Salary transparency is a generational issue

Salary transparency is lacking in many workplaces. This is shown by a new population survey of more than 1,000 working Danes conducted by Analyse Danmark on behalf of IDA.

In the survey, 54% respond that there is no salary transparency in their workplace. There are no statistics available to employees showing how salaries are distributed, and colleagues do not discuss salaries among themselves.

Only 38% responded that there is openness about salaries at their workplace.
Malene Matthison-Hansen, chair of the IDA Council of Employees, is surprised that salary transparency is not more widespread.

"I am surprised that salary transparency has not found greater resonance in more workplaces. It is one of the best tools for combating underpayment and unequal pay. Without transparency around salary formation and knowledge of what your colleagues are paid, you are entering a dark room when it comes to salary negotiations. And without this transparency, you as an employee are at a disadvantage from the start of the salary negotiations, while your boss holds all the cards," she says.

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EU directive will change things as early as next year

Malene Matthison-Hansen points out that employers will be busy in the run-up to next summer. By June 2026 at the latest, an EU directive on pay transparency must be implemented in Danish legislation, and the rules will initially apply to companies with more than 100 employees.

The EU's equal pay principle is not about everyone having the same salary, but about salary formation being objective and well-founded. Salary differences may only be based on objective criteria such as experience, responsibility and performance, and not on unexplained disparities. When two people do the same job or work of the same value, their pay should be comparable, and this should be visible to employees, for example in the form of statistics.

‘We are less than a year away from many Danish workplaces having to introduce transparency about local salary formation based on these criteria. This study shows that many places will be busy and will actually have to make a real final push to get ready,’ she says.

Young people are most open about salary

The reasons for the modest prevalence of wage transparency are due to both resistance to wage transparency among management in some companies, but there is also significant resistance to talking about pay among colleagues.

8% respond that their employer – in violation of legislation in this area – has rules that prohibit employees from talking about pay. Fifteen per cent respond that their manager does not want salaries to be discussed at work, and as many as 26 per cent respond that it is considered inappropriate to discuss salaries at their workplace.

At the same time, 37% of 50-59-year-olds in the survey say that they do not discuss salaries with their colleagues. By comparison, only 18% of 18-24-year-olds say that they feel the same way and do not want to discuss salaries with their colleagues.

"It is positive that the younger generations talk about pay with their colleagues to such a high degree. It is a sign that we are moving towards better times. In conjunction with the legislation that is on the way, we will finally be able to push the most stubborn managers, industries and companies to provide more transparency about wage formation, and more employers will be obliged to explain to their employees why salaries are falling as they are," says Malene Matthison-Hansen.