Effects of Increased Pay Transparency for Employees and Organizations

Company

PayZlip is a Helsingborg-based company that develops digital solutions for payroll management and disbursement. Founded in 2021, the company aims to create a modern and seamless payroll system that simplifies the payroll process for both employers and employees. By using real-time data and automated features, PayZlip makes it easy for employees to understand how their salary is affected by factors such as vacation days, shift premiums, and other compensations.

Background

The EU Pay Transparency Directive, adopted in May 2023, aims to create a fairer and more transparent wage structure across EU member states. The directive includes several binding requirements designed to combat pay discrimination and reinforce the principle of equal pay for work of equal value. Among other things, employers must disclose salary ranges during recruitment, and it is no longer permitted to ask candidates about their previous salary. Employees also have the right to request insight into both pay criteria and the average salary for equivalent positions, broken down by gender.

Companies with more than 100 employees are additionally required to report and analyze gender pay gaps annually. If the gap exceeds 5 percent without objective justification, the employer must take corrective action.

In Sweden, the directive will come into force on June 1, 2026, and is expected to bring significant changes to how employers manage wages—particularly in terms of transparency, documentation, and requirements for gender equality analyses.

For a company like PayZlip, gaining a deeper understanding of how the directive’s transparency requirements may affect businesses and employees in the Swedish labor market is of great interest.

Task

Research on pay transparency has so far primarily focused on structural effects—such as reduced gender pay gaps and strengthened compliance with anti-discrimination legislation. However, the psychological, social, and organizational consequences remain less explored, especially in a Swedish context where salaries have traditionally not been openly discussed in the workplace.

This thesis project offers you the opportunity to contribute new insights into how pay transparency is perceived and how it affects both individuals and organizations. One possible focus is to examine how increased transparency influences perceptions of distributive and procedural justice, and how this relates to motivation, group cohesion, and trust within the work team. At the same time, it is relevant to study how pay transparency impacts corporate culture, employee loyalty, and trust. Can openness around salaries strengthen engagement and reduce internal competition—or are there risks associated with too much transparency, such as increased pressure or conflict?

The study can be conducted within companies that have already made significant progress in this area, for example through open pay criteria, published salary ranges, or internal tools for salary insight.
Final delimitations will be determined in consultation with the client and the university supervisor.