Adnkronos (Adnkronos) – Italy is among the first countries to reach the European finish line on pay transparency, but within corporate environments, the reality is quite different. Legislative Decree 96/2026 places our country at the forefront of the European Union in closing the gender pay gap, but beneath the surface of the law lies a flaw: companies are unprepared, management is less aware of the law than their employees, and over 80% of companies have not allocated budgets to comply.
A snapshot of this two-speed transition is captured in the new Transparency & Governance report by Hunters Group, a qualified personnel search and selection firm, conducted on a sample of 1.000 workers of all ages and from every region of Italy.
At the European level, the implementation of the directive is highly fragmented. Despite the official deadline of June 7, 2026, the European Commission's firm stance confirming no extensions, and the imminent launch of infringement procedures against non-compliant states, only four out of twenty-seven countries have completed the process on time: Italy, Slovakia, Lithuania, and Malta.
A group of fifteen countries, however, are in an intermediate phase or have officially postponed the operational deadline to 1 January 2027 (the Netherlands, Denmark and the Czech Republic, joined by France, Austria, Finland, Romania, Portugal, Slovenia, Luxembourg, Latvia, Cyprus, Poland, Belgium and Ireland), while six countries – including Germany and Spain – are experiencing significant delays.
All European companies with more than 250 employees are still required to submit their first salary report for 2026 until June 7, 2027. In Italy, the three-year deadlines for companies with 150 to 249 employees have been extended from 2027, and for those with 100 to 149 employees from 2031. Companies must also initiate an assessment within six months if an uncorrected average gender gap of 5% or more is found.
In Italy, the Hunters Group survey reveals that 85,4% of the workforce has heard of the legislation, while 14,6% are completely unaware of it. However, only 22% claim to be familiar with it in detail, and 63,4% admit to being unfamiliar with its operational details. The comparison between declared and actual knowledge reveals a clear female lead: not only do women report a more in-depth knowledge in 31,1% of cases (compared to 16,4% of men), but they also demonstrate superior preparation in the field. 64,3% of female workers answered all five questions correctly, obtaining an average score of 86,6%, while only 48,9% of men achieved a perfect score, with an average score of 81,4%.
"Italy," explains Joelle Gallesi, managing director of Hunters Group, "has demonstrated remarkable timeliness in legislative matters, becoming a trailblazer in Europe. However, concrete implementation within companies requires a significant shift in pace, which, in many cases, is still lacking today. The fact that women have a significantly higher and more thorough knowledge of the law than men demonstrates how the issue of pay equality and transparency is primarily experienced by those who have historically been most impacted by its effects in their professional careers. We cannot allow a legislative text of this magnitude to remain confined to paper, and this is what we, at Hunters Group, are working on."
Skepticism stems not from workers' lack of knowledge of the law, but from a lack of confidence in companies' ability to implement it correctly and promptly in the near future, so much so that the average readiness rating is just 3,9 out of 10. Specifically, 13,8% of respondents gave a rating of 1, and only 0,7% gave the highest score, 10. Overall, 62,1% rated companies as unprepared with a rating of 4 or lower, and only 9,7% gave a rating of 7 or higher.
This perception is confirmed by the state of actual compliance within companies: only 24,8% of workers declare that their organization is taking corrective action, 12,8% report that it is being discussed without any concrete implementation, 22,8% say that no action is being taken, and 39,6% admit to not knowing what their organization is doing. The survey also highlights how the lack of preparation starts with management. Analyzing knowledge of the regulation among the various functions, we see how HR & recruitment (4,8) and ICT and digital (4,6) lead the ranking, followed by marketing and communications (4,4), operations (4,2), finance and purchasing (4,1), and sales (4). Surprisingly, management closes the ranking with a score of 3,8.
"The critical judgment expressed by workers," adds Joelle Gallesi, "shouldn't be perceived as prejudice, but rather reflects a real organizational gap. It's a true paradox that we company managers rank last in terms of regulatory knowledge, scoring lower than all other functions. Those responsible for leading companies and implementing new wage models cannot be left behind. Transparency shouldn't be interpreted as a burdensome bureaucratic requirement or a mere threat of sanctions, but as a factor in competitiveness, transparency, and talent attraction and retention."
Cultural resistance, expected benefits, and misunderstanding of the law. The main reasons for skepticism include cultural resistance and a backward mentality that makes discussing RAL a taboo in Italy in 37% of cases; the presence of poorly structured companies and lack of preparation, especially among SMEs, in 28%; the persistence of opaque compensation policies and the fear of a race to the bottom during negotiations in 22%; and the fear of circumventing the law in 10%. Trust is expressed in only 3% of cases.
Regarding the impact on the labor market, 39% believe transparency will help attract and retain the best people, 41% think it won't change much, and 20% fear internal tensions among colleagues. More specifically, regarding the expected benefits, 20% expect more efficient and transparent recruiting, 19% an increase in meritocratic pay, 17% greater equity and gender equality, 14% a positive cultural shift, while 11% expect no real impact and 5% fear discontent.
Finally, the report highlights serious practical misunderstandings of the law. For example, 9,6% of workers interviewed still believe that companies can request salary history, and 48% of companies ignore this prohibition and continue to base offers on past salaries. Furthermore, 5,2% of people mistakenly believe they can know their colleagues' exact salaries rather than just average data by grade. 18,3% are unaware of their right to know salary progression and classification criteria. And 6,2% confuse transparency with the introduction of a mandatory minimum hourly wage.
"Banning the requirement for past salary during interviews and making salary ranges mandatory in job advertisements," concludes Joelle Gallesi, "will radically transform the way we conduct interviews. Search and selection firms must become essential facilitators of dialogue between companies and candidates to break down cultural barriers, guide management in correctly defining compensation criteria, and make selection processes fairer, faster, and more meritocratic."
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