As EU Pay Transparency Deadline Passes, 56% of German Workers Plan to Demand Salary Data

Survey: 56% of German employees plan to ask about colleagues' pay under EU directive. Germany and Austria miss June 7 deadline, raising litigation risks and pressure on non-compliant firms.

More than half of German employees say they intend to exercise new rights to inquire about colleagues’ pay once the EU’s wage transparency directive takes legal effect, according to a May 2026 survey by Deel and Censuswide. The poll of 56% of respondents planning to use the upcoming information rights and 61% considering a job change over unfair pay underscores the pressure building on employers who have yet to comply.

The directive’s implementation deadline expired on June 7, 2026, yet only three of the 27 member states – Italy, Lithuania and Slovakia, the latter passing its law on April 15 – have fully transposed the rules into national law. The European Trade Union Confederation confirmed the figures.

No German law in sight
In Germany, the absence of a cabinet resolution stems from coalition infighting, chiefly over the balance between collective bargaining autonomy and the EU’s requirements. Legal experts now warn that from June 8 German courts may begin interpreting existing domestic law in line with the directive, sharply raising the litigation risk for companies.

A 2025 ruling by the Federal Labour Court already strengthened employees’ hand, holding that a single better-paid male colleague can be enough to establish a suspicion of pay discrimination. The new directive also introduces a reversal of the burden of proof: in discrimination cases, the employer must demonstrate no breach of the equality principle.

Austria also blocked
Neighbouring Austria has missed the deadline as well. Labour Minister Schumann announced a draft bill, but disagreement persists within the government and among social partners. Labour representatives and the Greens push for rapid action, while the Federation of Austrian Industries and the Economic Chamber warn against extra bureaucracy.

Austria records one of the EU’s highest gender pay gaps: 17.6% overall and 11.6% for full-time workers, compared with an EU average of 11.1% in 2024. Germany’s unadjusted gap stands at roughly 16%, with the adjusted figure at 6%.

New obligations for firms with 100+ staff
Once the directive takes effect nationally, employers face sweeping changes:

• Salary transparency in job ads: companies must disclose a pay range in listings or before interviews; questions about previous salary history are banned.
• Right to information: workers may ask for the average compensation level of colleagues doing equal or equivalent work, broken down by gender.
• Reporting duties: businesses with at least 100 employees must report regularly on their gender pay gap.
• Intervention requirement: if the unjustified pay gap exceeds five percent, a joint pay assessment with employee representatives becomes mandatory.

Currently only about 12% of German job advertisements include salary information.

Macroeconomic toll
The European Trade Union Confederation estimates that women in the EU forgo annual earnings of between €4.8 billion and €7.2 billion as a result of the pay gap.

While France plans to present a legislative proposal within the week, a final German law is not expected before early 2027 at the earliest. In the meantime, delinquent states face EU infringement proceedings, and companies face a growing tide of demands from their own workforce.