From 2026, salaries can no longer be kept secret. At Interviurile Adevărul, Oana Botolan, HR expert details how the European directive changes the rules for employees and companies
A major change: salaries leave the area of ”secrets”
From June 7, 2026, the European directive on salary transparency becomes mandatory in all member states, including Romania. The salary confidentiality clause in employment contracts disappears, employees have the right to know salary scales, and companies can no longer ask candidates how much they earned at their previous job.
This change marks a clear break with the way organizations have operated until now. For decades, salaries were considered strictly private information, protected by contracts and internal rules.
At the European level, only 11 of the 27 member states have already published a draft for transposition into national legislation. Romania is among the countries still working on the draft law and this delay should not encourage passivity.
HR expert Oana Botolan explains that organizations should not wait for the appearance of the law to prepare, as the direction is already set at the level of the European Union.
“A company, an employer, with over 100 employees must prepare for the implementation of the directive, even if we do not have the legislation ready, in Romania. We still do not have the draft law, but nevertheless, if we prepare based on the words of the directive, when we have the local legislation, the possible changes will be minimal. Basically, companies must be prepared for the moment when the legislation will be adopted. So, companies must not wait for the law to be published first Romania and then proceed to its application” warns Oana Botolan to The Truth interviews.
Why salary transparency has become necessary
Pay transparency is not a new idea in Europe. The principle of equal pay for equal work has been part of the founding values of the European Union from the beginning. The problem is that for decades it remained a recommendation rather than a requirement.
In practice, the application was uneven, and the results were seen. The gender wage gap at the level of the European Union remains around 12%. In Romania, salary differences exist in all cases and are against women.
The directive adopted in 2023 radically changes the situation: it transforms general principles into clear legal obligations, with deadlines and control mechanisms.
“The directive does not force companies to raise wages or level compensation packages. What it does is to enforce transparency with employees about how wages, bonuses and benefits are determined, using the same criteria for everyone — regardless of department, hierarchy level or gender.” explains Oana Botolan.
What new rights do employees get?
From 2026, the salary confidentiality clause disappears from individual employment contracts and internal regulations. Specifically, an employee will be able to show the pay slip to a colleague without any legal consequences.
In addition, each employee will have the right to request and receive information about their own compensation package—salary, bonuses, benefits—as well as the average salaries of peers in similar positions performing work of equal value.
“Also, transparency starts as early as the recruitment process. For all open positions, employers will be required to communicate the salary range in writing before the interview. Another major change: interviews will no longer allow asking about the candidate’s current or previous salary. This provision applies to all companies, regardless of size“ points out the HR expert for The truth.
Who loses and who gains from salary transparency
One of the central objectives of the directive is to reduce the gender pay gap. The main mechanism is mandatory reporting. Companies will have to regularly submit data on the pay gap between women and men. This information will make visible the possible inequalities that until now remained hidden.
Basically, transparency becomes a tool of social and institutional pressure: once the differences are public, companies will have to justify or correct them.
Salary differences that were invisible until now will become topics of discussion. Managers will need to explain remuneration decisions more clearly than ever.
“I think that the majority of companies that will be prepared and will take all the necessary steps to apply salary transparency will win. The directive supports one of our basic psychological needs: the need to be treated fairly and by applying salary transparency we will see in black and white that we are treated in the company for which we work for so long or for which we stay at least 8 hours. The winners are the companies that are prepared, that will communicate the rules as much and as clearly as possible the game” says the HR expert
In the long run, however, the winners are considered to be both the employees and the companies. Wage transparency is not a threat to business, but an opportunity to build trust. In a job market where retention remains a major challenge, this trust can make the difference between organizations that keep people and those that lose them.
Watch the full edition from The Truth interviews and learn from Oana Botolan, HR expert, everything you need to know about the changes that salary transparency brings to the labor market in Romania.
