Survey of HR directors and managers on salary transparency
In March 2026,IFOPcarriedout a survey for Deel on salary transparency among directors and human resources managers in private companies with 50 or more employees in mainland France.
Key findings:
In companies with more than 50 employees, HR directors and HR managers take a positive view oftheEuropean directive on pay transparency and are confident about its implementation, as their companies are, for the most part, ahead of schedule in their preparations.
The vast majority of companies are ready for the application of this new directive: 8 out of 10 HRDs and HROs consider that their company is ahead of schedule (82%), with HRDs being more optimistic (92%) than HROs (74%). What’s more, one in two respondents say that their company is already ready to apply this directive, and almost all (98%) believe that their company will be ready by the end of the year.
Furthermore, HR directors and HR managers overwhelmingly approve of the directive’s ban on recruiters asking applicants for their previous salaries : 87% are in favor, including 36% who are “strongly in favor”. A very small minority (2%) are “strongly against”, with a higher proportion (5%) in companies with 250 or more employees.
Virtually all HR directors and HR managers (98%) can already foresee a number of advances linked to the application of this new directive. 6 out of 10 mention the transparency offered to employees and candidates (64%), the reduction of pay inequalities for equivalent responsibilities (62%) and the reduction of pay inequalities between women and men (60%). However, only a minority are convinced that the application of the directive could lead to simplified wage negotiations (on recruitment or upgrading) because of the framework (44%).
Although many are anticipating these positive advances, the vast majority of HRMs/HRDs (92%) feel that pay equity within their company is currently good, including 3 out of 10 who feel it is very good (31%). Those whose companies are lagging behind in implementing the directive are nevertheless more negative about this aspect of their company: a quarter of them (25%) feel that pay equity is poor, compared with 8% overall.
Despite a generally positive opinion of this new directive, and a certain confidence in their company’s ability to comply with it, HRDs and HRMs also note the challenges and difficulties they face in applying it.
For HRDs and HRMs in companies whose businesses are not yet fully ready, the risk of internal tensions linked to greater transparency (51%) and the potential cost of remuneration adjustments are the two main obstacles cited (51%) . Also cited were the lack of visibility on the precise terms of application in France (41%) and the difficulty of classifying job levels (37%), particularly in the agricultural and industrial sectors (53%), but less so in the retail sector (19%). Lastly, 35% cite the lack of suitable tools for monitoring compliance, and 33% the difficulty of analyzing salary data and making it reliable.
HRDs and HRMs also point to the various challenges faced by companies in implementing the directive, the most important of which are the proper management of annual negotiations with employees (43%), the adaptation of HR tools to meet the new reporting obligations(42% ) and the implementation of regular monitoring of pay discrepancies (39%), all of which were raised by around 4 out of 10 HRDs/HRMs. It should be noted that the harmonization of compensation practices between teams, professions or countries (38%) is of greater concern to HRDs (48%) than to HRMs (30%).
Finally, HRDs/HRMs are rather optimistic about the expected impact of the pay transparency directive on salary trends: a majority expects its implementation to lead to an increase in salaries (60%), but a solid minority (40%) thinks it will, on the contrary, lead to salary stagnation. This pessimistic view of the directive’s effects is more prevalent among those whose companies are lagging behind in implementing the directive (55%) and those who are opposed to the ban on asking applicants for their previous salaries (55%).
Find all the results in PDF format in the documents to download.
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