What applicants have been demanding for a long time will soon become a legal requirement: more salary transparency in the application process. With the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which must be implemented into German law by June 2026, companies with 100 or more employees will in future be obliged to tell applicants the starting salary or a salary range – at the latest before the contract is signed. According to the EU, the information should be provided in such a way that “well-founded and transparent negotiations on remuneration are ensured.”
However, according to the North Westphalia Chamber of Industry and Commerce, it is desirable to include this information in the job advertisement. And this is exactly where a current study by the Königsteiner Group, for which the market research company Bilendi surveyed 1,028 employees nationwide in September 2025, shows that this would be a great advantage in the fight for talent.
Recruiting: The earlier transparency, the better
From a recruiting perspective, this early transparency is not only desirable, but urgently necessary:
- 16 percent of those surveyed definitely decide against applying if the job advertisement only uses vague salary descriptions.
- More 29 percent are reconsidering their application at least. This means: Almost every second potential applicant (45 percent) can be lost to companies if they do not provide clear salary information in job advertisements.
- 68 percent of those surveyed According to the study in question, companies want to link the position with specific salary figures in the job advertisement.
- At least one 82 percent even expect an approximate salary range – right from the first information about the position. Vague phrases such as “We offer an attractive salary” or “You can expect a fair salary” deter candidates from applying.
- Particularly critical: At younger applicants between 18 and 29 years old According to a survey by the Königsteiner Group, the value is as high as 59 percent. The sought-after young talents in particular are lost to the competition, which is already clear in its communication on the subject of salaries – long before an interview even takes place.
Salary information leaves a positive impression
The Stepstone Salary Study 2026 comes to a similar conclusion: 86 percent of candidates say that transparent salary information in job advertisements has a positive influence on their opinion of a company. Despite these findings, many companies in Germany stick to their cautious practice and refrain from specifically mentioning salaries. And there is another structural problem: the issue of pay transparency is often relevant in company management. It is only slowly finding its way into implementation in HR departments. This emerges from a current study by the Institute for Employment and Employability at the Ludwigshafen University of Economics and Society.
EU Pay Transparency Directive: Salary is an issue anyway
The applicants also provide a pragmatic argument: three quarters (76 percent) say that they will bring up the exact salary data in the interview anyway. The question cannot be avoided – it will only be postponed due to missing information.
“Salary transparency is a clearly formulated requirement for recruiting employers,” comments Nils Wagener, Managing Director of the Königsteiner Group. “In neighboring countries, salary figures in job advertisements have long been common practice. Ultimately, it is only a matter of time before this will also be the case in Germany.”
Rebecca Scheibel is the online editorial director and responsible for the digital channels of human resources.
