The European Parliament has decided to end the practice of “payment confidentiality”, which has become a common practice in job postings in recent years. In fact, the EU has determined by a directive that the salary must be declared in the advertisement or at the first job interview. New indicators will need to be adopted by member states within three years. The Directive received broad cross-party support from Members of the European Parliament, with more than 400 votes in favour. Opponents of the proposal include six Italians, two from Forza Italia and four from Fratelli d’Italia.
In detail, the European Parliament has decided to intervene in the “fairness” of job postings to increase the level of transparency of job offers and help reduce the gender pay gap. In fact, according to a study by the OECD (an organization for economic cooperation and development), wage transparency measures contribute to reducing the gender pay gap wherever they are implemented. And by being described as “an important tool in tackling gender inequality”, they clearly show employees the existence and extent of the difference.
According to this directive, any company with more than 100 employees will have to correct wage inequality in excess of 5% without justification. In addition, male and female workers will be allowed to access aggregated gender data on wages to understand the criteria for any wage increase. Second, it should be gender neutral. The Directive also says no to salary secrecy, in fact: companies will be required to state the expected salary for a given position in their job postings or at the latest at the first interview. Not only that, because employers and HR will no longer be able to ask candidates for their previous job salaries to avoid salary history impacting the offer.
Under the Directive, Member States will have to impose effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, such as fines, for employers violating the rules. Male and female workers will be entitled to compensation if companies fail to comply with transparency and equal pay measures. “This law is progressive, modern, feminist and liberal. It is the first step towards closing the gender pay gap,” said Samira Rafaela, co-rapporteur of liberal group Renew Europe.
Source: Today IT

Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.