After early announcements of rapid implementation, followed by several months without any action being taken in response to the EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970), the Ministry of Labour sent a preliminary draft law to the social partners on 6 March 2026. This draft introduces significant changes for employers and employees, replacing the current "Professional Equality Index" with new, more detailed pay transparency requirements. These are coordinated with a number of existing negotiation and consultation obligations under French law.
Key measures and changes
1. New pay indicators will replace the “Professional Equality Index”
- The current Professional Equality Index, based on five indicators, will be replaced by new remuneration indicators (seven in total, to be listed by decree) for companies with at least 50 employees.
- These indicators will have to be reported and will be published on the Ministry of Labour’s website. They may also be posted on the company’s own website, except the indicator relating to the gender pay gap by employee category.
- A specific indicator will measure the pay gap between women and men by category corresponding to the performance of the same work or work of equal value. Companies with between 50 and 249 employees will only be required to report this indicator every three years.
- A decree will define the remuneration elements to be taken into account for the calculation of the indicators.
2. Broader definition of “work of equal value”
- The concept of work of equal value, which already exists in French law and takes into account professional knowledge, experience, responsibilities and physical or mental strain, will be complemented. It will now also have to consider non-technical skills and working conditions.
- Categorization of employees performing work of equal value will primarily result from a company or industry agreement, or, failing that, a unilateral decision by the employer after consulting the Social and Economic Committee.
3. Employer obligations based on company size
- Companies with 50 to 99 employees:
- The Social and Economic Committee (Works council) must be informed about the data used for the calculation, the calculation method and the results of each indicator.
- If the pay indicator by category reveals a pay gap greater than a certain threshold (to be set by decree), the company will be required to implement corrective measures to reduce the gap as part of the mandatory negotiations with trade unions on professional equality or, failing this, in a unilateral action plan intended to ensure gender equality.
- Companies with at least 100 employees: The obligations will be more extensive:
- The Social and Economic Committee (Works council) must be consulted (and not just informed) about the data used for the calculation, the calculation method and the results of each indicator. The opinion of the Committee will have to be reported to the labour authorities.
- Employees, the Social and Economic Committee or trade union representatives within the company may ask for clarification and justification regarding the indicator on the gender pay gap by category.
- If a significant gap (threshold to be set by decree) is found in relation to this indicator within at least one category, the employer may either justify the gaps by objective and non-sexist criteria and consult the Social and Economic Committee on these explanations, or decide to immediately initiate negotiations on appropriate and relevant corrective measures to remedy any unjustified gap.
- In the event of a total or partial lack of justification for at least one category, the employer shall remedy this gap within six months of the first reporting by collective agreement or unilateral decision on appropriate and relevant corrective measures and report the amended indicator to the labour authorities after consulting the Social and Economic Committee.
- If, at the end of this period, the differences are neither justified nor corrected, the company must carry out a joint assessment with employee representatives and implement additional measures, either through a company collective agreement or, failing that, through an action plan. These measures must be reported to the labour authorities and communicated within the company.
4. Information on pay structure
- Employers are required to make the following information available to employees: categories, criteria for classification and promotion, and all other bases for calculating remuneration, including job evaluation methods.
5. Right for employees to request pay information
- Employees can request in writing (directly or through employee representatives), information on:
- their own pay level,
- the average pay by gender for their job category.
- The employer must respond within a set timeframe (to be defined by decree) and must remind employees annually of their right.
- By way of exception, if the number of employees in this category falls below a threshold to be set by decree, the employer shall not disclose this information and shall inform the employee accordingly.
6. Pay transparency during recruitment
- Employers may not ask a job applicant for information about their pay history during their current or previous employment relationships.
- Job offers will have to include a range of proposed initial remuneration and relevant collective agreement provisions applicable to determining remuneration.
- If there is no job offer, this information must be provided to the candidate in writing before or during the job interview.
7. Ban on pay secrecy clauses
- Employment contracts can no longer include clauses that prohibit employees from disclosing their salary.
8. Easier burden of proof in cases of wage discrimination
- Employees alleging discrimination must provide facts suggesting discrimination; the employer must then prove their decision was based on objective, non-discriminatory criteria.
- In the event of a breach of transparency obligations, the burden of proof will lie entirely with the employer.
- Employees may compare their pay to that of (i) an employee previously hired by their employer and (ii) an employee employed in another company, if pay rules are set by a common collective agreement (at group or economic and social unit level).
9. Penalties for non-compliance
- Administrative fines can reach 1% of the total payroll in the event of a breach of the main professional equality obligations (failure to comply with reporting and consultation obligations, incorrect or incomplete declaration, failure to negotiate or take corrective measures) with increased penalties for repeat offences.
- Fine of up to €450 (per breach) in the event of a failure to comply with the other obligations, with increased penalties for repeat offences.
10. Timeline
- The bill is expected to be debated in Parliament by the end of 2026.
- Certain measures (e.g., job offer transparency, ban on pay secrecy clauses) will apply as soon as the law comes into force.
- Most provisions will enter into force on a date to be set by decree, no later than one year after the promulgation of the law.
- Provisions regarding the right to request pay information will apply from the date of entry into force of the agreements or unilateral decision of the employer determining the categories of employees, and no later than one year after the promulgation of the law.
- For companies with fewer than 150 employees, the requirement to report the pay gap indicator by employee category may apply no later than 1 June 2030.
How should employers prepare?
To best prepare for compliance and avoid penalties, employers should:
- Monitor developments: Stay informed as the discussions on the preliminary draft bill progress.
- Ensure that they comply with their current legal obligations, which will continue to apply, with regard to negotiating or implementing a gender equality action plan and providing employee representatives with the data required by law.
- Review and update pay structures and HR policies to ensure all criteria for pay and progression are objective and gender-neutral and that they are properly documented.
- Prepare for new reporting obligations by identifying how to collect and process pay data.
- Start working on categorising employees by reviewing the current classification levels and their relevance to the concept of work of equal value and identifying potential gaps.
- Consider training HR and management teams on the new rules, particularly with a particular focus on recruitment, salary disclosure, and handling requests for information.
- Audit current contracts to remove any pay secrecy clauses and ensure job offers include salary information.
