There is one year left until the implementation of pay transparency. Will organisations have time to prepare and what will be their responsibilities?

Preparing to implement the EU Pay Transparency Directive is a complex process that experts say will be difficult for many companies.

– Implementing the directive is not only an administrative obligation, but also a necessity to reorganise remuneration systems. This is a huge challenge for HR departments, requiring the creation or review of remuneration structures, implementation of transparent promotion rules and analysis of the pay gap – comments Joanna Liksza, MyBenefit expert at Benefit Systems and head of the Compensation & Benefits postgraduate studies at Lazarski University. – According to our “Trends 2025: Pay Transparency” survey, four out of five companies in Poland are only at the initial stage of preparations to implement pay transparency. One in five organisations openly admits that it lacks basic knowledge in the field of remuneration management.

Where should companies start?

– The first step is to review positions in the organisation and regulations as well as to analyse the employment structure. The next step is to build remuneration structures, i.e. to value positions based on the four criteria indicated by the directive, i.e. considering skills, including soft skills, responsibility, effort and working conditions – explains Joanna Liksza.

As the expert notes, the introduction of new regulations is also a testing moment for internal communication in organisations: – Employees will have the right to information on their pay levels and average pay levels, broken down by gender, for categories of employees performing the same work or work of equal value to theirs. Employers have an obligation to provide employees with easy access to the criteria for evaluating jobs, setting pay levels and determining pay progressions. HR teams must be prepared not only to collect and analyse data, but also to provide clear, factual answers.

Facts and myths about pay transparency

There are many misunderstandings surrounding the directive, which may cause unnecessary anxiety among both employers and employees. One of the most common is the belief that companies will be required to disclose individual salaries.

– That’s not true. The purpose of the regulation is to ensure equal pay, not to publish the payroll. Employees will have access to salary ranges and learn about the criteria for evaluating positions. Another myth concerns the scope of the regulations. Although reporting the pay gap will apply to companies employing more than 100 employees, the transparency of remuneration rules will cover all organisations. Transparency does not mean the end of salary negotiations either. They will still be possible, but within clearly defined structures and ranges – comments Joanna Liksza.

The survey mentioned earlier shows that the lack of appropriate tools is currently one of the main barriers for companies preparing to implement the directive. There are no systems on the market that fully meet the requirements of the directive because there are no national regulations that define these expectations. Currently, 49% of organisations see the lack of IT systems to implement the obligations related to the directive as one of the main barriers to implementing transparency. 61% of organisations indicate that providing tools and methods for job assessment would facilitate the process of implementing the directive. Providing tools and methods for calculating the pay gap would also be helpful (59%).

– Preparation for the implementation of the directive is a time-consuming process that requires the involvement of HR teams and appropriate IT tools – emphasises Joanna Liksza. – If companies want to get through this stage smoothly and without the risk of slippage, they need to start taking action now. Delays in preparations for the implementation of the directive may result not only in organisational chaos, but also in real legal consequences. It is worth using the summer period to organise positions and build remuneration structures based on the criteria specified in the directive. Benefits and other employment-related allowances should also be reviewed. The directive defines remuneration broadly and the pay gap will be calculated not only on remuneration, but also on benefits and allowances, the so-called supplementary and variable components.

The non-financial benefits market recognises these challenges and is already creating solutions to support companies in the process of implementing pay transparency. Benefit Systems, a leader in non-financial benefits and provider of the MultiSport card, is already testing the Remuneration Module – an HR tool available on the MyBenefit platform, which is intended to support companies in adapting to new requirements related to pay transparency.

– Employee benefits creators recognise the needs of HR departments and create digital solutions that are intended to streamline their work, the so-called HR Tools. Optimising the work of these teams in terms of administrative tasks – which also cover the pay transparency procedure – gives HR specialists more space for other strategic activities, such as supporting employee development or acquiring talents. Ready-made systems help HR departments adapt to the requirements step by step, eliminating one of the main obstacles: the lack of knowledge on how to organise this process – says Paweł Kornosz, Managing Director of Cafeteria Platforms at Benefit Systems. – In the recently completed pilot project, companies cooperating with us tested functionalities such as a panel with key data on employment structure and the pay gap, a job map, analysis of remuneration components and their comparison with the market, and ready-made reports on pay consistency, fairness and competitiveness.

Transparency promotes competitiveness

According to a survey conducted by No Fluff Jobs, as many as 91% of Poles prefer to apply for job offers that include information about the salary range. In the 18–24 age group, this percentage is as high as 97%. Moreover, almost half of respondents (46%) do not trust employers who do not provide salary ranges in job ads. [1]

– The need for transparency is no longer just a regulatory requirement. It is becoming a market standard, shaped by the expectations of candidates and employees. In the face of the upcoming changes, organisations that invest in the right tools and processes today not only gain a competitive advantage in recruitment, but above all build employee trust and a lasting culture of openness and transparency – summarises Joanna Liksza.

In response to the growing challenges related to implementing pay transparency, the Compensation & Benefits Club, led by Joanna Liksza, has prepared specialist materials that can significantly facilitate this process for companies. These include “ Job Architecture – How to prepare an organisation to implement pay transparency? ” and “ Pay Transparency – A New Era in Remuneration ” manuals. Both materials can be downloaded for free and provide valuable support for HR teams and management staff.

^{[1] https://nofluffjobs.com/pl/log/hr-w-it/ogloszenia-o-prace-z-podanym-zakresem-wynagrodzen-widelki/}

Sandra Dobrowolska

Senior PR Specialist, Benefit Systems

• s.dobrowolska@benefitsystems.pl
• 797 294 243

^{Benefit Systems has been operating on the Polish market for over two decades and is one of the leaders in providing non-financial benefits that support employee wellbeing. The company is the creator of the MultiSport Programme, which enables physical activity in sports facilities throughout the country. Its portfolio also includes the MyBenefit cafeteria platform and the Multi.Life wellbeing programme. For several years now, the company’s sports offer has been developed on foreign markets, including the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria, and Croatia. The Benefit Systems Group also operates fitness clubs (in Poland it is responsible for Fabryka Formy, FitFabric, Fitness Academy, Good Luck, My Fitness Place, Saturn Fitness, StepONE, Total Fitness and Zdrofit networks). An important area of Benefit Systems activities is the promotion of an active lifestyle at every stage of life, which is why the company implements initiatives supporting physical activity of children, adults, and seniors, also as part of the MultiSport Foundation. Since 2018, Benefit Systems has been part of the global B Corp initiative, bringing together companies operating and engaging in solving the most important social problems. More information can be found at benefitsystems.pl/en.}