Works councils and AI: when employee representatives must agree

Short answer: Introducing an AI system for staff is rarely a management decision alone. In the Netherlands the Works Councils Act (WOR) gives the works council a consent right for arrangements on staff appraisal, monitoring and the processing of personal data — exactly what HR AI does. The AI Act adds an information duty. Skip the works council and you risk the decision being void.

The consent right under the WOR

Article 27 WOR requires works-council consent to adopt, change or withdraw, among others, arrangements concerning:

• staff appraisal;
• facilities aimed at observing or monitoring the attendance, behaviour or performance of workers;
• the processing and protection of staff personal data.

A CV-screening tool, a performance dashboard or a monitoring system almost always falls under one of these. Without consent (or substitute permission from a court) the decision is void — the employer may not implement it.

What the AI Act adds

The AI Act governs not consent but information. Article 26 requires the deployer to inform workers and their representatives before a high-risk system is put into use on the work floor. The two tracks reinforce each other: the WOR decides whether it is allowed, the AI Act ensures the council gets the information to judge.

The GDPR alongside

Article 88 GDPR leaves room for national and collective rules on data processing in the employment context. In practice a DPIA (data protection impact assessment) and the works-council process often run together: the same risks, two bodies.

How to do it well

• Involve the works council early — not at rollout, but at the choice of system.
• Supply the AI Act information (purpose, operation, human oversight, effects on workers) as the basis for the consent request.
• Combine with the DPIA so privacy and co-determination questions meet in one assessment.
• Record the agreements — for example on review, bias monitoring and the right to human checking.

What to do

• Test every HR AI system against Article 27 WOR before introduction.
• Plan the works-council process in parallel with procurement, not after.
• Document both consent and the information provided — both can be reviewed later.

Co-determination is not a formality at the end but a condition at the start. The employer who brings the works council along avoids a legally void decision and builds support for the AI it wants to use.