Free Tool · EU Pay Transparency
Paste any job ad. See whether it states the pay, whether the rules where the job is based entitle you to the range before your first interview, and whether the listing shows signs of a scam or a ghost job.
Copy the full ad text, including the location. No account needed.
Whether a range is stated, whether it is usable, and what the law says where the job is based.
A green, amber or red line for scam and ghost-job signs, with the exact words that triggered it.
Article 5 of the EU Pay Transparency Directive (2023/970) gives applicants two rights before they are hired. First, the employer has to tell you the starting pay, or its range, before the first interview. It can do that in the job ad or in a message beforehand, and the range has to rest on objective, gender-neutral criteria. Second, the employer may not ask what you earn now or what you earned in previous jobs.
Member states had until 7 June 2026 to turn the Directive into national law, and most missed that date. That matters: against a private employer, these rights apply once your country’s own law is in force. A handful of countries, including Poland, Italy and Greece, have their rules in force. Others, including the Netherlands, Germany and France, are still legislating. Public-sector employers can be bound by the Directive directly. The checker shows the status for the country the job is in and the date the rules were last checked.
Some ads publish a range so wide that it tells you almost nothing, such as €40,000 to €120,000 for one role. Others give only one end (“up to €60,000”). The checker flags both and suggests the question to ask instead: where in the range is the budget for this role, given your experience? That keeps the conversation about the role and its scope, not about your last payslip.
Knowing the range before the first interview saves time on both sides. If the budget is far below what you need, you find out before taking a day off for an interview loop. If it is in line, you go into the offer stage knowing what a fair number looks like.
Many postings are never meant to be filled: evergreen “talent pool” ads, roles reposted for months, or outright scams. The Listing Trust line looks for concrete signs in the ad text: requests to pay for training or equipment, a move to WhatsApp or Telegram, requests for ID or bank details before any interview, no identifiable employer, and pay far above what the role asks for.
You get one green, amber or red line with the reasons and the exact words that triggered each one, not a score to argue with. A red line means stop: do not pay anything or share documents. Amber means look closer before you spend an evening on a cover letter.
Not necessarily in the ad itself. The Directive requires employers to give applicants the starting pay or range before the first interview, which can be in the ad or in a message beforehand. Some national laws go further. And against a private employer, the rights only apply once the country’s own law is in force.
Where the Directive’s rules are in force, no: employers may not ask about your current or previous pay. Where they are not in force yet, asking is still legal, but you can decline politely and talk about your expectations for this role instead.
Yes. Asking for the pay range before an interview is normal and reasonable everywhere. Just do not cite a right that does not apply to you yet. ReForgedCV’s drafted messages only mention the law where your right is actually in force.
It reads the location from the ad and shows you the words it used. If the ad is unclear or wrong, pick the country yourself and the result updates.
No. It is information about where the rules stand, with the date they were last checked. For a dispute with an employer, talk to a union, an employment lawyer or your national equality body.
The ad is not attached to you or to an account. To make repeat checks of the same ad instant, the facts extracted from it (pay figures, location, warning signs) are cached for up to 24 hours.
Sign up free to check every ad you apply to. Pro drafts the message that asks for the range and the script for salary-history questions, and helps you counter an offer.
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