What is this meeting about?
In this expert perspective session, Eva Jesmiatka will discuss the latest EU PTD developments across Europe and explore what organizations should prioritize now to remain in control as go-live nears.
Special attention will be given to phasing implementation by country: how to sequence roll-outs, manage different levels of maturity, and navigate the tension between a country-by-country compliance-led approach versus a purpose-driven strategy built around one consistent framework across countries - despite ongoing uncertainty and evolving local interpretations.
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Key take-aways:
As organizations move closer to the EU Pay Transparency Directive, this session reinforced that pay transparency is no longer a single compliance event, but an ongoing governance challenge. Timelines are fragmenting across countries and even across directive provisions, forcing companies to balance regional consistency, local legal realities, and employee expectations at the same time. Delays should not be treated as pauses, but as valuable runway to strengthen readiness.
The discussion also highlighted that the real pressure point is not regulators alone, but employees and managers. Media attention and growing awareness of rights will trigger questions and requests regardless of formal go-live dates. Organizations that prepare managers, clarify their narrative on pay equity, and define a clear operating model will be far better positioned than those focusing narrowly on minimum legal compliance.
- One EU date is a myth – Implementation of the EU Pay Transparency Directive is fragmenting by country and by provision (RTI, Transparency on Hire, GPG reporting). Companies need dynamic tracking and governance, not a single go-live assumption.
- Regional backbone, local adaptation – Most peers are converging on a regional framework with local deviations where laws are stricter or structurally different (e.g. Italy vs. Poland).
- Transparency on Hire is the fastest mover – Job-ad pay transparency is emerging as the most practical EU-wide starting point, accelerated by Italy’s requirement to include pay information directly in job advertisements.
- Right to Information is the hardest part – RTI ranges from very light (Italy) to potentially unworkable (Poland draft). Organizations must consciously decide between minimum compliance, meaningful transparency, and risk-based approaches.
- Managers are the front line of risk – Employees will test transparency through managers first. Without enablement and clear escalation paths, organizations risk inconsistent or accidental disclosures.
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