This article draws on data from a comparative study of fifteen European countries, which focused on the information and consultation (I&C) rights of cross-border digital workers. The article is concerned with the introduction, and use, of algorithmic management systems in employment relations, and the extent to which employers have obligations to inform and consult with workers’ representatives in this context. The article looks at how the law, and the social partners, have reacted to the spread of algorithmic management practices in different countries. It considers this issue in the context of recent Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) jurisprudence on the rights of data subjects (in the context of this article, workers) to challenge algorithm-based automated decision-making. The article concludes with an analysis of the challenges for labour relations actors of managing obligations of transparency, efficiency, and fairness, and maintaining worker dignity in the context of AI-based human resources (HR) processes. Drawing from the study data and the CJEU jurisprudence, it proposes some ways of ensuring algorithmic management systems are introduced, and used in a way that respects fundamental worker rights.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations