Model works agreement on the use of artificial intelligence

In order to comply with the requirements regarding the regulation of the use of artificial intelligence set out in the EU AI Act, which comes into force on 1 August 2024, there is now a need within companies in the EU for agreements between management and employee representatives on matters relating to AI. The works agreement sets out companies’ obligations under labour law in the context of the EU AI Act and helps companies to position themselves as trustworthy. A model works agreement addresses this need and provides management and employee representatives with a template for regulating AI within the workplace that complies with labour and data protection law.

Development status

Ready for practical use

Scientific basis

Development and implementation

Initial field trials

Evaluation and optimisation

Ready for practical use

What problem do many companies face?

The introduction of AI in organisations presents companies with a wide range of challenges. These may relate, for example, to aspects such as the organisation of work, skill requirements, pay, data protection or occupational health and safety, and thus directly affect employees who are impacted, either directly or indirectly, by the use of AI. In companies with a works council, works agreements are concluded between the employer and the works council to address these issues. At the latest when the EU AI Act comes into force on 1 August 2024, there will be a legal requirement from an employment law perspective regarding the challenges mentioned above, which can be addressed by drawing up a works agreement using a model AI works agreement. The model AI works agreement provides companies with a template for drafting company-specific regulations – such as works agreements, where a works council exists – governing the use of AI. Companies without a works council or with an alternative representative body can also use the model AI works agreement to conclude company-specific agreements.

How does the tool help to solve the problem?

The model works agreement provides a basis that is compliant with labour and data protection law, as well as with the EU AI Act, for drawing up a company-specific framework works agreement or company- and application-specific works agreements governing the use of AI.

How is the tool used within the company?

The Model Works Agreement on AI is a self-service tool that provides company stakeholders with practical guidance on how to address the challenges relating to employment law and data protection law when introducing and applying AI within the organisation, through the conclusion of company-level arrangements – such as works agreements. The model works agreement is intended to assist both management and employee representatives and covers labour policy issues relevant to regulation concerning the relationship between people, technology and organisation. To support this process, the model AI works agreement can also be combined with the ‘humAIne tool-box’ content from the co-determination dialogues. This is a three-stage workshop model based on the methodological approach of transfer research.

What is the time commitment involved for the company in raising this objection?

This is a model works agreement on the use of artificial intelligence, which can be used as a basis for drafting company-specific agreements. Consequently, the use of the model works agreement is particularly linked to speeding up the processes of drafting and negotiating works agreements or other company regulations concerning the use of AI within the organisation. The actual time required depends on the existing regulatory framework in the context of digitalisation and AI, as well as the resources available to those involved within the organisation.

What added value does the tool bring to the company?

This is a participatory and transparent approach to the use of trustworthy AI within the organisation. A works agreement not only provides management with certainty regarding planning and employment law in the context of the EU AI Act, but also reduces work-related uncertainties for employees that may arise as a result of AI systems.

Scientific publications

Haipeter, Thomas / Wannöffel, Manfred / Daus, Jan-Torge / Schaffarczik, Sandra (2024). Human-centered AI through employee participation. In: Frontiers in artificial intelligence, 7.

Wannöffel, Manfred / Daus, Jan-Torge / Kötter, Julius / Niewerth, Claudia / Repp, Riema / Schaffarczik, Sandra (2024). „Da geht echt viel verloren!“ – Betriebliche Interessenvertretung unter Remote-Bedingungen. In: WSI-Mitteilungen, 77(4), S. 296–304.

Wannöffel, Manfred (2024). Qualifikation als primäre Machtressource. In: Stefan Berger/Andrea Hohmeyer (Hrsg.), Betriebsräte in deutschen Unternehmen von der Weimarer Republik bis heute (1. Auflage), S. 171–188. Köln, Weimar: Böhlau Verlag Köln.

Haipeter, Thomas / Rosenbohm, Sophie (2025). Mitbestimmung der Betriebsräte: Entwicklungslinien in einer sich wandelnden Arbeitsgesellschaft. In: Wannöffel, Manfred / Hoose, Fabian / Niewerth, Claudia / Urban, Hans-Jürgen (Hrsg). Mitbestimmung und Partizipation 2030 – Demokratische Perspektiven auf Arbeit und Beschäftigung. Baden-Baden: Nomos, S. 149 – 165.

