Four out of ten European organizations are not yet (fully) prepared for the Pay Transparency Directive, according to a study by a European HR service provider, which surveyed 5,936 HR managers and 16,500 employees in 16 European countries.
However, only 68% organizations across Europe and 47% organizations in Romania are fully aware of the European Pay Transparency Directive—a directive that all EU member states must transpose into national law by June 7, 2026, at the latest—according to an analysis by SD Worx.
One in five (19%) European organizations list pay transparency among their top five compensation priorities for 2026. In Romania, the percentage is 23%.
According to the study, awareness among employees is also limited: only one-third (34%) know what the directive stipulates and what it means for their rights, and in Romania this percentage is above the European average, standing at 40%.
One of the main objectives of the EU Pay Transparency Directive is to reduce the gender pay gap. It requires employers to be transparent about salaries and to take action in cases of unexplained gender pay gaps. Companies with more than 100 employees will be obligated to report on this. To date, only a few European member states have transposed these provisions of the Pay Transparency Directive into national legislation.
The research also reveals that 66% of European employees and 60% of Romanian employees have never heard of the Pay Transparency Directive and do not know what it means for their rights. This shows that, in many organizations, pay transparency is more advanced at the policy level than in employees’ day-to-day experience.
In addition, 10% of European managers and 12% of Romanian managers indicate that they have taken very few steps to comply with the directive. Nearly three in ten (28%) are partially compliant, while 62% are confident that they have everything in place to comply. In Romania, only 22% are partially compliant, and 66% believe they have everything in place to comply with the Directive. Among Romanian companies with over 1,000 employees, the percentage is 71%, and among companies with fewer than 100 employees, it is 57%.
At the same time, only 18% of organizations in Romania provide employees with concrete tools to ensure pay transparency, such as dashboards for internal pay equity, while the European average is 18%. Among SMEs with fewer than 100 employees, the share drops to 16% in Romania and 14% in Europe.
Nearly three in ten European workers (29%) believe their salary does not reflect the value of the work they do. About 27% are neutral on this issue, and 44% believe their salary is fair. Romania is very close to the European average, with 28% of employees considering their salary adequate, 27% are neutral, and 45% of employees believe their salary is fair for the work they do. Employees in Ireland (58%), the Netherlands (57%), and the United Kingdom (56%) are particularly likely to feel that they are paid fairly compared to colleagues in similar roles. France (35%), Slovenia (35%), and Croatia (36%) are at the bottom of the ranking.
The picture is different among employers: 65% believe they pay their employees fairly for their work, with a similar percentage among employers in Romania. Employers in Ireland and Norway (both 73%), the United Kingdom (72%), and the Netherlands (70%) are the most convinced of this. On average, 13% of European employers and 11% of Romanian employers admit that they do not pay their employees fairly.
Although 57% of European organizations and 61% of Romanian organizations regularly analyze internal data to identify and address pay gaps, only 38% of Romanian employees feel that their organization is truly committed to resolving this issue, compared to the European average of 39%. Among women, the percentage drops to 36% and 35% in Romania, respectively, compared to 41% among European men and 39% among Romanian men. However, a small majority expects pay transparency to increase in the coming years: 53% of women and 51% of men, with the percentage being higher in Romania, at 64% of women and 64% of men.
The June 7 deadline is fast approaching, and the authors of the study believe that transposition into national law will likely vary considerably from one country to another. As a result, many organizations are still waiting for concrete details. However, they can already take steps today. By collecting, analyzing, and comparing compensation data right now, they can identify potential pay gaps more quickly and take targeted action. In this way, organizations not only better prepare for regulations but also strengthen their position in the labor market. Pay transparency plays an increasingly important role in attracting and retaining talent: 64% of European employees and 78% of Romanian employees consider it (very) important when choosing an employer. Organizations that prioritize transparency today are therefore building a clear competitive advantage.
In Romania, the transposition of the European directive on pay transparency has entered a concrete phase. On March 30, 2026, the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity launched a draft law dedicated to transposing Directive (EU) 2023/970 for public debate, marking the first coherent legislative step in this area.
Through this initiative, the authorities aim to integrate the new European requirements on transparency and pay equity into national legislation. Thus, the process can no longer be classified as purely preparatory or exploratory, but rather as an effective legislative endeavor, although still in the finalization stage.
According to publicly available information, the bill adopts the main obligations provided for by the directive. These include introducing the obligation to communicate salary levels or salary ranges to candidates as early as the recruitment stage, enshrining employees' right to request information on average remuneration levels for equal work or work of equal value, broken down by gender, as well as establishing gender pay gap reporting obligations for employers exceeding certain staff thresholds. The bill also provides for mechanisms to correct unjustified pay gaps, along with penalties for non-compliance.
Overall, the legislative initiative involves substantial amendments and additions to the existing legal framework, including in relation to the Labor Code, the legislation on equal opportunities, and the institutional architecture of the authorities involved in the application and monitoring of the new rules.
‘Salary transparency should not be perceived as a large and overwhelming project, but as a process that is built efficiently, step by step, through clear and manageable stages, thus becoming easier to control and less costly. The implementation of this process involves more than fulfilling formal reporting obligations, including a structured analysis of internal mechanisms for evaluating roles and remuneration practices, aligned with objective and gender-neutral criteria, which is essential for both legal compliance and for providing coherent and well-founded explanations to employees,’ states Liliana Moldoveanu, Legal Manager, SD Worx Romania, quoted in the study's presentation.