Do EU job ads have to show a pay range?

What Article 5 says

Article 5(1): “Applicants for employment shall have the right to receive, from the prospective employer, information about: (a) the initial pay or its range, based on objective, gender-neutral criteria, to be attributed for the position concerned; and (b) where applicable, the relevant provisions of the collective agreement applied by the employer in relation to the position.”

It adds: “Such information shall be provided in a manner such as to ensure an informed and transparent negotiation on pay, such as in a published job vacancy notice, prior to the job interview or otherwise.”

What a job ad has to do

The Directive names a published vacancy notice as one example of how to give the information. It also lists “prior to the job interview or otherwise”. So the text sets the right to the information and the timing goal (before a negotiation), and leaves the channel open. Whether your country requires the range in the ad itself is a matter for its transposing law.

• Give the initial pay or its range for the position.
• Base it on objective, gender-neutral criteria.
• Where there is a collective agreement, give the relevant provisions.

Pay history

Article 5(2): “An employer shall not ask applicants about their pay history during their current or previous employment relationships.” Check interview guides, application forms and recruiter scripts for this question.

Gender-neutral ads and titles

Article 5(3): “Employers shall ensure that job vacancy notices and job titles are gender-neutral and that recruitment processes are led in a non-discriminatory manner, in order not to undermine the right to equal pay for equal work or work of equal value.”

What is still national

Article 34(1) set 7 June 2026 for Member States to bring in the laws needed to comply. What each country has adopted, and how it words the job ad duty, is not checked on this site. See the national measures on EUR-Lex. For the full list of duties, use the checklist.