Many of Europe’s largest economies are falling behind on salary transparency ahead of the European Union’s forthcoming implementation deadline, according to new research from Indeed.
The data show that only a minority of job advertisements currently disclose pay information in several key markets. Germany trails with salary details included in just 12 per cent of postings, while Spain stands at 17 per cent. The UK remains the most transparent major market in Europe, with 56 per cent of job listings including salary information, followed by the Netherlands, France, Ireland and Italy.
Even so, the UK’s position has weakened over the past year, with disclosure rates falling from almost two-thirds of postings to just over half. Italy has moved in the opposite direction, recording the sharpest improvement among the countries surveyed.
The findings come as EU member states race to implement the bloc’s pay transparency directive, adopted in 2023. The legislation is intended to strengthen pay equity by requiring greater openness around salary information during recruitment and employment.
Progress, however, has been uneven. Several large EU economies have yet to pass the domestic legislation needed to comply with the directive. France is unlikely to complete implementation before the deadline, Germany has not yet introduced a formal bill, and the Netherlands has delayed implementation until 2027. Italy and Ireland are among the few countries proposing rules that would require salary details to appear directly in job advertisements.
The research also highlights wide variation in the quality of disclosure. Exact salary figures remain relatively uncommon, with many employers opting instead to publish broad pay ranges. The UK leads on precision, with nearly a third of salary-transparent postings including a fixed figure.
Jobseekers, meanwhile, appear strongly supportive of greater transparency. Across the countries surveyed, a substantial majority said they would be more likely to apply for roles that included salary information, with support particularly strong among women.
Lisa Feist said the UK’s recent decline suggested that progress could not be assumed to continue automatically. “As transparency becomes more standardised across Europe, UK employers may increasingly find themselves benchmarked against higher-disclosure standards,” she said.
The shift reflects broader changes in hiring expectations as candidates seek greater clarity around pay and employers face growing pressure to demonstrate fairness and openness in recruitment practices.
