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Beginning June 7, 2026, however, the directive will introduce concrete, enforceable rules for employers: salaries must be disclosed before the interview, pay levels must be justified by objective criteria, and companies will have to report gender pay gaps regularly.
Yet many questions remain: who exactly will be affected, how can employees access pay data, and what does the ban on pay secrecy really mean? The expert from Humán Centrum Workforce Leasing and Recruitment. explains the most common questions surrounding pay transparency.
One of the directive’s key requirements is that employers must indicate the offered salary—either as a specific amount or a pay range—in the job posting or at the latest before the first interview.
“It’s not about how narrow or wide the pay range is, but whether it is based on clear, objective criteria—such as working hours, expertise, or level of responsibility. It can therefore be completely justified that a skilled machine operator working night shifts falls into a higher pay bracket than a daytime trainee. The regulation does not aim to make all wages identical but to ensure that pay for work of equal value is transparent, comparable, and justifiable,” emphasized Dénes Rajmund, managing director of Humán Centrum.
Additionally, employers will no longer be allowed to ask candidates about their previous salary. This practice has long been one of the main reasons women start new jobs at lower pay levels, and the directive seeks to break this cycle, helping to reduce the gender pay gap.
Another major change is that employees can no longer be required to keep their salary secret. Anyone who wishes may freely share their pay with a colleague or even a job-seeking acquaintance—and cannot face retaliation for doing so. The aim is clear: to end the practice of hiding wage disparities by forbidding employees from discussing salaries. However, pay remains sensitive data, and the purpose and manner of disclosure must respect others’ rights and the employer’s legitimate interests.
The expert stresses that pay transparency does not mean everyone will have access to each other’s pay slips. Employees will have the right to request information from the employer on the average pay level of colleagues performing the same or similar work, broken down by gender. This transparency strengthens equal opportunity and provides a tangible tool to uncover and address pay disparities. Access to data, however, applies only to comparable positions: for example, a warehouse worker cannot request pay data from the finance department, since the two roles involve very different skills and responsibilities.
“It is also important to note that the principle of ‘equal pay for equal work’ applies to gross salaries. Net income depends on personal factors—such as family situation or tax allowances—and therefore cannot serve as an objective basis for comparison,” adds Dénes Rajmund.
According to the expert, a well-structured pay system also provides clarity for management, making it easier to identify which employees truly drive the organization’s success. For workers, the main advantage is that they gain an objective reference point to assess the market value of their knowledge and work.
“When employees understand the criteria behind their salary or promotion, they feel less vulnerable. The results are measurable in practice: according to Humán Centrum Kft. data, job postings that include expected pay receive on average 30% more applications. Recruitment also closes faster since candidates know the terms from the start,” the expert highlights.
He adds that in certain forms of employment—such as student and pensioner cooperatives—pay transparency is already the norm, as hourly wages are always stated in advertisements.
“That’s why, while there is virtually no gender pay gap in student jobs, significant disparities appear later in careers. In 2023, women earned on average 17.8% less, and in managerial and graduate roles, the pay gap could reach as high as 22–30%. This disadvantage can only be reduced in the long term through transparent and objective pay structures,” Rajmund concludes.
Although pay transparency may first appear to concern only large corporations, smaller firms will also have to comply over time. The difference lies in the timeline: from summer 2026, companies with over 250 employees must publish gender pay gap data annually; from 2027, the rule extends to firms with more than 150 employees; and from 2031, to those employing over 100.
The stakes go beyond legal compliance—Hungary’s forthcoming legislation may even allow employees to seek compensation from employers who maintain unjustified pay disparities. And even before transposition, EU norms can already be invoked directly in discrimination cases.
The foundation of pay transparency lies in the objective classification of job roles and the critical review of existing pay structures. Supporting this effort, Humán Centrum Kft.’s latest wage survey—based on data from over 5,000 job listings—offers an up-to-date overview of Hungary’s pay landscape.
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