Will a future employer be allowed to ask my current salary?

Offering a candidate significantly less than the salary budgeted for a role simply because they didn't negotiate hard enough is not just unethical—it's one of the structural practices that has contributed to the persistent gender pay gap.

Many candidates, particularly women, may not feel empowered to negotiate due to social conditioning, prior negative experiences, or a lack of transparency about market rates. When employers base offers on previous salary history—often already below market—it only serves to embed inequality further.

This is exactly the kind of imbalance that the EU Pay Transparency Directive, adopted in 2023 and due to be implemented by EU Member States by June 2026, is designed to address. The directive aims to strengthen the principle of equal pay for equal work and to close the gender pay gap by shifting away from opaque, individualised pay negotiations toward standardised, transparent pay structures.

Under the directive, employers will be required to:

• Disclose the pay range for a role, either in the job advertisement or before the first interview.
• Refrain from asking candidates about their current or previous salary.
• Provide employees with the right to request information on pay levels and average pay broken down by sex for categories of employees doing the same or similar work.
• Report on gender pay gaps if they have 100 or more employees, with increasing obligations based on workforce size.
• Justify any pay differences between employees of different genders performing equal work—or face sanctions where unjustified gaps are found.

The directive recognises that leaving pay decisions to individual negotiations reproduces systemic bias. Pay fairness should not be a reward for assertiveness—it should be rooted in the value of the role and a culture of equality and accountability.

Forward-thinking employers who embrace these changes will not only ensure legal compliance—they will foster trust, retain diverse talent, and contribute to a fairer labour market. The era of secretive salary practices is coming to an end. The future is transparent.

If you've experienced pay inequality, unfair hiring practices, or want to understand how the upcoming directive could apply to your situation, book a confidential case assessment call.