What is my colleague’s salary? I have the right to know!

What’s changing, in one sentence

A new EU rule (the Pay Transparency Directive) gives you more information about pay and stronger protection if you suspect you’re being paid unfairly because of your gender.

What you can now expect when applying for a job

• Job postings, or the information you get before your first interview, must include the salary or salary range for the role.
• Employers cannot ask you what you earned in your previous job. If they do, you don’t have to answer.
• The salary they offer must be based on clear, objective criteria, not on how well you negotiate.

What you can ask for in your current job

• You can ask your employer to tell you the average pay, broken down by gender, for people doing the same work as you or work of equal value.
• You can ask for clear information about how pay levels and pay rises are decided in your organisation.
• You cannot ask to see a specific colleague’s pay slip, the right is to averages by group, not to individual salaries.
• You are allowed to discuss your own pay with colleagues. Your employer cannot stop you or punish you for it.

What “work of equal value” means

• Two jobs can be of equal value even if the job titles are different.
• Value is judged on four things at minimum: the skills required, the effort involved, the responsibility carried, and the working conditions.
• If your work is judged equal in value to someone else’s, you should be paid equally, regardless of gender.

What protections you have if you think something is wrong

• If you raise a concern about unequal pay, your employer cannot retaliate against you.
• If it goes to a formal dispute, your employer has to prove the pay difference is fair, you don’t have to prove it’s unfair.
• If discrimination is found, you are entitled to compensation, including back pay.

What to do if you have questions or concerns

1. Start with information. Ask your manager or HR for the criteria used to set pay in your role. You’re entitled to a clear answer.
2. Ask the right question. “Can you help me understand how pay is determined for my role and how I sit within that?” is a stronger opening than “Why does X earn more than me?”
3. Listen to the answer. Sometimes a difference has a clear, fair explanation (different scope, different experience level, different role classification). Sometimes it doesn’t.
4. If the answer doesn’t add up, ask again in writing. A written request creates a record and usually leads to a more careful response.
5. Use the formal channels if needed. Your works council, employee representative, or HR department can request information on your behalf. In the Netherlands, the College voor de Rechten van de Mens (Netherlands Institute for Human Rights) can also help.

A few things worth knowing

• These rules are about gender-based pay differences. Differences for other reasons (experience, performance, role complexity) can still exist, but they have to be based on clear, documented criteria, not on history or how hard someone negotiated.
• Your employer is required to use a job classification system based on objective, gender-neutral criteria. If they don’t have one, that’s their problem to fix, not yours.
• This is a right, not a complaint. Asking about pay is now a normal, legitimate workplace conversation. You don’t need to apologise for it.

The bottom line

You now have a clearer picture of how pay works in your organisation, and a stronger position if something doesn’t look right. Most employers want to get this right, many will be working hard in the months ahead to clean up their pay practices. If you have a question, ask it early and ask it directly. That’s exactly what the rules are designed to make possible.