HR as a core area of the EU AI Act
Annex III No. 4 of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 explicitly lists AI systems in employment, workforce management and access to self-employment as high-risk. This includes:
- AI systems for recruitment and selection of applicants (screening, ranking, pre-selection)
- AI for promotion decisions and task allocation
- AI for performance monitoring and evaluation of employees
- AI for termination decisions
Typical high-risk scenarios in HR
| Application | High-risk? | Justification |
|---|---|---|
| CV screening / applicant ranking | Yes | Annex III No. 4 – recruitment |
| Video interview analysis | Yes | Annex III No. 4 + No. 1 (biometrics) |
| Employee performance scoring | Yes | Annex III No. 4 – performance evaluation |
| Promotion recommendations | Yes | Annex III No. 4 – promotion |
| Emotion recognition in the workplace | Prohibited | Art. 5 – Prohibited practices |
| Scheduling / shift planning | No | No impact on fundamental rights |
| Chatbot for HR FAQ | No | Art. 50 transparency obligation suffices |
Particular discrimination risks
HR AI carries particularly high discrimination risks. The EU AI Act therefore requires comprehensive measures:
- Data governance (Art. 10) – Training data must be checked for bias. Historical hiring data can contain discriminatory patterns.
- Accuracy and robustness (Art. 15) – Performance metrics must be reported separately for different demographic groups.
- Human oversight (Art. 14) – AI recommendations must not be implemented automatically. Human-in-the-loop is mandatory.
In parallel, the EU anti-discrimination directives apply: Directive 2000/43/EC (Racial Equality Directive), Directive 2000/78/EC (Employment Equality Framework Directive) and in Germany the AGG (General Equal Treatment Act).
FRIA obligation in HR
Under Art. 27 EU AI Act, deployers of HR AI systems under Annex III No. 4 must conduct a Fundamental Rights Impact Assessment (FRIA). Key focus areas:
- Non-discrimination (Art. 21 EU-GRC) – Risks related to gender, age, origin, disability
- Right to work (Art. 15 EU-GRC) – Access to employment
- Fair working conditions (Art. 31 EU-GRC) – In performance monitoring
- Data protection (Art. 8 EU-GRC) – Processing of applicant data
Special case: Works council and co-determination
In Germany, Austria and other EU countries, works councils have a co-determination right when introducing technical monitoring systems (§ 87(1)(6) BetrVG in Germany). AI systems in HR almost always trigger this co-determination requirement.
Tip: The EU AI Act documentation (especially the Technical Documentation and Transparency Notice) simultaneously serves as a basis for the works council consultation.
Documentation obligations for HR AI
- Technical Documentation – For providers of HR AI tools
- Transparency notice – Applicants and employees must be informed about the use of AI
- FRIA – For deployers (HR departments using an external tool)
- Bias documentation – Evidence of fairness testing for different demographic groups
Next steps
- Inventory – What AI tools does your HR department use?
- Risk check – Check for free whether a high-risk system is present
- Involve works council – Inform early and provide documentation
- Create documentation – Generate compliance drafts with HR-specific context