From January 2024, Moovijob.com will be strongly encouraging companies that are recruiting to provide salary ranges for the positions on offer. It is clear that applicants would like this information as soon as possible. But does it always serve the recruiting company to do this? There is also talk of a new European directive requiring this. Is this really the case? We tell you all about this here.
Income inequality at the root of mandotory wage disclosure
According to statistics from 2023, women in the European Union earn on average 13% less than men. A large part of this inequality is due to differences in working hours and jobs held. But some of it is due to pay discrimination, and to combat this fact the Council of the EU has developed and adopted new rules aimed at making pay more transparent with the European Directive 2023/970 of the 10th of May 2023.
Is salary disclosure really compulsory in job advertisements?
There's nothing in the law that says so. Eventually, however, employers will be obliged to communicate the salary or salary range for the position before any interview with a candidate.
This can be done at the start of the interview or... ideally as far in advance as possible, and what better way than to do it as soon as the job is advertised. In any case, this is in keeping with the letter of the law.
Other aspects of the law to be aware of:
- A company will no longer be able to ask a candidate for their salary history
- Once hired, candidates will be entitled to ask the company for average pay levels and the criteria used for salary increases.
All EU Member States have until the 7th of June 2026 to transpose the terms of the directive into national law, which will only be applicable then.
Is it really a good idea to display a salary range in a job offer?
In many cases, it saves time both for the candidate, who doesn't find out the salary at the end of the process, and for the recruiter, who doesn't discover the candidate's salary expectations too late.
It also makes it easier to recruit in certain sectors where there is a shortage of talent (of which there are many in Luxembourg) or to promote the employer’s brand. A company that is transparent may be more attractive to the younger generation.
On the other hand, if the salary on offer is the minimum wage, it may be a good idea not to advertise it to not lose applicants...
When in doubt, ask yourself where the offer stands in regards to the number of potential candidates and the competition.
And what about Moovijob.com?
From January 2024, we will be encouraging all our customers to systematically indicate a salary range in their job offers. At the same time, we will be introducing new features for candidates that will highlight ads with salary indications, with the possibility of exclusively displaying job offers with salary information or creating job alerts linked to salaries.
In order to remain relevant, the salary range should not be too wide, ideally with a maximum of 20% between the lowest and highest values.
If we don't have any salary information, we won't estimate a range for the type of job on offer, it will be displayed as "Salary to be defined according to profile".
Finally, a package is more than just a salary, and it is vital that you indicate in your adverts all the other financial benefits (luncheon vouchers, company car, etc.) and non-financial benefits on offer (working from home? Flexible working hours? …).
If you have any questions on this subject, we will be happy to help.
The Moovijob.com team
