PwC, Citi, G-P, Microsoft on EU Pay Transparency

With the 7 June deadline now behind us, employee compensation is no longer the business’s best-kept secret – it’s a thing of the past. In fact, what was once a private negotiation that only occurred behind closed doors is now a matter of public record and employee rights.

Now we’re on the other side, what does this really mean for HR leaders? Many organisations have had to undergo a rapid evolution over the past couple of years, with one consideration being placed at the centre: fairness. 

Yet businesses are finding a “clear disconnect between employee expectations and current workplace realities,” according to a new report from G-P – The Borderless Pay Standard: A Global Study on Worker Pay Transparency Expectations. As a result, a “major cultural shift” in the way workers are viewing compensation data is arising, but “internal corporate infrastructure hasn't caught up.”

“The numbers speak for themselves,” Laura Maffucci, Head of HR at G-P, tells HR Chief Magazine. “A staggering 82% of global workers view pay transparency as important. Yet, 66% state their employers don’t practice it, or are unsure if a policy even exists.”

In addition, 64% of respondents stated they didn't know that, before G-P’s survey, they might have a legal right to see their peers’ pay ranges.

Two businesses leading the way

‘What was your last salary?’ – a question that was once a fixture of job interviews, but is now redundant. This shift is driven by a simple yet corrective logic: a role’s value should be determined by the skills a candidate requires and the internal job architecture, rather than by a candidate’s past ability to negotiate.

By asking these questions, underpaid candidates were, in essence, taking their underpayment from employer to employer, baking inequality into their entire career path. However, the EU Pay Transparency Directive anchors this, ensuring that it’s no longer just poor practice, but a legal liability. 

Two businesses that have leaned into the shift are Citigroup and Microsoft, with both recognising that asking for salary history often perpetuates historical pay gaps. To combat this, these firms have moved toward ‘Realistic Range Disclosure,’ meaning they put a price tag on the role, not the person.

For Citigroup, embracing transparency is more than a compliance exercise; it is a declaration that “equitable, competitive pay” is the bedrock of attracting and retaining talent. To support this, the firm has overhauled its global operations, introducing standardised, market-based salary structures and clear bonus opportunity guidelines across various countries.

“Citi's work to champion equality is reflected in our decision to be transparent about the results of our pay equity review and our unadjusted or ‘raw' pay gap,” says Sara Wechter, CHRO at Citigroup.

By doing rigorous annual reviews, Citigroup is able to measure and address pay equity on a global scale, while ensuring that it removes any gender-based disparities.

Tech giant Microsoft has followed a similar path. By using their global scale, Microsoft can ensure that no matter where a candidate is located – be that London, New York or Singapore – they will be treated the same. Removing pay negotiation has therefore allowed these firms to focus on attracting – and then retaining – high-quality talent.

“We will continue to listen to employee feedback to establish benefits and build an overall employee experience that raises the bar in our industry, creates a more inclusive environment, and recognises the importance of our people to the continued success of Microsoft,” Kathleen Hogan, Chief People Officer at Microsoft, shares.

However, many businesses will find that the biggest hurdle they will come across doesn’t lie within new hires, but rather, the existing workforce. Yet accountancy giant PwC is urging clients not to see this as a risk, but as a chance to “unite” organisations behind pay strategy.

The firm argues that when employees understand the why behind their pay, it “builds trust, fosters genuine engagement, and creates a culture where everyone understands their value.”

To translate this into action, HR leaders are required to move away from traditional, siloed decision-making and toward more holistic forms of governance. Sander Schouten, Director in PwC’s Executive Reward team, emphasises that this shift is ultimately about converting a legal mandate into a powerful reputational asset. 

He says: “Transparency is no longer just a compliance issue; it’s a tool to build trust. Companies that clearly explain how their pay structures align with strategy and performance gain more support from shareholders, employees and the public.”

Looking beyond compliance

The directive has had, and will continue to have a huge impact across the globe, with business leaders such as Microsoft and Citigroup leading the way. However, only 9% of Europe-based employers are believed to have a full transparency strategy, according to Mercer's 2026 Global Pay Transparency Survey. 

For HR leaders, this 9% statistic should serve as a wake-up call for the ‘new normal.’ Now that the June deadline has passed, this group of early adopters has already turned transparency into a magnet for talent, while the remaining 91% risk being defined by their silence.

As we move into the second half of the year, businesses not only have to adapt to the new working world, but they also have to discover how to bridge the gap between a policy on paper and a culture of trust in the office. 

Sharing her conclusion, Laura says: “Confidentiality has to be balanced with transparency. The ultimate takeaway is that secrecy actively erodes trust. When a workforce assumes management is motivated to conceal rather than reveal pay data, it breeds a level of cynicism that poisons engagement and damages retention.”

Laura therefore advises that HR leaders view this as a critical opportunity, suggesting they shouldn’t “wait for local regulations to force our hand.” Instead, they should aim to get ahead of compliance by building trust that leverages transparent compensation practices as a key driver for talent recruitment and retention right now.

“A truly accountable policy shouldn’t look like a rigid, one-size-fits-all rulebook,” she notes. “Instead, employers should build a strong, high-level global baseline policy rooted in integrity and then adapt that policy to align with the specific legal and cultural nuances of the regions in which they operate. By leading with a global standard of fairness while respecting regional contexts, leadership can meet worker expectations without compromising local compliance.”