Overview
- The government presented the draft law to the Council of Ministers on Thursday, September 10, starting a constrained parliamentary process before the presidential election.
- The text would force companies to publish median, highest and lowest pay by job category and sex and to include salary ranges in job adverts while prohibiting access to individual salaries.
- If employers show unjustified pay gaps above set thresholds they must adopt corrective measures but the law does not create automatic pay sanctions; financial fines may apply if required information is not published.
- Key disputes include the proposed 50-employee threshold, which employer groups call overly burdensome, and unions’ warnings that the rules are operationally unclear; the Conseil d'État review and parliamentary amendments could change the text.
- Some firms such as Ikea and Alan already use pay bands and report recruitment benefits while unions report added pressure on HR, and INSEE data plus an Ifop poll showing wide public support make the law politically sensitive.