France: The EU Pay Transparency Directive

Implementations and actions

What is the current implementation status and timing? (April 2026)

The Directive has not yet been implemented in France. 

Following consultation with the social partners, the government had planned to introduce a bill transposing the Directive in September 2025. 

The French government has now presented a draft bill and consultations with employee and employer representative trade unions are ongoing. To date, the draft bill covers the full scope of the Directive’s requirements for both the private and public sectors.

It appears increasingly likely that France will not meet the transposition deadline of 7 June 2026 and the French Minister of Labour has indicated that the draft bill should be submitted to parliament "before the summer". 

The bill should be finalised in the next few weeks allowing for consultations with various advisory bodies, and then submission to Parliament by end of May 2026.

What preparatory steps are you advising clients to take, including ensuring they have access to the required data?

Pending further details on the transposition bill, we recommend clients prepare for data extraction and run some quality checks, if this is not something they already used to do in the context of the equality index. From there on, they should be in a better position to anticipate the DSN automation and map all the applicable pay elements to then conduct pay gap audits.

In addition to the above, we would advise clients to review their job classifications, train their HR teams, prepare for internal communication and involvement of employee representatives (if any).

Employers should continue to monitor upcoming legislative developments. 

Implementing the Directive's requirements

Which workers are in scope?

It is anticipated that national laws will align with the Directive definition of a worker and we can therefore assume that only workers bound by an employment contract, regardless of form, will fall into the scope of the Directive. This therefore excludes self-employed and independent workers.

Who will be workers' representatives?

Awaiting further details of implementing legislation.

It is likely that employee representatives will be those at company level (the Works Council) where one exists. Implementing legislation may grant some powers to trade unions to negotiate with employers and set a general framework, particularly at sector level and/or where the company is too small to have a Works Council.

Are there any proposals around the methodology and tools for assessing "equal value"?

There is no current legal requirement to have a job evaluation system in place. We consider it likely that national legislation will make it mandatory for employers to have a job evaluation system in place, with an obligation to base classifications on objective criteria. While no specific methodology has been announced, we anticipate there is likely to be a legal obligation to base classifications on objective gender-neutral criteria (such as skills, responsibilities, working conditions etc.).

However, collective bargaining agreements play a significant role in France through job classifications, particularly at sector level. Recently sector level agreements regarding job classification have tended to switch to more objective methodology with criteria being used to assess the "value" of each job and its location on the scale of minimum remuneration. Criteria have included for example, activity, complexity, knowledge, autonomy, contribution, supervision/cooperation communication etc.

It is considered likely that employers will need to provide additional justification that their categorisations are based on objective gender-neutral criteria in line with the Directive.

French courts have ruled on the meaning of "equal work" and "work of equal value", and these decisions should remain relevant for the purposes of the Directive's requirements. The Ministry of Labour may also provide guidance to support employers in identifying such criteria where these have not already been set at sector level.

The implementation of the Directive will certainly activate consultation rights for employee representative bodies (works councils) consistent with French practices of information-consultation on professional equality matters. In such cases the opinion of the Works Council is only advisory, not binding. Save in very specific cases there are no co-determination bodies in France.

How is pay defined?

It is anticipated that legislation will clarify what pay elements are included and excluded from the definition of pay, including what is meant by "any benefit paid directly or indirectly" beyond basic salary. If not, this will be an area which will likely be addressed by case law in line with previous rulings in this area.

How are the requirements for transparency for job applicants being implemented?

The draft bill presented on 19 March 2026 introduces the following measures in the French Labor Code:

• Creation of a right to information for job applicants regarding the pay for the role they have applied for.
• Prohibition of publication of a job offer that does not specify a pay range.
• Prohibition on employers from asking candidates about their current pay or salary history.

These provisions are intended to enter into force immediately once the bill is promulgated.

Current position

At present only limited provisions are in place with no requirement to provide salary ranges in job postings or a prohibition on asking about different salaries.

How are the requirements for transparency for workers being implemented?

The draft bill presented on 19 March 2026 introduces the following measures in the French Labor Code:

• Requirement for employers to make available to workers the components of pay and the criteria for pay classification and progression.
• Creation of an annual obligation on employers to inform workers of their right to request, and receive in writing, information on their individual pay level and average pay levels by gender within their category. The response deadline will be set by decree.
• Limitation to the right to information where the number of workers in a category falls below a threshold (to be set by decree) to protect individual data.
• Prohibition of contractual clauses preventing workers from disclosing their pay.

