Pay transparency in France: Directive 2023/970, the bill and employer obligations in 2026

Where does France stand on transposing Directive (EU) 2023/970?

As at 5 October 2026, Directive (EU) 2023/970 of 10 May 2023 on pay transparency has not been transposed in France, although the deadline was 7 June 2026 (art. 34 of the Directive). The text that is to transpose it is bill no. 944:

• adopted in the Council of Ministers and tabled in the Senate on 10 September 2026, under the fast-track procedure;
• referred to the Social Affairs Committee, at first reading;
• with no date set for its examination as at 5 October 2026.

In its opinion of 23 July 2026, the Conseil d'État (Council of State, which advises the government on bills) considered that Title I of the bill fully transposes the Directive, subject to one reservation, but found it ‘improbable’ that the deadline of 7 June 2027, the date of the first reports required by the Directive for employers with at least 150 employees, would be met. On 10 September 2026, in the Council of Ministers, the government announced that the current index would be kept in 2027 and the new indicators introduced from 2028, six of them pre-calculated from the DSN (déclaration sociale nominative, the monthly payroll declaration).

In practice, none of the new obligations described below is in force, and the text may still change in Parliament. The 2027 and 2028 timetable is only an announcement. But the Directive sets the course, and the work involved (job categories, pay ranges, payroll data) takes months.

What applies today: the gender equality index

Every company or UES (unité économique et sociale, a group of companies treated as one employer for staff representation) with at least 50 employees calculates and publishes each year, by 1 March at the latest, its gender equality index (Index de l'égalité professionnelle): a score out of 100, calculated on 4 indicators from 50 to 250 employees and on 5 above that (art. L.1142-8 of the Labour Code). The next deadline is 1 March 2027, on 2026 data. The employer must:

• publish the score on its website, visibly and legibly, and leave it online at least until the next publication (without a website, inform employees by any means);
• send it to the CSE (comité social et économique, the staff representative body) and declare it to the Ministry of Labour on the Egapro platform;
• if the score is below 75: take corrective measures to reach 75 within 3 years at most;
• if the score is below 85: publish improvement targets for each indicator.

Failing to publish or to take corrective measures, like a score below 75 for 4 consecutive years, exposes the employer to a penalty of up to 1% of the payroll. From 50 employees, gender equality at work must also be covered by an agreement or an action plan.

The Rixain Act: representation in senior management

Companies with at least 1,000 employees for the 3rd consecutive financial year publish each year, by 1 March at the latest, the gaps in representation between women and men among their senior executives and the members of their management bodies. The target is 30% of each sex since 1 March 2026: if it is not met, the company sets corrective measures. It rises to 40% on 1 March 2029; if that target is missed, the company has 2 years to comply and then faces a penalty of up to 1% of its payroll.

What the bill provides for all employers

The tabled text provides for five sets of obligations that would apply whatever the headcount. They are not in force and may change in Parliament.

• Recruitment: ban on asking a candidate about their current or past pay; initial pay range and applicable collective agreement provisions given to the candidate, in the job advert or in writing before or during the interview; ban on publishing a job advert without a pay range, including through a recruitment firm or job site.
• Employment contract: ban on any clause preventing the employee from disclosing their pay.
• Right to information: every employee can obtain their individual pay level and the average pay levels, by sex, of employees in their category. The reply is given within a period set by decree, of 2 months at most, directly or through the union representatives or the CSE; no data is disclosed if a third party can be identified. Every year, all employees are informed of this right.
• Categories of jobs of equal value: defined by company agreement or, if negotiations fail, by a unilateral decision valid for 3 years, taken after consulting the CSE. The criteria are knowledge, experience, technical and non-technical skills, responsibilities, working conditions and physical and mental workload.
• Burden of proof: a proven breach of the transparency obligations would relieve the employee or candidate of having to put forward the facts of a pay inequality, except for a breach that is clearly unintentional and minor.

The bill also requires this information to be accessible to disabled employees and candidates.

