Salary Transparency Is Changing the Way You Negotiate
The question just got easier
"What are your salary expectations?" For years that was the question applicants dreaded, because they had to guess a number with no reference point. If you aimed low, you left money on the table. Aim high and you risked pricing yourself out.
That's changing. The EU Pay Transparency Directive (Directive (EU) 2023/970) began applying across the bloc on 7 June 2026, and it does something genuinely useful for job seekers: it pushes employers to state a starting salary or pay range in the vacancy notice, or ahead of the interview, and it stops them from asking about your pay history.
That second part matters. Your past salary shouldn't set your future one. With transparency rules in place, the negotiation starts from the range for the role, not from what you used to earn.
What the new rules actually give you
Here's what this shift means in practice:
- A published range. Employers now share a starting salary or band before you commit to interviews. You can see whether the role is even in your ballpark before you spend time on it.
- No pay-history trap. Companies can't anchor your offer to what you earned before. The range is the reference point.
- More information, not less. You can ask about the pay structure for a category of work and get clearer answers. Fair pay starts with knowing what the fair number is.
None of this means employers will hand you the top of the range. It means you can have a grounded conversation instead of a blind guess.
How to negotiate with a range in front of you
Now that you have a number to work with, here's how to use it:
Anchor to the range, not to your old salary. If the posting says 65 to 75k, that's your reference. You're negotiating within a published band for the role, which is a much stronger position than negotiating against your own history.
Open with a target, not a question. Once you know the band, state your target near the top of it and back it with evidence. "Given my experience with X and Y, I'm looking at the upper part of the range." Specific beats vague.
Bring proof, not pressure. The best negotiating currency isn't a demand, it's a fact. A result you drove, a metric you moved, a scope you handled. Tie the number to the value you bring, and the range is just the frame.
Ask about the whole package. A range is only part of it. Ask about bonus, benefits, flexibility, learning budget, and how reviews work. When flexibility is worth real money to you (and for many people it is), a slightly lower base with a solid remote policy can be the better deal.
Be honest about the number, and about what you need. Transparency works both ways. If you say what you need and why, a good employer can work with it. If you're vague, you'll get the middle of the range and they'll call it a win.
The honest advantage
Here's the thing that's easy to forget: salary transparency rewards people who are straightforward. When the range is public, the person who researches it, knows their market value, and says a clear, honest number is the one who gets a fair deal. The person who plays games and hides their hand just leaves money on the table.
If you're in Europe and looking for a role that pays what you're worth, know the range before you walk in. And if an employer won't share one at all, that's a signal worth paying attention to.