Swedish impact workers call for more transparent pay packets

In Sweden – with a long history of championing social democracy – salary gaps between entry-level and senior employees have historically been narrower than in many countries, and wages in many sectors are heavily influenced by union agreements.

But there is currently no legal requirement for employers to include salary information in job postings. This can make it difficult for jobseekers – particularly international talent working in tech and business – to gauge pay expectations.

This is set to change in 2026 with the EU’s new pay transparency directive. Under Sweden’s proposed implementation, employees will have the right to request and receive data on the average salaries for their specific job category or comparable roles within their organisation.

Although not explicitly required, it is anticipated that many companies will feel encouraged – or even pressured – to include salary ranges in job advertisements to align with the directive’s broader transparency goals.

Massive support for more transparency – from employees

In Impact Loop’s survey of Sweden’s impact sector, a massive 80% of employees in non-managerial roles support including salary expectations in job adverts. However, only 52 percept of managers share this view.

Supporters of the shift argue that transparency improves efficiency in the recruitment process, saves both jobseekers and recruiters time.

Critics, on the other hand, say it reduces flexibility. They want to adjust salaries based on the candidate, for instance, offering higher pay to someone with unique skills without being tied to a predetermined range listed in an advert.

There is also wide support from Swedish employees for the EU directive’s requirement that workers should have the right to request information on the average salaries for different job categories, broken down by gender.

In Impact Loop’s survey, 61 percent of respondents overall supported this idea. However, enthusiasm was notably lower among managers, with only 45% supporting transparent salaries, compared to 77 percent of non-managerial employees.

Managers opposing the proposal argue that salary decisions are individual agreements between employers and employees. They warn that transparency could lead to workplace conflicts and resentment. Supporters argue that it should help tackle the gender pay gap and contribute to a better understanding of how work experience and education can impact on salaries.

Major differences in salary transparency across Europe

Salary transparency practices vary significantly across Europe. In some countries, such as Germany, pay discussions have traditionally been more private, and there’s often resistance to making salaries public. However, recent changes, such as Germany’s 2017 Pay Transparency Act, are starting to shift norms. In contrast, countries like Denmark already have stronger transparency practices, with employers legally required to report pay gaps by gender in larger organizations.

These varied approaches across the region highlight the complexity of implementing a unified directive like the EU’s and underscore the importance of cultural and legal adaptation in each market.

The UK will not be obliged to follow the EU objective since it is no longer in the bloc. Here, while salary ranges are increasingly included in job advertisements, there’s no national requirement to do so. However, high-profile measures like mandatory gender pay gap reporting for companies with over 250 employees have pushed transparency onto the agenda.