/ Management Skills

Pay transparency for managers - compensation conversations and pay decisions

A training for line managers and team leaders whose daily pay decisions and conversations with direct reports become the key implementation risk for EU Directive 2023/970 and the Polish Pay Transparency Act. A unique three-perspective approach combining labor law, HR and psychology: participants master the essential legal context (employer obligations from 24 December 2025 and 7 June 2026), mechanisms for objectifying pay decisions and principles for running difficult conversations with their team about compensation, raises and peer comparisons. An intensive one-day format focused on simulations - four typical conversation scenarios: expectation calibration, pay increase decision, request for peer comparison and a challenge to pay level.

Why this training?

EU Directive 2023/970 on pay transparency and the Polish implementing act shift the weight of the rollout from HR departments onto managers. You, as the supervisor, will be on the front line of the conversation with an employee who, after reading the pay gap report, asks: “why do I earn less?”. You will decide how to justify differences inside the team, how to communicate a raise - or the lack of one - and how to respond to a request for access to pay information.

Knowing the act is not enough. Every pay conversation is a mix of law (what you can say), HR process (how to document the decision) and psychology (how to manage emotions - yours and your report’s). This intensive one-day program combines all three perspectives and ends with practical simulations of four typical scenarios.

What sets the program apart?

Three perspectives for managers: law, HR and psychology in one coherent interpretive frame - without academic ballast.
Four real scenarios: simulations of the key conversations a manager will run in 2026 - with immediate feedback.
Ready-to-use answers: a set of tested formulations for the toughest employee questions, rooted in negotiation and mediation practice.
Bias awareness: an audit of the participant’s own pay decisions from the last 12 months - a moment of truth for many managers.
Manager’s personal manifesto: the training closes with each participant drafting their own standard for pay conversations - a document that stays with them after class.

Outcomes for the organization

After the training, managers can independently conduct pay conversations compliant with the new act, document their decisions in a way that reduces legal risk to the organization and cooperate with HR on escalations. For the organization this means lower exposure to employee claims, fewer communication crises inside teams and a coherent, objective pay policy - delivered at the level of daily management decisions.

Benefits

Understand the scope of managerial obligations under Directive 2023/970 and the Polish act
Master the principles for objectifying pay decisions and documenting them
Develop the competence to run pay conversations with employees
Build awareness of personal biases influencing pay decisions
Master techniques for responding to tough questions: 'how much does my colleague earn?', 'why me less?'
Draft personal standards for operating in the manager-employee relationship

Who is this training for?

Line managers and team leaders making pay decisions

Department and division heads managing compensation budgets

Team leads, scrum masters and tech leads influencing pay recommendations

HR Business Partners supporting managers in team conversations

Board members and C-level executives shaping the compensation culture

Prerequisites

Experience in people management or responsibility for pay recommendations
Familiarity with standard performance review and development conversation processes
Awareness of the participant's own organization's compensation system

Training program

EU Directive 2023/970 and the Polish implementing act - a manager's digest
Timeline: recruitment stage (from 24 December 2025) and full implementation (by 7 June 2026)
Employee right to information - what your report can ask of you
Manager accountability vs employer liability
Red lines - what a manager must never do

Neutral criteria: competencies, experience, outcomes, responsibility
Risky criteria: tenure, negotiation, discretion
Consistency of decisions across the team - internal calibration
Documenting decisions - what, how and where to record
Audit trail and preparing for a potential inspection

Typology of biases: confirmation bias, halo effect, similarity bias, motherhood penalty
Negotiation gap: why statistically women ask for less
Salary anchoring at hiring
Practical debiasing techniques in daily work
Workshop: audit of the participant's own pay decisions from the last 12 months

Money as a projection of an employee's sense of value
Typology of employee reactions (anger, sadness, withdrawal, entitlement)
Conversation principles: active listening, empathic assertiveness, reframing
The boundary: when a pay conversation becomes a development conversation - or a legal one
Manager's role vs HR's role - how to play as a team

Scenario 1: Calibrating a new employee's expectations during onboarding
Scenario 2: Communicating the decision on a pay raise (or no raise)
Scenario 3: Employee asks 'how much does colleague X earn?'
Scenario 4: Employee challenges their pay level after receiving the pay gap report
Paired role play and group feedback

'Why do I earn less than my colleague in the same role?'
'I want to see the compensation data for the team'
'Why didn't I get the same raise as X?'
'Can I discuss pay with my colleagues?'
'I'll file with the labor inspection if I don't get back pay'

How to avoid setting precedents
Cooperation with HR in sensitive situations
Escalation: when to call HR, legal, the board
Confidentiality of conversations - boundaries and pitfalls
Protection from discrimination claims

First 30 days: what I check in my team
Pay conversation standard (personal manifesto)
Checklist before making a compensation decision
Support channels: HRBP, legal, board
Training close - individual participant commitments

Delivery Methods

Online

Convenience of participating from anywhere
Interactive live sessions with trainer
Materials available for 30 days
No travel costs

On-site

Direct contact with trainer and group
Intensive hands-on workshops
Networking with other participants
Full focus on learning

Training Topics

Frequently asked questions

Who is this training for?

For line managers, team leaders, team leads and people responsible for pay recommendations. It differs from the HR training - here the focus is on the daily manager-employee relationship, not on the systemic implementation of the act.

How is it different from the HR pay transparency training?

The manager training is shorter (1 day) and centered on practical conversations and decisions in daily team work. The HR training (2 days) covers systemic implementation, job evaluation, pay gap reporting and organizational policies.

Do I need to know the act to participate?

No. The training contains a condensed legal section tailored to manager needs - participants get the essential context without being burdened with content aimed at lawyers and HR.

What is the training format?

The training lasts 1 day (8 hours) and is available online and on-site. It combines short lecture blocks with intensive conversation simulations (role play) and group feedback. We can customize the schedule to fit your team's needs.

Will I receive a certificate?

Yes - every participant receives an EITT completion certificate and a full set of materials, including ready-to-use answers to tough questions and a pre-decision checklist.