Presented to the Council of Ministers on 10 September 2026, the draft bill transposes Directive (EU) 2023/970, adopted on 10 May 2023 under the French presidency of the Council of the European Union. One year after its enactment, it will replace the Professional Equality Index created in 2019 by the law on freedom to choose one’s professional future. This change of reference framework directly concerns hotel employers with at least 50 employees.
Seven indicators replace the current Index
The text creates an obligation to report seven pay indicators, up from four or five previously. Six of these will be automated using data from the French payroll declaration (DSN), which should ease the administrative burden for the sector’s businesses, often mid-sized structures. The seventh indicator, covering the pay gap by category of workers performing “work of equal value”, cannot, however, be automated.
Its reporting frequency varies according to company size: every three years for structures with 50 to 249 employees, and annually beyond 250 employees. This deadline will affect both independent establishments and integrated hotel groups, with catering and hospitality among the sectors with a high proportion of SMEs.
Correction trigger set at a 5% gap
Where the seventh indicator reveals a pay gap of 5% or more between women and men within the same category, and this gap is not justified by objective criteria unrelated to sex, the employer will have to launch a correction process. The text allows a choice between a remediation phase of up to six months, or directly launching a joint pay assessment with staff representatives.
Our analysis – For a sector where pay scales largely rest on the collective bargaining agreement and sometimes outdated job classifications, creating job categories of “equal value” – a task assigned to each company via collective agreement, or by unilateral decision after consulting the social and economic committee – is likely the most far-reaching undertaking in the text for hotel HR functions.
End of confidentiality clauses and mandatory salary ranges
The draft bill bans contractual clauses preventing an employee from sharing information about their pay. It also creates an obligation for employers to state a starting pay range in job postings, along with applicable collective bargaining provisions. Where no formal job posting exists, this information must be given to the candidate in writing before or during the interview.
Another change for recruitment processes: it will now be prohibited to ask a candidate about their current or past pay. This is a common practice in hotel recruitment, particularly for supervisory and management roles, where previous pay sometimes serves as a negotiating basis.
Stronger right to information for employees
Any employee will be able to request the average pay level, broken down by sex, of employees in the same job category as themselves. The employer will have a maximum of two months to respond, unless doing so risks revealing the pay of an identifiable employee. This right applies regardless of company headcount, including in establishments with fewer than 50 employees not subject to the seven-indicator reporting requirement.
The text also provides for a reversal of the burden of proof in disputes over non-compliance with these new obligations: it will be up to the employer to demonstrate that its pay decision rests on objective criteria unrelated to any discrimination.
A phased entry into force
The Government has planned a staggered timetable to give companies time to adapt to the new system. Reporting under the current Professional Equality Index will continue in 2027, before a shift to the new indicators from 2028. For companies with 50 to 99 employees, reporting of the seventh indicator will only begin six years after the law’s enactment, compared with three years for those with 100 to 149 employees.
Measures relating to pay transparency towards candidates and the reversal of the burden of proof will, however, come into force the day after the law’s enactment, with no adaptation period.
A sanction lever via public procurement
The text introduces an indirect sanction mechanism: public buyers will be able to exclude a company from a public contract for one year if it has been sanctioned for failing to report, for an erroneous report, or for failing to take corrective measures where a gap of more than 5% persists. A point of vigilance for hotel groups and management companies operating public concessions or service delegations, where social compliance is already part of the award criteria.
At a glance by The Hospitality Tribune
France to overhaul pay equality reporting for employers from 2028
New bill presented September 10, 2026 transposes EU Pay Transparency Directive 2023/970
Replaces France’s 2019 gender pay index with 7 indicators, 6 automated via payroll data
Applies to companies with 50+ employees, including most hotel groups and larger independents
Correction procedure triggered at a 5% unjustified pay gap within a job category
Salary ranges become mandatory in job postings; salary history questions banned
Phased rollout: current index maintained in 2027, new indicators from 2028
