Salary transparency: mandatory in the EU, and in Switzerland?

Since 7 June 2026, EU Directive 2023/970 on pay transparency should have been transposed in all 27 member states. Where it has been, companies must state the salary or a salary range in their job ads, or at the latest before the first interview, and may no longer ask candidates about their previous pay.

Three months on, the picture is mixed: a handful of countries are on time, France and Germany are late, and Switzerland still has no obligation at all. At Licorn, we believe pay transparency is not only fair but essential to make recruitment more efficient. And that it should work both ways: candidates should state their expectations too. Here is where things stand, updated in September 2026.

What the EU directive requires

Adopted on 10 May 2023, the directive sets four main rules:

01

Salary in the ad or before the interview

Employers disclose the starting salary or a range, in the job ad or before the first interview. “Depending on profile” or “to be discussed” is no longer enough.

02

Ban on asking about previous pay

Recruiters may no longer ask candidates about their current or past salary, to avoid carrying over unjustified gaps.

03

Right to information for employees

Any employee can request their own pay level and the average pay, by gender, of people doing equivalent work.

04

Reporting and correcting gaps

Companies with 100 or more employees publish their gender pay gap. Above an unjustified 5% gap, a joint pay assessment with employee representatives is mandatory.

Where does transposition stand at the end of September 2026?

The 7 June 2026 deadline has passed, but implementation remains very uneven:

On time: Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania and Malta adopted their laws before the deadline, Greece shortly after. Estonia partially transposed in July 2026.
Postponed to 1 January 2027: the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark and Czechia have announced entry into force at the start of next year.
Late: in France, the bill was reworked on 10 September 2026 and has not yet been voted on. In Germany, the government has not adopted any bill, and no law is expected before 2027. Spain has been consulting on a royal decree since August 2026.

In practice: in a country that has not transposed the directive, a private employer is not yet required to disclose salaries. But the direction is clear, and large Swiss groups with EU operations (UBS, ABB, Holcim, Zurich, AXA) are already preparing their European sites.

And Switzerland? Still no obligation

In Switzerland, nothing requires an employer to state the salary in a job ad. The only legal framework is the Gender Equality Act (GEA): since 2020, companies with 100 or more employees must carry out an equal pay analysis every four years, have it verified by an external body and inform their staff. No sanction applies in case of an unjustified gap, and the gender pay gap remains around 12%.

Politically, a motion asking the Confederation to lead by example by showing salaries in its own job ads was opposed by the Federal Council. In a country where the issue is traditionally left to the social partners, a general obligation is not on the agenda.

The momentum therefore comes from employers themselves. Swiss Re publishes salary ranges in its Swiss job ads, SBB and Swiss Post have adopted the practice, Swisscom has tested it on selected roles, and both Roche and Novartis have committed to extending their transparency measures to their Swiss sites. On the candidate side, the signal is clear: according to JobCloud, job ads that explicitly mention pay are favoured. Yet in SMEs, salary remains largely taboo: only one company in three says it is ready to disclose its pay practices.

The benefits of salary transparency for everyone

Salary transparency brings clear benefits:

01

Avoid time loss

Candidates know from the start whether offers match their expectations, and recruiters target genuinely interested profiles.

02

Reduce inequalities

Displaying salaries limits unjustified gaps and promotes fair pay.

03

Strengthen employer attractiveness

Transparent employers build trust with talent and enhance their employer brand.

Recruiters: how to state the salary in a job ad in Switzerland

Without a legal obligation, the right reflex is the same as in the EU: give useful, consistent information.

01

State a realistic range

A range of 10 to 15% between minimum and maximum, aligned with your internal grid, is more credible than a single figure or a range too wide to be useful.

02

Specify the basis

Gross annual salary, number of monthly payments (12 or 13), employment rate, variable share or bonus: in Switzerland these details change everything and avoid misunderstandings at the interview.

03

Stay consistent internally

Publishing a range exposes you to questions from current employees. Check first that your grid is fair, for instance with the GEA analysis if you are subject to it.

04

Ask for expectations rather than previous pay

Even without a ban in Switzerland, ask candidates for their salary expectations rather than their former salary. That is the Licorn principle: every candidate states their requirements, every recruiter their conditions.

Publish my conditions on Licorn

A passive yet relevant system powered by salary transparency

While Switzerland is lagging behind, Europe is introducing rules to encourage salary transparency. However, job platforms are adapting without rethinking their overall system structure. At Licorn, we go further: recruiters share not only salary information but also working conditions, values, and other key criteria. What further sets us apart is that candidates are also required to specify their expectations.

This dual transparency creates a powerful lever to streamline the recruitment process, effectively align candidate and employer expectations, and ensure relevant matches, with no surprises during interviews.

Towards full transparency?

What about you—are you ready to make transparency a strategic advantage? Join Licorn and discover a new way to grow your career.

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Salary transparency: what about Switzerland?