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A salary range needs an explanation. Finland’s pay-transparency proposal would change what applicants can learn about pay and what employers need to explain.
Finland’s pay-transparency proposal would change both the information applicants receive and how employers explain pay. Applicants would receive the role’s starting pay or range sufficiently early, and employers would not be allowed to ask about their salary history. The pay discussion would focus on the role and the expertise it requires.
Government proposal HE 129/2026 was still before Parliament on 19 October 2026. Below, we examine what implementation would mean for hiring employers and applicants. The final legislation and its commencement will determine how the obligations take effect.
Pay information would need to arrive in time
Under the proposal, employers would have to give applicants information about the role’s starting pay or pay range. This would need to be based on objective, gender-neutral criteria. Where relevant, the information would also include the applicable provisions of the collective agreement covering the role.
The proposal would not require this information to appear in every job advertisement. It could be provided in the advertisement, before the interview or by other means sufficiently early to allow an informed, transparent pay negotiation. Employers would therefore need to decide when and how to share it. A range sitting in an internal spreadsheet does little to help an applicant.
The questions would change too. Under the proposal, employers would not be allowed to ask about applicants’ pay in current or previous employment. They would therefore need to assess the role’s pay against its requirements without using salary history. Applicants could compare the pay on offer with their expectations and decide whether to continue the conversation.
Why one range does not mean the same pay for everyone
Publishing a salary range does not, by itself, entitle every applicant to its highest figure. The range must still be explainable. An employer stating a range should be able to describe the differences in role scope or expertise that would justify pay at either end.
Job demands and individual expertise affect pay in different ways. Assessing a job’s value means examining its requirements, such as the skills needed, effort, responsibility and working conditions. An individual pay component may, in turn, reflect specialist expertise useful in the role or an employee’s performance. Both assessments must use objective, gender-neutral criteria.
Responsibility needs to be assessed against what the job actually involves. Leading a wider remit and being responsible for a defined part of it can entail different responsibilities. Being willing to take on more at some future point is different from agreeing to make it part of the role. Applicants should ask what is expected in practice at the top of the range and how that is reflected in the work.
A range does not justify unfounded pay differences. The right to equal pay for the same work or work of equal value must remain part of the assessment. The EU Pay Transparency Directive also leaves room to negotiate pay outside the stated range. A range informs the negotiation; it does not determine the outcome on its own.
Compare the proposed salary with the company’s pay structure
Before sharing a role’s salary range with applicants, compare it with existing employees’ pay. The comparison needs to cover the same work or work of equal value. A shared job title does not establish how demanding the work is: responsibilities, the expertise required and individual pay components also need to be considered.
If the planned salary for a new hire differs from existing employees’ pay, establish why. Wider responsibility or specialist expertise needed in the role may explain a difference when assessed using the same criteria as for existing staff. If no basis can be found, both the proposed salary and existing pay should be reviewed before the search progresses.
This connects an individual hiring decision to the company’s overall pay structure. The same principles need to govern how job demands, expertise and responsibility affect pay. Record the reasons for any difference so that the pay decision can be explained on a consistent basis during recruitment and later.
Preparation starts with the role you are about to fill
Preparation can start with the next vacancy. First, establish whether the range covers the same work throughout or includes different levels of job demands. If pay rises with responsibility, the job description needs to change too. If specialist expertise explains the difference, recruitment needs to assess that expertise.
Employers also need to agree what the stated amount includes. Fixed monthly pay, performance-related incentives and benefits mean different things when an applicant makes a decision. Recruiters need to explain what is being promised and what depends on conditions being met later. If an employer uses a partner for a headhunting search, that partner needs the same criteria and up-to-date information.
Once these criteria are clear, the range becomes easier to use both in recruitment and with existing employees. Applicants understand what is expected of them, and managers can explain what affects pay. Employers can prepare for these conversations while the proposal progresses.