Ranft, Alexander / Hoose, Fabian / Niewerth, Claudia / Preuß, Matthias / Wannöffel, Manfred (2026). Regulierung von humanzentrierter KI in Betrieben – Die HUMAINE Muster-Betriebsvereinbarung. Industry 4.0 Science, 42(1), S.14 – 21.

Further links

https://artificialintelligenceact.substack.com/about

The process began with an orientation workshop (1) involving senior management and the works council, during which operational application and use cases for AI within the company were identified. Based on these findings, pilot areas were subsequently defined. In an identification workshop (2) with the works council at DPC Bochum, operational areas of action were then identified which, in the context of introducing AI, are relevant to regulation from the works council’s perspective. In this context, an assessment was made of the extent to which, on the one hand, existing works agreements (for example, on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or IT systems) and, on the other hand, which specific regulatory issues an AI works agreement must address. These issues were subsequently developed in detail during dialogue workshops (3) with the works council at DPC Bochum, set out in the form of a draft AI works agreement and submitted to the employer. The results of this process were subsequently incorporated into an initial draft of the model AI works agreement and, in the multiplier cases involving the IHK GfI and Eickhoff, evaluated and further developed during 2025 as part of the process of drawing up company-specific framework AI works agreements. Following the conclusion of the identification workshop (2), the social partners in both multiplier cases decided to shape the content of the framework works agreement in accordance with the principles of social partnership. The tool was designed and implemented in a three-stage process during the pilot project with Doncasters Precision GmbH (DPC) in Bochum, based on the workshop method of co-determination dialogues, and was subsequently evaluated and further developed in the multiplier projects with IHK Gesellschaft für Informationsverarbeitung mbH (IHK-GfI) and Gebr. Eickhoff Maschinenfabrik und Eisengießerei GmbH (Eickhoff).

The process began with an orientation workshop (1) involving senior management and the works council, during which operational application and use cases for AI within the company were explored. As a result, pilot areas were defined on the basis of these findings. In an identification workshop (2) with the works council at DPC Bochum, operational areas of action were then identified which, from the works council’s perspective, are relevant to regulation in the context of AI implementation. In this context, an assessment was made of the extent to which, on the one hand, existing works agreements (for example, on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or IT systems) could be built upon and, on the other hand, which specific regulatory issues an AI works agreement must address. These topics were subsequently developed in detail during dialogue workshops (3) with the works council at DPC Bochum, set out in the form of a draft AI works agreement and submitted to the employer. The results of this process were subsequently incorporated into an initial draft of the model AI works agreement and, in the multiplier cases involving the IHK GfI and Eickhoff, evaluated and further developed during 2025 as part of the process of drawing up company-specific framework AI works agreements.
Following the conclusion of the identification workshop (2), the social partners in both multiplier cases decided to develop the content of the framework works agreement in dialogue workshops (3) organised in accordance with the principles of social partnership. Drawing on the model AI works agreement, the works council and management were thus able, with academic support, to develop a draft framework works agreement on AI ready for negotiation within a period of 6 to 9 months.

The process began with an orientation workshop (1) involving senior management and the works council, during which operational application and use cases for AI within the company were explored. As a result, pilot areas were defined on the basis of these findings. In an identification workshop (2) with the works council of DPC Bochum, operational areas of action were then identified which, in the context of the introduction of AI, are relevant to regulation from the works council’s perspective. In this context, an assessment was made of the extent to which, on the one hand, existing works agreements (for example, on the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) or IT systems) could be built upon and, on the other hand, which specific regulatory issues an AI works agreement must address. These topics were subsequently developed in detail during dialogue workshops (3) with the works council at DPC Bochum, set out in the form of a draft AI works agreement and submitted to the employer. The results of this process were subsequently incorporated into an initial draft of the model AI works agreement and, in the multiplier cases involving the IHK GfI and Eickhoff, evaluated and further developed during 2025 as part of the process of drawing up company-specific framework AI works agreements. Following the conclusion of the identification workshop (2), the social partners in both multiplier cases decided to draw up the substance of the framework works agreement in accordance with the principles of social partnership

Contact persons
Alexander Ranft
Alexander Ranft
RUB/IGM