Too often we show up for a job interview without knowing what salary the company intends to offer. An unfortunate practice that risks generating frustration and wasting time for both candidates and employers. To remedy this dynamic, the European Union intervened and decided to impose greater transparency in job advertisements. With directive n.970 of 2023, the European Parliament and the Council of the EU have introduced new measures to improve pay transparency and combat gender pay disparities. A provision that applies to both public and private sector employers, contract workers and candidates seeking employment.
Over the years, the EU has implemented various measures in the field of employment, including the financial strengthening of the Youth Guarantee programme. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, this program had significantly reduced the number of young NEETs (not in employment, education or training) in the EU, bringing youth unemployment to an all-time low of 14.9% in February 2020. Thanks to this initiative, over 24 million young people received offers of jobs, training, apprenticeships or internships. The enhanced Youth Guarantee is supported by significant funding under the NextGenerationEU and the EU’s long-term budget. Subsequently, it was integrated into the European Social Fund Plus (ESF+) for the period 2021-2027, with a particular focus on youth employment. Member States must allocate a significant part of ESF+ resources to support young NEETs.
Job adverts: candidate rights
In accordance with the EU Pay Transparency Directive, candidates have the right to receive information on the starting salary or salary range for the position offered before the job interview. This information must be based on objective and gender-neutral criteria. And the employer cannot ask candidates for current or past salary information. Workers are also entitled to request and receive written information on the average salary levels, broken down by gender, of the categories of workers carrying out the same job.
Gender pay gap
The directive aims to reduce the gender pay gap through a series of measures. Companies with more than 250 employees must report the existing gender pay gap to the competent national authority by 7 June 2027 and then every year. If the gap exceeds 5% and is not justified by objective criteria, the company must conduct a joint evaluation of wages together with workers’ representatives. The same applies to businesses with 150-249 employees, but reporting is required every three years. For companies with 100-149 employees, the report is required by June 7, 2031 and every three years thereafter. Companies with fewer than 100 employees can provide this information on a voluntary basis, but Member States can require, through national laws, to provide this data. Furthermore, this information must be available – upon request – to all the company’s workers, their representatives and the labor inspectorate. And the burden of proof lies on the employer, who must demonstrate that he has not violated the rules on equal pay. Employees subject to pay discrimination are entitled to full compensation for back wages and related bonuses.
Apprenticeships, internships, training: what the Youth Guarantee offers
Among the various European initiatives aimed at supporting job placement and combating youth unemployment, there is the strengthened Youth Guarantee, which represents a significant commitment agreed by all Member States. It aims to provide young people with job offers, further training, apprenticeships or traineeships within four months of becoming unemployed or leaving the education or training system. Managed by Anpal in Italy, it is mainly implemented by the Regions and is aimed at young NEETs between 15 and 29 years old, extending up to 34 years of age in some regions of Southern Italy (Abruzzo, Basilicata, Calabria, Campania, Molise, Puglia, Sardinia , Sicily). A choice, the latter, motivated by the consideration of the factors that make job placement more complex, such as territorial, demographic, family and individual differences.
Specifically, the Youth Guarantee provides:
- Orientation: the first step is a cognitive interview to identify the personalized insertion path based on individual, educational and professional characteristics. You can book it at an employment center in your region.
- Training: specific training courses aimed at job placement or re-entry into the job market.
- Apprenticeships, paid internships and civil service.
- Ssupport for self-entrepreneurship: training, assistance in drafting entrepreneurial projects and support for the creation of startups.
- Professional mobility: support for young people who wish to work in other EU regions or countries, with travel and accommodation costs covered for a period of up to six months.
To take advantage of these opportunities, simply contact the employment centers in your region.
This is the seventh episode of the column Europe is for you. The column is part of EUtopia, an Open project in collaboration with the representation in Italy of the European Commission and the European Parliament.
Video editing by Alessandra Mancini
