Directive on transparency: will we really be able to know the salary of our colleagues?

What if you knew your colleagues' salaries? “Perhaps it would make it possible to better negotiate our salary after a certain time in the company,” reacts a passerby, interviewed in the report at the top of this article. “I'm afraid it will cause a little too much tension by saying 'He doesn't do anything, he earns so much, while I work like a madman and I only earn half'“another is wary. By June 2026 at the latest, France must have transposed a European directive on remuneration transparency. Companies above a certain threshold will have to communicate to employees who request it, not the individual salary, but the average salary for an equivalent position.

A fading taboo

Transparency already applied by certain bosses. “The employees talk among themselves, so I don’t see why I would hide it. It will create a bad atmosphere by hiding something”explains Stéphane Cohen, director of a restaurant in Issy-les-Moulineaux (Hauts-de-Seine).

According to a recent survey conducted by the employment site Hellowork, 54% of employees say they are comfortable talking about compensation with their colleagues, compared to 17% in 2019. Another study published in September, conducted by YouGov for the recruitment firm PageGroup, shows that seven out of ten employees are ready to ask the median salary of their colleagues.

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“I think that would make it possible to avoid certain discrepancies which are not always fair,” says another passerby, interviewed in the TF1 report above. Adopted by the European Council in April 2023, this directive aims to reduce gaps, particularly between men and women, the difference still standing at 13% on average in 2020 within the European Union, according to the institution . With this revolution, companies will have to modify salaries in the event of an unjustified difference of more than 5% between two colleagues, and will face a fine if they do not do so.

A difficult policy to implement, which, according to some experts, requires regular checks. “Between the text and the implementation, there is often a world”warns Clara Moley, specialist in equality at work. The principle of “equal pay for equal work” is enshrined in the Labor Code. Equality between men and women has been enshrined in the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen for a very long time”she continues.

At the same time, employers will have to make public a salary range on job offers. If France has taken a lead compared to its European neighbors, the work of professional equality has been interrupted by the dissolution of the National Assembly, and now the preparation of the budget.