The Working Environment Act

As a general rule, the Working Environment Act applies to employers and employees in both the private and public sectors. The Act sets requirements for a fully satisfactory working environment, information, training, participation, and the use of control measures towards employees.

The law is relevant when AI systems and digital tools are used to plan, manage, allocate, monitor, or evaluate work. Examples may include automated task allocation, activity measurement, productivity analysis, performance ranking, log control, or AI-supported evaluation of employees.

Pursuant to Section 4-2, employees and their employee representatives shall be kept continuously informed about systems used in the planning and execution of work. They shall receive necessary training and participate in the design of the systems. In the event of significant changes in the work situation, the employer shall ensure necessary information, participation, and skills development.

The use of AI is not automatically a control measure. If the system is used to monitor, measure, classify, rank, or evaluate employees, the rules in Chapter 9 may apply. Control measures must have an objective basis in the company's circumstances and must not entail a disproportionate burden for the employee.

The need for, design of, and implementation of control measures shall be discussed with the employee representatives as early as possible. Before the measure is implemented, affected employees shall receive information about the purpose, the practical consequences, how the control will be carried out, and how long it is expected to last.

When the AI system processes personal data about employees, the Personal Data Act and the GDPR apply in parallel. The use may also affect the Equality and Anti-Discrimination Act and the AI Act's rules on AI systems in the workplace.

The Working Environment Act regulates the employer's responsibility for a fully satisfactory working environment and the employees' right to information, training, and participation.

Chapter 9 regulates control measures regarding employees. The rules may apply when AI systems are used to monitor, measure, classify, rank, or evaluate workers. Whether a system constitutes a control measure must be assessed based on its actual function and use, not merely the vendor's description of the tool.

AI can turn routine work data, logs, and documents into a basis for comprehensive employee analysis. The results can affect work distribution, work pace, monitoring, performance evaluations, and personnel decisions.

The business must therefore clarify whether an AI system only supports the work process, or if it also functions as a control measure. Purpose, necessity, proportionality, data sources, access, human oversight, and consequences for the work environment should be assessed before the system is put into use.

A system may be covered by the rules even if the vendor does not market it as a monitoring or control tool. It is the specific use and impact on employees that is decisive.