Compversation #23 – Are informed employees twice as powerful?

Yet another mandatory notice no one will ever read…

That’s how I’ve heard HR professionals describe the upcoming employee right to information, a.k.a the right for workers to ask their employers how their pay compares to their colleagues’. Or about new labour laws more broadly. There’s now just a few months to go before this right becomes law in the EU (by June 2026 at the latest). 

Many companies have responded to this news by adopting a “wait and see” approach. Because let’s face it: administrative reforms rarely set hearts racing. After all, new laws are passed every day and most are quickly forgotten.

Why would this one be any different?

What’s changed this time is how information spreads. Of course, labour unions and employee representatives have a role to play in making this new law known; I’m preparing a newsletter about that soon. But they won’t be the only ones informing employees: millions of influencers, content creators, and employees themselves will seize on the topic… along with all the misinformation risks that come with online discourse.

Companies should prepare for employees who are well-coached, well-informed about their rights, and ready to negotiate. It’s naïve to think this change will stay confined to HR departments or legal compliance. What’s coming is, in fact, a societal revolution powered by social media.

Organisations risk losing control of their HR communication narrative. And it won’t be because of a government decree; it’ll be because of a viral TikTok story.

The trend of “going viral” on social  

It might seem surprising that something seen as dry at best, taboo or deeply personal at worst, could go viral: but salary transparency is becoming one of social media’s hottest topics.

That’s largely thanks to Gen Z, who have no hesitation in challenging the norms their elders accepted, and shining a light on things once considered private. That’s the mission of influencers who specialise in talking about pay, especially when doing so helps expose or reduce inequality. 

One of those leading the charge in the US is Hannah Williams, a successful influencer (1.3 million TikTok followers and 654,000 on Instagram). She launched her account, Transparency Street, in 2022 after realising she’d been underpaid in her first post-college job. Her concept is simple: she conducts street interviews where she asks two questions — “What do you do for a living?” and “How much do you make?” It works so well that she was invited on Good Morning America that same year.

For Hannah Williams, making this information public helps employees understand where they stand compared to their peers.

Some influencers go further than just raising awareness. They act as career coaches, helping employees and candidates prepare for salary negotiations, offering real-life scripts: “Here’s what to say before accepting an offer,” or “Here’s how to ask for a raise.”

Armed with all this advice, companies should expect candidates and employees who know their rights and are trained to ask sharp, informed questions.

The effects are already visible. One HR professional told me she’s receiving more and more emails from employees challenging their pay, all using the same template. It’s safe to assume many come from the same source. Union reps… or influencers? 

The consequences of naming and shaming 

Influencers who specialise in pay transparency often do so from conviction. For example, Insaff El Hassini, who runs a popular podcast with over a million listens, focuses on closing the gender pay gap. Others expose racial inequalities when pay gaps track ethnicity, as seen in places like Singapore. And in the US, Hannah Williams frames her mission as giving power back to individuals, taking it from large corporations.

For most, this is part of a broader social revolution, rather than just neutral information to help people earn more. Williams, for example, launched her platform before US pay transparency laws took effect, always calling for stronger legislation.

In this context, companies that aren’t squeaky clean on pay equity are at real risk. Online backlash can happen overnight, especially if they’re accused of favouritism based on gender or ethnicity.

Even small mistakes can cost companies dearly. And lawyers know it, sometimes opting to use it strategically.

A labour lawyer recently told me she’s increasingly defending companies against employees or ex-employees represented by “influencer lawyers” active on social media. These lawyers don’t hesitate to use their online visibility as leverage, implying that a company could be exposed publicly if it doesn’t settle favourably.

Less scrupulous influencers also resort to sensationalism to boost their views, spreading half-truths or turning employees against their employers by insisting “you’re being taken advantage of.” Whether it’s misinformation or legitimate awareness-raising, the result is the same: employees who believe they’re underpaid (rightly or wrongly) can now take their case to court, post about it online, or both.

With upcoming laws requiring companies to publish salary ranges in job postings, any inconsistency can become a liability. A single tweet from an employee realising she’s underpaid was viewed 13 million times.

The company in question had to remove all its job ads, issue a press release, and apologise internally.

The risk for businesses is clear: any employee can become a potential detractor.

Start the conversation before you lose control of it 

Faced with these potential detractors, HR teams should take a page from marketers’ playbooks. When marketers identify an unhappy customer, they move quickly to give them a safe, brand-controlled space to express concerns, solving the issue before it explodes publicly.

In 2025, when consumers (or employees!) have something to say, they’ll say it, either directly to the brand (or employer), or publicly on social media if they feel ignored.

If companies don’t take ownership of the pay conversation, they risk losing it. Or worse, seeing it shaped by external voices who may not have good intentions, manipulating employees into thinking they’re being cheated.

That’s why it’s critical to anticipate the questions employees will ask, because they’ll be more informed than ever before. HR teams should create opportunities for these conversations: workshops, Q&A sessions, and open dialogue with managers.

Recruiters need training, of course, but managers must also be prepared, so they’re not caught off guard when pay questions arise. That’s exactly why we dedicated a recent webinar to this topic.

It’s urgent to start the conversation and make communication a priority. It’s never too early to discuss pay policy. In tomorrow’s world, it’ll happen as early as the first contact between a candidate and a company right on the career page. Compensation will be a core part of the employer brand (and we’ll talk about that in the next issue).

If you’d like to talk about it, my inbox is always open!

To continue the conversation 

Here’s a collection of articles related to this topic. Feel free to send me any others you’ve found interesting!

Gen Z Battles the Widening Pay Gap, One TikTok Post at a Time – Bruce Crumley, Inc. 

A 2024 article summarising Gen Z’s new expectations around salary transparency, and highlighting the role social media plays in the fight against pay opacity.

Google Agrees to $28M Settlement in Worker Discrimination Lawsuit – HR Grapevine – Ronnie Dungan 

A reminder that pay inequality can cost companies dearly, especially when tied to racial or ethnic bias. Google recently paid $28 million to settle a claim from a Mexican employee who alleged she was underpaid compared to her white and Asian peers.