The secrecy surrounding salaries will soon end. New EU rules change everything – from how job advertisements look to how we talk about salary in our workplace. Flex Applications guides you to what to expect when the Pay Transparency Directive becomes a reality in 2026.

The requirements of the Pay Transparency Directive are clear, and those who do not comply with them risk sanctions. But there are also many benefits to be gained for companies that take the issue seriously, according to Linda Tesell, Product Manager at HR tech company Flex Applications.
“By keeping track of the imbalances, the company becomes more gender-equal, while also providing a better basis for setting and revising salaries. A big bonus is also that you strengthen your image as an employer,” she explains.

SALARY SHOULD BE COMMUNICATED IN THE JOB ADVERTISEMENT OR BEFORE THE INTERVIEW
Today, salary is often something that employers hold off on until the last minute. Something that is now set to change. The directive states that the candidate must be informed from the start – if not in the job advertisement, then at least before the interview where the salary negotiation begins. But that's not all. The directive also forces companies to address gender pay gaps – and to provide employees with clear information about both their own salary and the salary for similar roles. Does the business have 100 employees or more? Then the salary gaps must also be reported to the Discrimination Ombudsman (DO). The point: to create greater transparency so that wage inequities cannot go under the radar.

HOW TECHNOLOGY CAN MAKE IT EASIER
One of the most comprehensive parts of the directive concerns pay mapping – the process by which employers review pay to identify and address differences that lack a factual explanation. For many companies, this is a time-consuming step, especially when work is still building.
on manual routines and Excel sheets. But there is a better way. The Flex HRM personnel system includes a tool that makes salary mapping both smooth and secure. You have all the information collected in one place and work in an educational flow from preparatory work to analysis and reporting.
– We are adapting the tool so that it is easy to produce the reports required by the directive. We have also placed great emphasis on making the system as intuitive as possible – it both saves time and makes it easy to do the right thing, explains Linda Tesell.

THREE THINGS TO PREPARE NOW
It is wise to start well in advance – the first reporting under the directive is due in 2027 and will be based on data from the whole of 2026. So the question is: how best to prepare?

Linda Tesell shares three concrete tips:
– Review your job architecture. This is where you lay the foundation for fair wages – with clear roles, salary ranges and career paths.
– Train managers and update salary setting procedures. This ensures that salaries are set on objective grounds and handled uniformly across the organization.
– Prepare routines for salary mapping and reporting. With a user-friendly tool, you get analyses and reports on the spot without time-consuming manual work.

ABOUT FLEX APPLICATIONS
With its comprehensive solution Flex HRM, Flex Applications is one of the few suppliers that brings together the entire company's human resources administration in one place. Staffing of work shifts, timesheets, expenses, allowances, HR support and payroll in one seamless system.