20% of firms not ready for key EU pay directive
A survey of HR (human resources) professionals has found that just over 20% of their organisations have no plans or preparations in place for an EU directive on pay transparency.
The findings came in the latest HR update from business group IBEC, which was launched at an event yesterday (22 October).
The report, based on a survey of over 391 HR professionals, shows that just 1% of organisations feel fully prepared for the upcoming EU , due to take effect in June 2026.
Almost one-third (27%) report that preparation work is in progress, while 22% say preparations have yet to begin – up from 12% in 2024.
‘Structural shifts’
Maeve McElwee (executive director of employer relations at IBEC) described the directive as “arguably the most significant piece of EU employment legislation in decades”.
The main challenges identified in the survey were categorising employees who perform the same work or work of equal value (25%) and a requirement to make the criteria used to determine pay levels and progression accessible to employees (21%).
McElwee said that categorising roles of equal value and ensuring transparency on pay criteria were not just administrative tasks.
“They require significant structural and cultural shifts within organisations,” she stated, adding that “clear guidance” was needed to implement the changes.
On the planned introduction of pension auto-enrolment in January, 30% of organisations say their voluntary pension scheme will become mandatory.
The most significant concern for employers is the cost of employer contributions (cited by 29%), followed by the administrative burden of managing multiple pension schemes (25%).
Remote-work tensions ease
On hybrid and remote working, only 16% of companies have seen an increase in applications to work from home since the introduction of the in 2024.
The majority (63%) of HR professionals say their company is not actively considering increasing onsite attendance in 2026, with 49% of companies expecting employees to be onsite at least two days a week.
“When you look at the high number of companies not planning to change their office attendance policies, as well as the relatively low number of employees formally requesting to work from home, it suggests that the tension around remote and hybrid work is not as intense as often perceived – and, in most cases, is working for both employers and employees,” said McElwee.