Wage transparency 2026: companies are pressing for time, but there are still many open questions

The wage transparency directive adopted by the European Union in 2023 must be transposed into Hungarian law by June 7, 2026. The aim of the regulation is to ensure that women and men receive equal pay for work of equal value. The legislators aim to achieve this by, among other things, increasing wage transparency, strengthening employee awareness and facilitating enforcement. Although the framework of the directive is known, many practical issues – such as detailed rules, the exact method of data provision or the timing of application – remain open, making it difficult for companies to prepare in time.

The new regulation will affect almost all organisations

The directive covers both the public and private sectors and applies to all employees, including managers, part-time and fixed-term workers and temporary workers. The regulation already has an impact on recruitment processes, while requiring a transparent wage structure, clear wage determination principles and accessible information.

Reporting on gender pay gaps will be mandatory for companies employing at least 100 people, for the first time in 2027, based on the previous year’s data. If the difference in salaries in a given employee category exceeds 5 percent, and the employer cannot justify it with objective, gender-neutral criteria, and does not remedy it within six months, a mandatory wage evaluation procedure will be initiated.

Preparation can no longer be postponed

Wage transparency is not just a matter of legal compliance – emphasized the staff of the Employment Regulation Department of the Ministry of Labour at the event. Reviewing the salary structure, organizational chart, data management practices, and internal communication processes is a time- and resource-intensive task, especially for larger organizations. Companies that delay their preparations while waiting for the final detailed rules are taking significant operational, legal and reputational risks, EY experts pointed out.

“The introduction of wage transparency is not just a reporting task for companies, as it requires a comprehensive organizational transformation due to the equal and transparent wage structure and reporting expectations. In enforcing the rules, the biggest challenge, in addition to producing structured data, is to ensure that the justification behind wage differences is consistent, objective and commercially defensible,” highlighted Veronika Oláh, partner at EY.

On-site research: experts’ fears

Based on a rapid survey conducted among representatives of around 60 companies participating in the event, we found that the details of the regulation, including data provision, deadlines and The uncertainty surrounding the level of sanctions is of greatest concern to decision-makers. Objective support for decisions can also pose a serious challenge in the areas of establishing employee groups, determining various wage elements and the wage calculation methodology. In addition, respondents are also concerned about the increasing administrative burden due to strict expectations and the legal and reputational risks arising from inadequate data management.

The participants in the on-site survey also consider wage tensions and the intensification of internal conflicts between employees to be a significant source of danger, while many believe that managers are not prepared to represent the changes credibly and confidently within the organization, or to provide an adequate explanation for the justified wage difference.

“Due to the short time, company and HR managers expect serious difficulties, because – although NGM staff indicated that minimum implementation is the goal – there are currently unclear rules due to the lack of Hungarian legislation. With limited resources, they have to comply with an extremely complex system of expectations, with serious legal and reputational consequences. At the same time, those companies that they start preparing, organizing payroll data,