From 50 employees: 7 indicators and the 5% threshold

The Directive requires 7 indicators: mean and median pay gap, the same gaps for variable components, the proportion of women and men receiving variable components, the distribution by quartile, and the gap by category of workers. The French bill provides for annual reporting from 50 employees; the list of indicators will be set by a Conseil d'État decree, and the explanatory memorandum announces the Directive's indicators. The indicator by category, reported every 3 years from 50 to 249 employees and every year above that, is not published on the ministry's website: it is sent to employees and to the CSE.

The alert threshold is an average gap of at least 5% between women and men in the same category. Under the Directive, if that gap is neither justified by objective, gender-neutral criteria nor corrected within 6 months of the report, the employer carries out a joint pay assessment with the workers' representatives. From 100 employees, the French bill leaves a choice: correct the gap through an agreement or action plan and report it again within 6 months, or go straight to the joint assessment. If an unjustified gap persists after correction, the joint assessment becomes compulsory: a report, then an agreement (valid for 3 years) or an action plan, filed with the authorities. The exact threshold will be set by decree; the explanatory memorandum announces 5%.

Example: in the ‘maintenance technicians’ category of a company with 180 employees, women earn on average 6% less than men. If objective, gender-neutral criteria explain the gap, the employer documents them. Otherwise, it must correct the gap within 6 months or open the joint assessment. These calculations start from payroll data: see our page from time clock to payroll in France.

Under the tabled text, these rules would come into force on a date set by decree, no later than one year after the law is promulgated; the indicator by category, no later than 3 years after for companies with 100 to 149 employees and 6 years after for those with 50 to 99 employees.

What penalties apply today and tomorrow?

Today, only the index penalty applies: up to 1% of the payroll. The bill adds administrative, individual and criminal penalties.

The bill would also allow a public buyer to exclude from a contract a company with at least 100 employees that has been penalised for some of these breaches. On the litigation side, a claim for compensation for discrimination is already time-barred 5 years after the discrimination comes to light (art. L.1134-5 of the Labour Code): keep pay data and supporting documents for at least that long.

Common mistakes

• Assuming the new rules already apply: as at 5 October 2026, nothing has been voted.
• Dropping the index: it is still due by 1 March 2027, and the government announces it will be kept in 2027.
• Confusing the index categories (socio-professional categories, age bands, job coefficients) with the future categories of work of equal value, based on weighted criteria.
• Thinking companies with 50 to 99 employees will be exempt because the Directive starts at 100: the French bill includes them, with a lighter regime.
• Forgetting adverts published by recruitment firms or job sites: the bill bans any public advert without a pay range.
• Leaving a pay secrecy clause in contract templates: it would be banned.

Your checklist

• Publish the 2027 index on the website, send it to the CSE and declare it on Egapro by 1 March 2027.
• Take corrective measures if the score is below 75, publish improvement targets if it is below 85.
• From 1,000 employees, publish the representation gaps by 1 March and aim for 30% of each sex.
• Build a grid of categories of jobs of equal value based on objective, documented criteria.
• Set a pay range for each job and review all adverts, including those of intermediaries.
• Remove the past pay question from interviews and pay secrecy clauses from contracts.
• Simulate the 7 indicators on payroll data and document the justification for every gap of at least 5%.
• Set up a procedure for replying to employees' information requests within 2 months at most.

Frequently asked questions

Official sources

• French Senate, legislative file for bill no. 944 (2025-2026)
• French Senate, text of bill no. 944
• French Senate, explanatory memorandum to bill no. 944
• French Senate, impact assessment of bill no. 944 (text of Directive (EU) 2023/970 and current law)
• Conseil d'État, opinion of 23 July 2026 on the bill
• Service Public Entreprendre, the pay transparency bill presented to the Council of Ministers (10 September 2026)
• Ministry of Labour, Egapro, the gender equality index
• Ministry of Labour, Egapro, index and balanced representation
• Élysée, report of the Council of Ministers of 10 September 2026

This guide sets out the general rules in force on 5 October 2026. It is not legal advice for your situation (collective agreement, sector, employee status).