Is it true that now during a job interview I can ask questions about the salary?
V.B.
Yes. In fact, from June 7, 2026, the candidate should know the salary even before attending the interview. Legislative Decree No. 96 of 2026, with which Italy transposed the European directive on pay transparency, requires employers to indicate in job ads and notices the initial salary or the economic range expected for the offered position. The information must be determined based on objective and gender-neutral criteria and must also include the applicable collective agreement.
Therefore, discussing salary during the selection process is no longer an inappropriate or inconvenient question. If the announcement is incomplete, the candidate can certainly ask what the expected economic treatment is, even though, in reality, that information should have already been provided.
The new regulation also introduces an important limitation for the employer: during the selection process, they cannot ask the candidate how much they earn or how much they earned in previous jobs. The prohibition also includes indirect requests or those made by companies in charge of personnel selection.
The purpose is to prevent a previous salary, perhaps already penalizing or discriminatory, from influencing the new salary.
The regulation was indeed created to strengthen the principle of equal pay between men and women performing the same work or work of equal value.
Job ads must also be formulated in a gender-neutral way, and the entire selection procedure must take place without discrimination.
Protections do not end with hiring. The employer must make accessible to employees the criteria used to determine salaries, classification levels, and economic progression. Companies with fewer than fifty employees are exempt only from the obligation to make available the criteria related to economic progression, not from other transparency obligations.
Once a year, each worker can also request in writing information on the average pay levels, distinguished between men and women, of categories performing the same work or work of equal value.
The employer must respond within two months and must annually inform workers of the existence of this right and how to exercise it.
However, there is no right to know the individual salary of a specific colleague: data must be provided in a way that protects the confidentiality of other employees.
More detailed communication obligations regarding the pay gap concern companies with at least one hundred employees, with different deadlines depending on their size.
If a pay difference between men and women of at least five percent emerges, not justified by objective criteria and not corrected within six months, a joint evaluation with workers’ representatives may be necessary.
In case of violation, the worker can turn to the judge and obtain the protection provided against discrimination, including compensation for damages. Retaliation against those who have exercised their rights is also prohibited.
In the cases provided, public benefits may also be revoked, and the employer may be excluded from subsequent incentives or contracts.
Legal help desk service: Il Tirreno relies on the competent and qualified collaboration of the law firm Depresbìteris-Scura. The professionals of this firm answer weekly the questions sent to sportellolegale@iltirreno.it.
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