No. Article 5(2) of Directive (EU) 2023/970 states that employers must not ask applicants about their pay history during current or previous employment relationships. The European Commission now summarises the rule in the same practical way: employers will no longer be allowed to ask job seekers about their pay history. Recruitment teams should therefore remove previous-salary questions from application forms, screening calls and interviews. Employers can still ask about role-related experience, skills, responsibilities and qualifications, but starting pay for the new role should be determined using the position's objective gender-neutral criteria rather than the applicant's previous salary.
Jurisdiction: European Union
Article 5(2) Prohibits Pay-History Questions
The rule is explicit. Article 5(2) of Directive (EU) 2023/970 provides that an employer shall not ask applicants about their pay history during current or previous employment relationships. This removes prior salary from the employer's recruitment questioning. The European Commission's June 2026 explanation describes the practical effect in the same terms, stating that employers will no longer be allowed to ask job seekers about their pay history. Employers should therefore treat previous-pay questions as a prohibited recruitment practice rather than as an optional negotiation technique.
The Restriction Covers Current and Previous Employment
The wording is not limited to the applicant's last job. Article 5 refers to pay history during current or previous employment relationships. A recruiter should therefore avoid asking what the candidate earns now, what they earned in an earlier role, what their last bonus was or what their previous employer paid in total compensation. The safest approach is to remove pay-history fields entirely from recruitment workflows. If historical salary information is not needed for the new role, there is no reason to collect it as background information.
Recruiters Can Still Ask About Relevant Experience and Skills
The prohibition on pay history does not prevent employers from assessing whether a candidate is qualified for the role. Recruiters can ask about job-related experience, responsibilities, skills, qualifications, achievements and other factors relevant to the position. Those questions help the employer apply objective gender-neutral pay-setting criteria. The important distinction is between asking what the applicant has done and asking what the applicant was paid. Relevant experience may influence placement within a disclosed range, but previous salary should not be used as the reference point for the new offer.
Application Forms and Recruiter Scripts Need Review
Legacy recruitment systems often contain fields such as current salary, previous salary or compensation history. Those fields should be removed or disabled for applicants covered by the implementing rules. Recruiter scripts, interview templates and offer-approval forms should also be checked. External recruitment agencies need the same instruction because a prohibited question does not become acceptable merely because a third-party recruiter asks it. Employers should document the updated process and train hiring managers so informal interview conversations do not reintroduce a question that formal application forms have removed.
Do Not Use Indirect Questions to Reconstruct Pay History
A compliant process should focus on substance rather than labels. Asking a candidate to provide a previous payslip, name their current package or disclose a prior bonus can reveal the same pay-history information that Article 5(2) is designed to keep out of recruitment questioning. Employers should avoid creating indirect workarounds that reconstruct historical pay. The better approach is to determine the role's approved range first and assess the candidate against objective criteria relevant to that role. This keeps the offer decision anchored in the job rather than the candidate's past compensation.
The New Role's Pay Framework Should Replace Historical Salary Anchoring
Article 5 pairs the pay-history restriction with a separate requirement to provide applicants with information about the initial pay or its range for the position. Together, those rules move the negotiation away from the applicant's previous salary and toward the employer's objective pay framework for the new role. Compensation teams should approve the range and the placement criteria before recruiting begins. Hiring managers can then explain why an offer falls at a particular point based on relevant skills, experience, responsibility or other gender-neutral factors instead of saying that the offer is a percentage increase on prior pay.
Check National Implementation and Update Training
Member States implement Directive (EU) 2023/970 through national law and may add more detailed rules, remedies or enforcement mechanisms. Employers should therefore update country-specific recruitment policies as national measures take effect. Training should cover the difference between pay history, salary expectations, role-related experience and approved pay ranges so recruiters know which questions are restricted and which remain available. A documented recruitment standard can also help multinational organisations keep central systems aligned with local requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an employer ask what a candidate currently earns?
No. Article 5(2) prohibits employers from asking applicants about pay history during current or previous employment relationships.
Can an employer ask for a previous payslip?
A previous payslip would reveal pay-history information, so employers should not use it as a way to obtain information they are prohibited from asking about directly.
Can recruiters still ask about job-related experience?
Yes. The pay-history restriction does not prevent questions about relevant experience, skills, responsibilities or qualifications.
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.