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🇫🇷 France

France: EU Pay Transparency Directive legislation at a glance

Although France did not meet the June 2026 transposition deadline, a draft bill was presented to the Council of Ministers on September 10th, 2026 and is moving through Parliament. The bill is expected to be adopted in late 2026 or early 2027 and to be implemented progressively from late 2026 through January 1st, 2028. The draft bill would update France’s Professional Equality Index to align it with the key requirements of the EUPTD. In the meantime, the Professional Equality Index is maintained for 2027, and its declaration procedures remain unchanged.

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Transposition

At a glance

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Effective date

Some elements (for example, pre-employment pay transparency) may take effect immediately when the bill is passed, with others taking effect in a year or less. First pay gap reports for companies with fewer than 150 employees would likely be due on June 1st, 2030.

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Size of companies impacted

Companies with 50 or more employees must report (this exceeds the Directive’s minimum requirements, which require reporting only for companies with 100+). Those with 250 or more employees report more frequently.

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Pay transparency provisions for job applicants

Information about the estimated salary, plus any applicable collective agreements, must be provided in job postings. If no job posting is created, the information must be given to the applicant in writing before or during the interview.

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Defining categories of workers and work of equal value

Where collective agreements are present, worker categories may be defined by the agreement; industry-wide categories can apply where no collective agreement exists. If neither condition applies, employers must consult the nation’s Social and Economic Committee (CSE) before determining categories on their own. The French Ministry of Labour has published a provisional French translation of the EIGE toolkit for job evaluation and categorization. It includes the guide, a quick-start guide, and matrices tailored to different company sizes.

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Right to information

Employees have the right to know their pay and the average pay by gender of employees in the same job category. Requests must be made in writing and can be made by employee representatives. Employers must inform employees of their right to information annually. The draft law does not specify the employer’s response deadline, which will be addressed in future legislation.

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Transparency in small groups

Data must be aggregated in such a way that confidentiality is preserved and no employee is identifiable.

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Remediation & joint pay assessments

The threshold and guidelines for a joint payment assessment will be issued in a future decree. The current draft does require these assessments to be filed within 12 months of the initial report and available to employees and employee representatives/collectives. Employees/collectives may also request explanations of the indicator. Joint pay assessments will remain valid for three years. Companies with 50-99 employees and a pay gap that surpasses the threshold will not be subject to a joint pay assessment; rather, they will have to specify and commit to corrective measures.

Legal Interpretation

How legislation in France interprets the EU Directive’s requirements

France’s transposition of the EU Pay Transparency Directive stays close to the Directive’s required minimum framework. However, there are a few exceptions, and a few points that remain to be addressed in future legislation.

  • The pay gap data reporting threshold is lower than required: 50 employees, rather than 100. This maintains the norms for data reporting under France’s existing Professional Equality Index.
  • The draft bill will also require certain pay indicators (the first 6 out of 7) to be calculated annually for all companies with 50+ employees. These calculations will be made by drawing from the government’s economic, social, and environmental database, so companies will only need to check their accuracy. The 7th indicator (pay gaps by worker category) will be required every three years for employers with 50-249 employees and annually for those with 250+ employees.
  • Social and Economic Committees (CSEs) are influential in the French labor market. The new bill would have CSEs provide a formal opinion that will be filed along with each company pay gap report. It would also require employers to consult with CSEs regarding data used for reporting, remediation actions, and any pay gaps that are over the specified percentage (in this last case, the CSE will provide an opinion to the reporting authority).
  • Further legislation is expected to address certain points of the EU Pay Transparency Directive, including employer response time for information requests, joint pay assessment requirements, and when corrective action is required for a pay gap.

Get ready to respond quickly to employee requests in Malta

beqom’s Pay Equity and Transparency tool keeps you compliant as French requirements evolve through January 2028, including:

  • Reporting: Submission-ready reporting from one platform, covering the French index today and the new EU Directive’s requirements.
  • Availability in all EU languages: Full support for every official EU language, including French.
  • Full EUPTD compliance: Pay equity analysis, remediation actions, and automated right-to-information workflows in one platform.

To see what our pay equity and transparency tool can do for your organization, we invite you to schedule a demo anytime.

Activity by member state

EU Pay Transparency Directive Transposition Tracker

EU member states are working to transpose the EU Pay Transparency Directive into national law. We’ve created this page to keep track of each member state’s progress.

Visit the EUPTD Tracker

National implementation

Pay transparency rules by country

Each EU member state is putting the EU Pay Transparency Directive into its own national law, and the details vary from country to country. Pick a country to see where its legislation stands, what employers will need to do and when the new rules take effect.

Visit the EUPTD Hub
  • Map of Estonia.

    Estonia

    Estonia has partially implemented the EU Pay Transparency Directive under a unique split strategy.

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    Greece

    Greece's transposition took effect July 6, 2026, with several key requirements deferred until November 1, 2026 to ease the transition. The framework follows the EUPTD baseline and includes added safeguards against abusive right-to-information requests.

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    Italy

    Italy transposed the EUPTD through Legislative Decree No. 96/2026, effective June 7, 2026.

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    Lithuania

    To implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive, Lithuania passed Law No. XV-969 to expand the nation’s Labour Code. The law sets up a series of sequential deadlines that cover all the elements of the Directive.

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    Malta

    Malta transposed the EUPTD via the Equal Pay (Transparency and Reporting) Regulations 2026 (Legal Notice 173 of 2026). It largely mirrors the EU baseline, but adds stricter documentation thresholds, a short deadline for right-to-information requests, and clearly defined penalties for noncompliance.

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    Netherlands

    Dutch transposition is still in draft. A first version circulated in March 2025, but the coalition government's collapse delayed progress; the current draft, dated January 20, 2026, amends the Equal Treatment of Men and Women Act of 1980.

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    Slovakia

    Slovakia has fully transposed the EUPTD through its Equal Pay Act (Act No. 76/2026 Coll.). The law follows the EU baseline closely, though some deadlines are tight — offset by provisions that ease compliance for smaller businesses.

booklet image of the EU Pay Transparency Directive 2026 eGuide

Download our EU Pay Transparency Directive 2026 eGuide

Starting June 2026, organizations across the EU must comply with sweeping new pay transparency and equity regulations. Our new and updated eGuide gives you the clarity, strategies, and tools you need to act now—before it’s too late.

Get the eGuide todayDownload our EU Pay Transparency Directive 2026 eGuide
The EUPTD readiness checklist

EU Pay Transparency Directive Compliance Checklist

The June 2026 transposition deadline has now passed. We’ve put together a 43-step Compliance Checklist to help you ensure every aspect of the legislation is covered. Now’s the time to secure your organization against important fines, costly litigation, and reputational damage.

Get the Compliance ChecklistEU Pay Transparency Directive Compliance Checklist

Dive into other Pay Transparency resources

Each guide, article or webinar is designed to help you navigate common pain points and complex compliance challenges with confidence. Learn from beqom’s thought leaders who distill complex topics into accessible, actionable recommendations. We provide proven frameworks and real-world examples, keeping you up to date with the latest legislation and helping you stay compliant while driving employee engagement.