Works Council-Compliant AI Hiring Framework
AI governance framework for a German manufacturer with 5,000 employees — achieving works council agreement for AI use in candidate screening within a legally compliant and operationally workable structure.
The challenge
The organisation wanted to deploy AI-assisted resume screening but had not engaged the works council before initiating a vendor evaluation. The works council required a co-determination process and had specific concerns about algorithmic decision-making, candidate transparency, and data retention.
Our approach
Designed the co-determination engagement process: information phase, consultation phase, and agreement structure. Produced the technical documentation required by the works council: AI footprint inventory, decision logic documentation, human oversight design, and candidate transparency disclosure. Designed the human-in-the-loop process that satisfied works council requirements without eliminating the efficiency benefit of AI screening.
Outcome
Works council agreement reached in 11 weeks. AI screening deployed with full documentation, defined human oversight checkpoints, and candidate disclosure in place. Framework subsequently used as the template for two further AI tool deployments.