Industry
Pay Transparency in the EU: What Will Change by 2026 — and Why This Matters Even for Freelancers
12 Nov 2025
The European Union has adopted the Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970). By 7 June 2026, all EU member states must transpose it into national legislation.
The core aim is to make pay practices more open, fair and understandable across the labour market.
At first glance, this may seem relevant only to companies hiring employees. But the impact will reach further — including the freelance and contractor market.
Why This Directive Was Introduced
According to Eurostat, the average gender pay gap in the EU is about 13%, and in some countries it exceeds 17%.
In addition, the hiring process is often opaque: salary ranges are hidden, offers are based on negotiation skill rather than job value, and “salary depends on interview results” is still a standard line in job adverts.
As a result:
candidates spend weeks clarifying basic conditions,
companies experience slow hiring cycles,
and many potential matches simply never happen due to lack of clarity.
The directive is designed to remove this uncertainty.
What Will Change for Employers
Salary ranges must be communicated before the first interview.
Either stated in the job posting or provided when scheduling the call.
Employers will no longer be allowed to ask about previous pay.
This prevents offers being anchored to someone’s past role instead of the current one.
Employees gain the right to access information about how their pay is determined,
and compare it to colleagues in similar positions.
Companies with more than 100 employees must publish pay gap reports.
If the gap exceeds 5% without objective justification, it must be corrected.
The rollout will happen gradually, but the direction is clear: from opacity to transparency.
How This Improves the Hiring Process
Fewer “blind” introductory calls just to learn the basics.
Faster mutual understanding of whether collaboration makes sense.
Less room for under-offering based on previous salary history.
Higher trust between candidates and employers.
In short, the market becomes more mature.
So Where Does Freelancing Come In?
Even though the directive formally applies to employees, companies don’t separate mindset, culture and workflow between internal and external talent.
As transparency increases inside organisations, it also affects:
how they budget for projects,
how they brief contractors,
and how they justify rates.
The practical effects for freelancers:
Companies will start defining budget ranges in advance.
Project briefs will become more precise and structured.
The phrase “we’re not sure about the budget yet” will appear less often.
Rate discussions will be based on market standards, not on subjective expectations.
It becomes easier to filter out misaligned clients early.
For freelancers, this means:
Fewer unproductive negotiation cycles.
Faster clarity on whether the project is a fit.
Easier justification of rates, backed by visible market benchmarks.
Transparency in employment → transparency in contracting.
A Simple Before–After Example
Before:
Client: “We need an animation.”
Budget is discussed after three calls.
Turns out they expected 15€/h for 40+ hours of work.
After:
Client: “Our pay range for design roles is 2,500–3,200€ per month.
For animation, we allocate 450–650€ per 20–40 second segment.”
The alignment is clear from the start.
Time — the most valuable resource — is saved.
Personal View
I welcome these changes.
The less guesswork we have at the beginning of a professional relationship, the easier it is to work together.
Transparency reduces friction, saves time, and allows collaboration to be based on trust and clarity.
And that is the foundation of a healthier creative market — both for companies and independent professionals.