The European Parliament voted on Thursday in favor of a directive under which salaries will no longer be secret, obliging employers to disclose to employees information about the remuneration of those in the same occupational category.

The new legislation will require companies in the Union to disclose useful information to employees to compare salaries and identify gender pay gaps.

According to a statement by the European Parliament, the rules provide that employees and employee representatives will have the right to receive clear and complete information about individual and average pay levels, broken down by gender.

Wage secrecy will be prohibited because the contract must not contain clauses that prevent workers from disclosing their wages or requesting information about the same or different categories of workers, the source was quoted as saying.