Internal job vacancies should be handled with transparent pay-setting controls, but employers should be careful about claiming that Article 5 applies identically to every internal applicant in every Member State. Article 5 expressly protects applicants for employment, while existing workers also have separate rights under Articles 6 and 7 relating to pay-setting criteria and pay information. An employee applying for another role within the same organisation may fall within national rules implementing applicant protections, but the precise treatment can depend on the legal structure of the move and Member State law. A practical employer policy is to use approved objective salary ranges for internal vacancies and then confirm any country-specific legal requirements.
Jurisdiction: European Union
Internal Applicants Sit at the Intersection of Recruitment and Worker Rights
An internal candidate is already a worker but may also be applying for a different role. That makes the legal analysis more nuanced than an external recruitment case. Article 5 expressly applies to applicants for employment, while Articles 6 and 7 create rights for existing workers concerning pay-setting criteria and pay information. The Directive does not provide one detailed EU-wide rule covering every internal transfer, competitive internal vacancy or restructuring scenario. Employers should therefore combine the recruitment framework with existing-worker rights and then check national implementation.
Use an Approved Range for Internal Vacancies
Even where the precise Article 5 classification requires national-law analysis, employers can reduce risk by setting an approved salary range before an internal vacancy is posted. The range should be tied to the role, job level and objective gender-neutral criteria rather than to the current salary of whoever applies. This helps ensure that internal candidates receive a meaningful view of the opportunity and that the organisation does not create a weaker transparency standard for existing workers than for external applicants.
Do Not Automatically Base the New Role on the Employee's Current Salary
Internal mobility often uses the employee's existing salary as the starting point for a percentage increase. That may be administratively simple, but it can preserve unexplained historical differences. The better approach is to identify the objective pay framework for the new role first and then determine placement using relevant criteria. Current salary may still be part of the administrative background, but it should not replace the employer's assessment of the value and requirements of the new role.
Article 6 Pay-Setting Criteria Remain Relevant
Article 6 requires employers to make the criteria used to determine workers' pay, pay levels and pay progression easily accessible to workers, and those criteria must be objective and gender-neutral. Internal vacancy processes should therefore connect to the same criteria used elsewhere in the pay system. If the organisation says that internal applicants are placed differently from external applicants, it should be able to explain the objective basis for that distinction. A transparent internal mobility policy can reduce arbitrary exceptions and improve consistency.
Internal Candidates Also Retain Article 7 Information Rights
An employee considering or accepting an internal move remains a worker with Article 7 rights to request information concerning their own pay level and relevant average pay levels by sex for categories of workers performing the same work or work of equal value. Those rights are separate from the salary information that may be provided during the internal recruitment process. Employers should therefore avoid assuming that an internal vacancy posting exhausts all pay-transparency obligations owed to the worker.
Distinguish Competitive Internal Vacancies From Promotions
A posted internal role that workers apply for is not always the same as a promotion awarded through a managerial progression process. The legal treatment may differ because one looks more like recruitment while the other may primarily involve pay progression within an existing employment relationship. Employers should identify which process is being used and apply the relevant controls. A clear internal policy can define when roles are posted, when salary ranges are disclosed, how applicants are assessed and how promotion decisions are documented.
National Implementation Is Especially Important for Internal Mobility
Member States may clarify how applicant rights apply to internal candidates, transfers or promotions and may impose broader pay-transparency requirements than the Directive's minimum text. Multi-country employers should therefore avoid using one legal assumption for every internal vacancy. A central policy can require objective ranges and consistent placement criteria across the group, while local legal guidance determines whether Article 5 disclosure timing, vacancy-notice rules or other applicant protections apply to the specific internal process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Article 5 automatically apply to every internal job vacancy?
The Directive expressly applies Article 5 to applicants for employment, but it does not provide a detailed EU-wide rule for every internal-mobility scenario. Employers should check national implementation.
Should internal vacancies have salary ranges?
Using an approved objective salary range is a strong transparency practice and helps prevent internal current salary from becoming the sole basis for the new role's pay.
Do internal candidates still have employee pay-information rights?
Yes. Existing workers retain separate rights under Article 7, subject to national implementation.
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.