OD FLASH | Salary transparency: changes in the professional equality index 1/5

On March 6, 2026, the Ministry of Labor transmitted to social partners and members of parliament a first draft of the bill to transpose Directive (EU) No. 2023/970 of May 10, 2023, on pay transparency into French law.

This flash (1/5) opens a series devoted to the main measures provided for in this draft bill, the various aspects of which will be presented in succession.

In particular, this text provides for a change in the gender equality index and the system for measuring the gender pay gap, in order to increase the transparency of information on pay within companies.

Under current law, companies with at least 50 employees must calculate and publish the gender equality index each year, no later than March 1. This system is based on an overall score out of 100 points, established on the basis of four indicators in companies with 50 to 250 employees and five indicators in companies with more than 250 employees.

The bill replaces this overall rating system with a system based on the declaration of indicators relating to the gender pay gap. The new Article L. 1142-7 would thus require employers in companies with at least 50 employees to report seven indicators each year, in accordance with the Directive. The bill expressly provides that employers must report an indicator on the gender pay gap by category, grouping together employees performing equal work or work of equal value (another OD Flash will be dedicated to the conditions of definition of these categories). The six other indicators would be according to the directive as follows,:

• the gender pay gap;
  • the gender pay gap in terms of variable or additional components;
  • the median pay gap between women and men;
  • the median pay gap between women and men in terms of variable or additional components;
  • the proportion of female and male workers receiving variable or additional components;
  • the proportion of female and male workers in each quartile.

The bill provides that the nature of the 7 indicators and elements of pay used for their calculation would be specified by decree.

Frequency of publication.

• Companies with at least 50 employees would report annually on indicators relating to pay gaps between women and men, according to terms defined by decree.
• By way of derogation, the indicator relating to the gender pay gap within categories of employees performing equal work or work of equal value would be reported every three years in companies with between 50 and 249 employees.

Rules on publicity.

• The rules currently in force, which require employers to publish the overall result of the index and the result obtained for each indicator on the company’s website, where one exists, would be amended.
• From now on, with the exception of one of them, the indicators would be published on the website of the Ministry of Labor. Employers could also publish them on the company’s website.
• However, a special regime would be provided for the indicator relating to the gender pay gap within categories of employees performing equal work or work of equal value. This indicator would not be made public. Its results would be communicated to employees and the CSE. Where such communication could lead, directly or indirectly, to the disclosure of information relating to the remuneration of an identifiable employee due to insufficient numbers in the category concerned, the results would only be communicated to the CSE, which is bound by a duty of discretion.

Obligations adapted according to the size of the company.

• In companies with 50 to 99 employees:
• Information for the works council (CSE) on the data used for the calculation, the calculation method, and the results of each indicator.
• If the indicator relating to the gender pay gap within a category reveals an average gap greater than a percentage set by decree, the employer should, within a reasonable period of time, enter into negotiations on professional equality as provided for in Article L. 2242-1, 2° of the Labor Code in order to provide for measures to reduce this gap; in the absence of an agreement, these measures would be included in the action plan referred to in Article L. 2242-3. A collective agreement could also, by way of derogation, exempt the employer from reporting this specific indicator.

• In companies with at least 100 employees:
• The CSE would be informed and consulted on the data used for the calculation, the calculation method, and the results of each indicator, and its opinion would be forwarded to the administrative authority.
• Employees, the CSE, or union representatives may also ask the employer for details and justificationsrelating to the latest indicator published on the pay gap by category, and the employer is required to respond with reasons.
• Implementation of a progressive system for addressing pay gaps. This is based on the joint assessment mechanism provided for in Article 10 of Directive (EU) 2023/970, to which the explanatory memorandum to the bill also refers. However, this concept is not expressly included in the text.

• Where an average pay gap exceeding a percentage set by decree is found in a category, the employer could first justify it on the basis of objective and non-sexist criteria, after consulting the CSE.

• In the absence of full or partial justification, the employer would have to remedy the situation within six months, either through a collective agreement or, failing that, through a unilateral decision on appropriate and relevant corrective measures, before making a new declaration of the indicator at the end of this six-month period and after consulting the Works Council again.

• If the gap persists after this new declaration without being justified, the employer should initiate negotiations on additional corrective measures or, failing that, draw up an action plan based on a report analyzing the causes of the pay and status gaps between women and men. The employer could also decide to proceed directly to this stage without going through the two previous stages.

• The collective agreement would be valid for three years and would allow, even if at least one unjustified deviation from the indicator on the gender pay gap by category during the following reporting period, not to conclude a new agreement but only to update the report that served as the basis for the previous negotiation.

Entry into force: date would be set by decree and would be no later than one year after the law is enacted, except for companies with fewer than 150 employees, which will have an extended deadline until June 1, 2030, for the indicator on the gender pay gap by category, which groups together employees performing equal work or work of equal value. It should be noted that at the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Labor indicated that it was considering presenting the bill before the summer, with a vote before the end of the year and the index coming into force before June 1, 2027.