For years, asking about salary during recruitment was considered a faux pas, and open conversations about pay within teams were seen as potential sources of conflict. Pay differences? Often vaguely explained as “job specifics” or an “individual career path.” But all that is no longer just a matter of organizational culture. It is about to become a legal obligation.
In June 2025, a law was signed in Poland introducing provisions that partially implement EU Directive 2023/970 on equal pay and pay transparency—specifically concerning salary transparency during recruitment. The regulations will come into force on December 24, and from 2026, the largest employers will be required to collect gender pay gap data. We are witnessing a revolution—not only in legal compliance but in how entire organizations operate.
Pay Transparency Is Not a Choice—It’s the New Standard
Although Poland’s labor code has long prohibited pay discrimination, the pay gap still exists—both the statistical one and the less visible one, hidden in bonus systems, promotion access, or managerial decisions. And while Poland performs relatively well compared to the EU average (our average pay gap is around 5–7%, while the EU average is 13%), experts point out that these figures do not present the full picture—they don’t account for bonuses, benefits, or real promotion opportunities.
The new regulations aim to address this issue in a meaningful way. But they also pose a challenge for employers.
What Will Change in Practice?
The list of obligations imposed by the directive is long—and it goes far beyond adding a “salary range” field in a job ad. It represents a fundamental shift in how salaries are managed across organizations:
- Recruitment – Employers must inform candidates about the pay level (or objective salary range) before hiring, as well as the rules for determining pay. Employers will also be prohibited from asking about a candidate’s previous earnings.
- Pay Structures – These must be transparent and enable objective comparisons between employees performing work of equal value. The directive outlines specific comparison criteria: competencies (including soft skills), responsibility, working conditions, and effort.
- Right to Information – Employees will have the right to know how their pay compares to the average for their job group, broken down by gender.
- Pay Gap Reporting – Companies with over 150 employees (and in the future, smaller ones too) will be required to submit annual reports with extensive pay data illustrating pay disparities. These include the median pay gap, the distribution of bonuses, variable components, and allowances by gender.
Interestingly, the first report—due in 2027—will cover the entire year of 2026, including months when the law may not yet be fully in force.
This means one thing: organizations that don’t prepare their data collection systems in advance may face real challenges meeting the reporting obligation.
The End of the Confidentiality Clause?
For many companies, the biggest challenge will be a shift in mindset. Pay transparency disrupts the myth of “individual salary policy.” Employers may have to move away from the rule of “everyone earns what they can negotiate” and adopt a more systematic approach to pay.
Is that a bad thing? Quite the opposite. In the long run, this can increase trust, loyalty, and employee engagement—while also protecting the employer from discrimination claims.
But to achieve that, these changes must be implemented wisely. And ahead of time.
What Can You Do Today?
At RK Legal, we help our clients prepare for the new regulations in advance—before the changes become mandatory and deadlines loom.
We help review:
- organizational structures and job titles – to assess the comparability of roles,
- employment contracts and pay regulations – to identify provisions that conflict with the directive,
- recruitment and onboarding processes – including consent forms, candidate information, and communication methods.
It’s worth remembering: the earlier you start preparing, the more time you’ll have to act—without chaos or last-minute pressure.
