Joint statement on the European Parliament’s INL on AI at work

Employers and business representatives call upon the European Parliament to reject the legislative annex of the INL report “(2025/2080) Digitalisation, Artificial Intelligence and Algorithmic Management in the Workplace – shaping the future of work”, with the aim of adopting a future-oriented approach which strikes the right balance between workers’ protection, digital innovation and legal certainty.

European companies are fully committed to the responsible and ethical use of AI tools in the workplace. With the AI Act, the GDPR, and existing labour and social legislation, the EU already has a world-leading, comprehensive regulatory framework governing AI in employment. Businesses across Europe are currently investing heavily to effectively implement these obligations but need more certainty, clarity and guidance to fully unlock the potential benefits that these new technologies can bring to our labour market.

The EU seeks to strengthen competitiveness and advance its agenda of better regulation and simplification. It has published an important digital omnibus proposal, which aims to reduce the complexity of existing EU legislation and address excessively burdensome requirements on European companies. Introducing additional legislative requirements on AI at work now would therefore add another layer of complexity and risks duplication and incoherence. Delaying AI adoption furthermore reduces productivity in light of growing global competition and, ultimately, the capacity to offer high-paid and quality jobs across sectors, and risks fragmenting the European Digital Single Market.

During a time when compliance costs are already crippling European innovation in AI, particularly for SMEs, new overlapping legislative requirements risk slowing down the development and deployment of European AI tools even further. If we want to truly put European companies back at the forefront of global competitiveness, we must avoid measures that risk fragmentation, confusion, or deterring responsible AI innovation.

What is needed instead is non-legislative support, which prioritizes full and consistent implementation and enforcement of the current legal acquis, through clear guidance and strong social-partner dialogue. These tools, combined with private and public investments in upskilling and reskilling initiatives, can help employers and workers navigate AI’s practical challenges without adding layers of regulation that provide little additional value.

For these reasons, we urge Members of the European Parliament to:
• Delete “legislative” in the body of the INL report, ensuring the report calls only for proportionate, non-legislative follow-up;
• Reject the legislative annex, which would push for new prescriptive measures that go beyond what is necessary or helpful at a time when implementation and enforcement of existing regulations should be our priority.

This plenary vote is an opportunity to endorse a constructive and innovation-friendly approach that both safeguards workers rights and supports Europe’s digital competitiveness, by focusing on implementation and enforcement first.

Signatories