The 50-employee threshold does not appear to be used as a blanket exemption in the current draft, though certain obligations are calibrated by company size.

Current position

At present, statutory requirements about pay transparency in France are limited. There are some general principles about prohibition of discrimination and equal treatment, but no specific access and/or information process has been set by law.

How are the gender pay reporting requirements being implemented?

The draft bill presented on 19 March 2026 confirms the following approach to gender pay gap reporting, which will reform the existing equality index:

• The first six indicators in the Directive will be automated via the electronic payroll declaration system, DSN and which will reduce the administrative burden on all companies.
• All companies with 50+ employees will have an obligation to report on the seven Directive indicators annually.
• The seventh indicator will be reported annually by companies with more than 250 employees and every three years by those with between 50 and 250 employees.
• A reporting obligation (via the index) for companies with 50 (to 99) employees will remain but with a lighter requirement.
• The obligation to report the seventh indicator is likely to be effective in 2027 for companies with 150 plus employees, and in 2030 for companies with fewer than 150 employees.
• Additional obligations will fall on the employer in case of unjustified gaps (in particular if gaps reach 5% or more on the seventh indicator), with increased scrutiny prerogatives from the Works Council (assessment and consultation process) and the Labor Administration (notification). The employer will also have to set an action plan as a remedy.

It is not currently anticipated therefore that there will be any changes in the implementing legislation to the threshold and reporting deadlines set out in the Directive.

Current position

The existing equality index which includes a reporting obligation, is planned to be completely overhauled in 2027 due to persisting high levels of pay inequality in France (although the existing reporting obligation, via the index, is likely to remain for smaller companies - see above).

When counting workers for the purposes of the Directive's pay reporting thresholds, will only workers of a particular "legal entity" be in scope?

Our current understanding is that there is no definitive answer to this at present. It seems likely that the focus will be on legal entities in line with assessing the threshold for the current equality index.

Do we have details on how the requirement for a joint pay assessment will be implemented?

Yes – the draft bill presented on 19 March 2026 sets out a detailed joint pay assessment procedure. Where a gap of 5% or more is found at the seventh indicator that cannot be fully justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria:

The employer may choose between two procedures:

1. a joint pre-assessment with a 6-month time to remedy the gap by collective agreement or unilateral decision
2. a joint assessment directly

If the gap remains after the assessment, the employer must negotiate a collective agreement or set up an action plan within 12 months of the first declaration. The negotiation or action plan must be based on a report analysing the reasons for the pay gaps (including data on pay increases upon return from parental leave).

The agreement resulting from the joint assessment is valid for a maximum of 3 years. For companies with 250 or more employees (who report annually on the seventh indicator), if a gap persists, the employer covered by an existing agreement need only update the report rather than conclude a new agreement, for up to 3 reporting periods including the one that generated the initial agreement.

The Works Council is consulted at each stage, and its opinion must be filed with the Labor Administration. If no opinion is transmitted within the period set by decree, the Works Council is deemed to have issued a negative opinion.

Do we have details as to how the Directive obligations will be enforced and potential sanctions?

Yes – the draft bill presented on 19 March 2026 sets out the following penalty regime:

A penalty of up to 1% of the company's total payroll applies for failures relating to: 

• the initial declaration of indicators (absence, erroneous or incomplete declaration, failure to consult the CSE, failure to transmit the CSE's opinion)
• the right to information on the seventh indicator and the second declaration (in the context of the pre-joint assessment procedure)
• failures related to the joint assessment (failure to file a collective agreement or action plan within 12 months, failure to inform the CSE, failure to file the gap analysis report).

The penalty doubles to 2% of payroll in the event of a repeat offence within 5 years.

Flat-rate fines of EUR 450 apply to specific breaches, including failures to:

• respond to information requests on the seventh indicator;
• inform workers of their right to request pay level information; 
• make pay structure and progression criteria accessible; 
• inform job applicants of the pay for the role; and 
• comply with the prohibition on requesting salary history.

This amount may be doubled for repeat offences within 5 years.

Are there any tools or guidance available to support employers?

Government guides on the directive and its transposition are planned; DSN automation  to support the declaration of the six quantitative indicators remains planned. Further guidance and tools are expected to be published once the law is promulgated.

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