On this page
Start your hiring
Book a free discovery call. We map the role, set your budget, and start sourcing pre-vetted European talent.
Book a call ↗Gross pay is an employee's pay before income tax and the employee's own social security contributions are deducted. Eurostat defines gross earnings as the cash pay an employer pays directly, before those deductions (Eurostat). In Europe, salaries are usually quoted as an annual gross figure.
Gross pay sits between two other numbers: net pay, what the employee keeps, and employer cost, what the company spends. Mixing them up is an easy mistake in cross-border salary talks, because the gap between them differs from one country to the next.
Three numbers, one salary
| Figure | What it includes | Who cares most |
|---|---|---|
| Net pay | Gross minus income tax and employee contributions | The employee |
| Gross pay | The salary on the contract | Both sides, in negotiation |
| Employer cost | Gross plus employer social contributions and other costs | The employer's budget |
How big the gap is depends on the country. Across the EU, non-wage costs, mainly employer social contributions, were 24.8% of total labour costs in 2025 (Eurostat).
The EU Pay Transparency Directive
Directive (EU) 2023/970 changes how gross pay is discussed during hiring:
- Pay before the interview. Applicants are entitled to the starting pay or its range, for example in the job ad or before the interview (Article 5).
- No pay history questions. Employers may not ask candidates what they earned before (Article 5).
- Clear criteria. Employers must make the criteria for setting pay and progression accessible to staff (Article 6), and workers can ask for their own pay level and the average by sex for comparable work (Article 7).
Member States had to apply it by 7 June 2026 (Article 34). By mid-October 2026, a tracker run by the compliance firm Trusaic listed full transposition in five countries (Italy, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and Greece) and draft laws in 15 more. Status changes quickly, so check the country you are hiring in.
What it means when you hire in Europe
State a gross annual range in every European job ad, and say how many payments a year it covers. It is good practice everywhere and increasingly a legal requirement. Then budget the fully loaded cost on top, using employer payroll taxes and the US vs Europe salary calculator. The take-home side is in net pay.
This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Rules differ by country and change, so confirm your case with a local lawyer or accountant.
Euro Remote Talent runs searches across Europe for a flat $6,500, with a shortlist of three vetted candidates in 21 days and a 12-month replacement guarantee, through Hiring Done For You. If you would rather run the search yourself, a job post is $299, live for 60 days, and the fee is credited in full if you later move to the done-for-you service.
