Almost 40% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) do not plan to communicate more openly about their employees‘ pay packages in 2025, according to a study conducted by HR services company Acerta in conjunction with employers’ associations Etion and VKW Limburg.
The European directive on salary transparency, adopted in 2023 and due to be transposed into Belgian law by June 2026, requires employers to inform their employees of the criteria used for salaries and salary increases.
However, only 17% of SMEs surveyed intend to communicate more transparently about pay packages this year. According to the Acerta barometer, 39% will not do so, while the remaining 44% do not yet know what their policy will be in 2025.
More than two out of three SMEs (68%) say they are unaware of the European directive, adds the HR services company.
"While the Transparency Directive aims to prevent gender-based inequalities, it also provides more general guidance for employers," says Hortense Mignard, legal expert at Acerta Consult. "Employers will have to provide applicants and employees with information about the position, how salaries are composed and the criteria used."
However, to offer salary transparency to their workers, each employer needs to draw up a salary policy with objective criteria, adds the expert. "Unfortunately, this is where the problem lies for many SMEs," Mignard points out.
