Pay transparency

Our support on salary transparency

The 2023 European Directive on salary transparency is a real step forward in the treatment of wage inequalities and will allow greater transparency on the subject of Remuneration, a taboo subject in France.

Impacts for employers

Some companies are already in a process of total transparency and the arguments they put forward are a desire to reduce inequalities of gender, origin and social class and to give the same opportunities to those who dare and those who do not dare to do so.

But not all companies are ready for pay transparency and it is in their interest, financially and socially, to prepare for the June 2026 deadline by building an action plan.

Rééquilibrer l'inégalité des salaires

Here are 5 key points we recommend include in this action plan:

1

The job title alone does not guarantee that the positions are comparable and that the remuneration should be the same.  Therefore, the first thing to put in place to prepare for salary transparency is a robust shift weighing system. It makes it possible to establish a “ranking of positions” with grades or levels that will provide a rational in the comparison. 

2

Then, it is important to anticipate and carry out different analyses to identify any differences between men and women by grade and position on all components of compensation.

3

Once identified, you will be able to take advantage of your next salary review campaigns to correct them.  This will allow you to control the impact on your payroll since these catchup’s will be part of the framework that you will communicate to managers with the use of “Merit matrix” for example. Including these catchups in an annual review also avoids taking action through exceptional measures that raise many questions.

4

Analyzing pay equity is important and companies will also need to ensure that their compensation is well positioned in relation to the external market and their competitors. Indeed, the display of salary ranges in job offers will have other impacts:

  • No or few candidates if the ranges are too low compared to market practices.
  • A snowball effect on internal employees who would not be at the level of remuneration proposed in the offers (e.g. if the salaries offered to candidates to attract them are higher than the salaries charged internally)
  • A risk of talent retention if competitors post job offers with higher salaries than those offered by your company.

5

Create a culture of transparency around the factual elements taken into account to determine a salary increase (performance evaluation, internal and external equity, skills acquisition, etc.)

Marche à gravir pour la transparence des salaires

Depending on the progress made in these different aspects, the maturity of the managers and the corporate culture, the road towards transparency is more or less complicated.  

We can provide you with our expertise and support you by taking into account your starting point (your tools already in place, your corporate culture, the sponsorship of your managers and the degree of maturity of your teams) and the path you still have to travel.

Our support is based on 6 axes:

Based on an audit of your HR practices, define your roadmap and an appropriate action plan.

Equip yourself adequately with tools for weighing shifts, internal and external benchmarking.

Anticipate your catch-up needs as part of your next NAO.


Define and draft your total rewards policies.

Build your communication strategy

Get feedback on your employees understanding and satisfaction.

It’s in the interest of all companies to give their employees the feeling that their efforts are being fairly rewarded, and we help you do just that! 

Contact us at contact@happy-employees.fr

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