Different salaries for similar positions: 60% of employees say the differences are not justified
Romania is preparing to apply the European Directive on salary transparency, but a new study shows that there is a major trust deficit between employers and employees. While 76% of companies admit that they pay differently to people in comparable roles, only 27% of employees believe that the remuneration system is fair. Additionally, nearly 80% of candidates say they would prefer to apply to companies that display salary directly in job postings.
60% of employees say the differences are not justified. Archive photo
According to a study carried out by Reveal Marketing Research for Up Romania, 76% of employers admit that there are salary differences between people occupying similar positions, companies justifying these differences through performance, professional experience or individual negotiations.
On the other hand, 59% of employees believe that these differences are unjustified, and only 27% say that they have a high level of confidence in the fairness of the salary system in the organization where they work.
The data suggests that the problem is not necessarily the existence of pay gaps, but the lack of clear and credible explanations of how remuneration is determined.
Employees want the salaries shown in the job ads
The study shows that most employees are already familiar with the new European rules on salary transparency. Some 72% of respondents have heard of the European Directive, and 80% say they would be more likely to apply to a company that displays the salary and benefits package right from the recruitment ad.
Furthermore, 41% of employees say they would accept even a slightly lower salary if they worked for a company perceived to be transparent.
Availability is even higher among employees with medium experience, where the percentage reaches 53%, and within multinationals, where 47% of respondents share the same opinion.
Companies are aware of the Directive, but few feel prepared
In the business environment, the level of information is relatively high. More than half of employers say they are familiar with the Pay Transparency Directive.
However, only 19% believe that Romanian companies are prepared for the implementation of the new rules.
“The salary transparency directive represents one of the most important changes that will influence the relationship between employers and employees in the coming years. Beyond compliance obligations, we are talking about a profound transformation of the way organizations build trust and explain decisions related to remuneration”, said Elena Pap, CEO of Eurasia Upcoop Group and CEO of Up Romania.
Employers believe they are transparent. Employees are not convinced
One of the biggest differences in perception identified by the study concerns salary transparency.
Almost all employers (96%) say they provide at least some information about pay policies, and 43% believe their organizations are transparent about this.
Conversely, only half of employees perceive the company they work for to be transparent when it comes to compensation.
Moreover, only 49% of employees believe that the rules for setting salaries are clear. A third of the respondents state that they do not have access to essential information such as salary scales, performance criteria or income increase policies.
What does the European directive on salary transparency mean for employees and employers in Romania
The problem is even more pronounced for early-career employees, where the percentage reaches 48%, and in small and medium-sized enterprises, where 39% say they do not have access to such information.
Many companies do not yet have well-defined payroll processes
The study reveals that many organizations have not yet built the necessary infrastructure to implement salary transparency.
Only 30% of employers say they have well-standardized payroll processes. Approximately 33% have complete salary scales, and only 21% have fully formalized salary policies.
The main difficulties identified by companies are the costs of implementation, the complexity of the remuneration systems and the fear that transparency could generate dissatisfaction and internal conflicts.
Almost half of employers (49%) fear the emergence of dissatisfaction among staff, and 42% cite the risk of tensions between employees.
Extra-salary benefits matter more and more
Amid the pay debate, fringe benefits continue to play an important role in employee perceptions of pay equity.
A third of respondents believe that benefits contribute a lot to feeling that they are paid fairly, and among managers the percentage rises to 43%.
Meal vouchers remain the most valued benefit, being mentioned by 54% of study participants.
At the same time, 64% of employees say that information about extra-salary benefits is communicated transparently by employers.
Gender pay gaps and returning from maternity leave, challenges still unresolved
The analysis shows that most companies verify the existence of wage differences between women and men, but in many cases this process is carried out only occasionally.
Only 16% of organizations consistently monitor these differences. When discrepancies are identified, 73% of employers say they at least partially take steps to correct them.
Regarding employees returning from maternity leave, practices differ significantly from company to company. The most common solution is partial salary adjustment, applied by 30% of organizations.
Salaries will no longer be kept secret. What changes does the new European directive bring for employees and employers
Only 15% of companies declare that they align the remuneration of these employees to the market level or to that of colleagues in the same team, which indicates that this area remains one of the important challenges for wage equity in Romania.
The study was conducted in May 2026 on a sample of 1,200 urban respondents, of which 800 were employees and 400 were employer representatives, including HR specialists, managers and entrepreneurs.
