
- Keep a short audit trail. Ad text, range used, who approved exceptions outside the band.
- Plan for worker info requests once your country transposes Article 7. Reply window is two months. Tiny teams still need a process, and tiny sex split averages raise privacy questions. Counsel helps there.
- Watch headcount. Crossing 100 later means reporting prep. Under 100 today still means ads and interviews now.
That list is ops. It is not a substitute for reading your national implementing act.
How does Canvider fit without overclaiming?
We give you optional salary fields. We do not sell an “EU compliance mode.”
On job create you can set min and max salary plus currency. AI salary suggestions are optional and editable. After publish you can edit salary, skills, and locations. The careers page has a salary show or hide toggle. JobCraft still lets you write pay in free text in the job description. Screening questions are up to three custom prompts, so write ones that help you hire. Do not use them to ask salary history.
What we do not claim: LinkedIn structured salary sync, automatic blocking of pay history questions, or jurisdiction packs that magically match every Member State. Salary is not part of our LinkedIn structured sync today. If you need the range on LinkedIn, put it in the description or post it manually.
Useful product pages if you want the mechanics: Careers page, features overview including JobCraft, and screening questions.
What should small EU employers do first?
Small EU employers change the ad and the interview. Large employers also plan gap reports on a later calendar. Poland already flipped the hiring switch for everyone on 24 December 2025. Put the range where candidates see it, stop asking what they earned before, and keep the criteria boring and consistent.
Frequently asked questions
Does every EU job ad need a salary range?
Not as the only legal shape. Article 5 of Directive (EU) 2023/970 says applicants get the initial pay or its range in time for an informed negotiation, such as in the vacancy notice, before the interview, or otherwise. Putting the range in the ad is still the cleanest habit for a small team.
Do companies under 100 employees file gender pay gap reports?
Not under the Directive floor. Article 9 reporting starts at 100 workers and is phased: 250+ and 150 to 249 first report by 7 June 2027, then 100 to 149 by 7 June 2031. Member states may pull smaller firms in, so check national law.
Is pay transparency already law in Poland?
The hiring side is. Since 24 December 2025, Polish Kodeks pracy amendments (Dz.U. 2025 poz. 807) require salary info for candidates, ban pay history questions, and ask for gender neutral ads for all employers. The fuller Directive package (employee info rights, gap reporting, joint assessments) was still moving through draft implementation when we researched this. Confirm current Sejm text with counsel.
Can I still negotiate outside a published salary range?
Yes in principle. Recital 32 of the Directive says pay transparency should not freeze bargaining outside the indicated range. Keep offers consistent with equal pay for equal work, and document objective reasons when you go outside the band.