Employees can ask questions about colleague pay, but the formal EU Pay Transparency Directive right is not a general entitlement to receive named colleagues' individual salaries. Article 7 gives workers their own individual pay level and sex-disaggregated average pay levels for categories of workers performing the same work or work of equal value. Workers also cannot be prevented from disclosing their own pay for the purpose of enforcing equal pay. Where comparative information could reveal an identifiable worker's pay, Article 12 requires data-protection compliance and allows Member States to restrict access to workers' representatives, labour inspectorates or equality bodies.
Jurisdiction: European Union
Article 7 Does Not Create a Named-Colleague Salary Register
The EU Pay Transparency Directive increases access to comparative pay information, but it does not say that every worker can demand the individual salary of each named colleague. Article 7 gives a worker information about their own individual pay level and average pay levels, broken down by sex, for the relevant category of workers performing the same work or work of equal value. The distinction matters because the legal purpose is to make possible equal-pay comparisons, not to publish personal payroll records. HR should therefore answer formal requests by using the Article 7 structure rather than treating the request as either unrestricted disclosure or complete confidentiality.
The Formal Comparison Is Based on Averages by Sex
Where a worker wants to understand whether comparable colleagues are paid differently, the Directive's formal mechanism is the sex-disaggregated average for the relevant category. This allows the worker to compare pay outcomes without requiring the employer to identify each person's salary. The average also needs the correct comparison group. A company-wide average may conceal differences, while an artificially narrow group may prevent a meaningful comparison. Employers should use a defensible category based on same work or work of equal value and retain the logic used to determine that group.
Workers Can Disclose Their Own Pay for Equal-Pay Enforcement
The Directive takes a different approach to a worker's own pay. Article 7 states that workers must not be prevented from disclosing their pay for the purpose of enforcing the principle of equal pay, and Member States must prohibit contractual terms that restrict such disclosure. This means an employer cannot rely on a broad pay-secrecy clause to stop a worker from sharing their own pay where the disclosure is being used to enforce equal pay. That protection should not be confused with a right to disclose another worker's personal pay information obtained through an employer's systems.
Privacy Safeguards Still Apply to Other Workers' Pay
Article 12 requires personal-data processing under Article 7 to comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679. Recital 44 also emphasises safeguards against direct or indirect disclosure of information about an identifiable worker. Employers therefore need to distinguish transparency from unnecessary personal-data exposure. If a response can provide the required average without revealing another worker, that is normally the safer structure. If the category is so small that the figure effectively reveals one person's pay, the national implementation may use the restricted-access safeguard provided by Article 12.
Small Worker Categories Can Create Identification Risks
Averages are not automatically anonymous. If a category contains only one woman and one man, for example, a sex-disaggregated average could effectively disclose each person's individual pay. Article 12 recognises this type of direct or indirect identification risk. Member States may decide that in those circumstances only workers' representatives, the labour inspectorate or the equality body can access the information. The representative or equality body can then advise the worker about a possible claim without disclosing the actual pay level of an individual colleague. Employers should therefore assess category size and identifiability before releasing comparative figures.
A Worker Can Still Ask a Colleague Directly
Nothing in Article 7 turns an ordinary conversation between workers into a prohibited act. A colleague may choose to discuss their own pay, and the Directive specifically protects disclosure of a worker's own pay for equal-pay enforcement. The formal employer obligation is different. When the worker asks the employer for information, the employer should respond through the Article 7 framework rather than volunteering another person's individual salary. This separation helps avoid two common mistakes: treating all salary discussion as forbidden, or assuming that formal transparency requires publication of personal payroll data.
Employers Should Avoid Using Privacy as a Blanket Refusal
Privacy is a real concern, but it should not be used to defeat the information right. Article 7 expressly requires comparative average pay information, while Article 12 supplies the safeguards for handling personal-data risks. A response that simply says 'salary information is confidential' without considering the required averages may fail to engage with the Directive. HR should instead determine the relevant worker category, calculate the required sex-disaggregated averages and then assess whether the figures create an identification risk. Where national law requires a restricted route, the response should explain that route rather than refusing the request entirely.
The Best Response Separates Three Different Questions
In practice, employers should separate three issues. First, what is the requesting worker's own pay level? Second, what are the sex-disaggregated average pay levels for the correct comparable category? Third, would providing those averages directly reveal another identifiable worker's pay? Keeping those questions distinct makes the process easier to govern. It also helps workers understand why they may receive meaningful comparative information without receiving named salaries. A documented decision trail is especially useful where the employer relies on a national Article 12 safeguard because the worker can then be directed to the appropriate representative, inspectorate or equality body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an employee demand a named colleague's exact salary from HR?
The Directive does not create a general right to named colleagues' exact salaries. The formal comparative entitlement is to sex-disaggregated average pay levels for the relevant category of comparable workers.
Can workers tell colleagues what they themselves earn?
Workers must not be prevented from disclosing their own pay for the purpose of enforcing the principle of equal pay.
What if an average would reveal one person's salary?
Article 12 allows Member States to restrict access to workers' representatives, the labour inspectorate or an equality body where disclosure would directly or indirectly reveal an identifiable worker's pay.
Related Guides
Official Sources
Requirements and practices differ by jurisdiction and organisation. Check current local law, official guidance and professional advice for a specific situation.