President of the Personal Data Protection Office (UODO) Mirosław Wróblewski has sent a request to the Ministry of Family, Labour and Social Policy to urgently undertake legislative work on rules governing the use of artificial intelligence systems in recruitment and employment processes. He pointed to the need to introduce additional national safeguards that will effectively protect job candidates and employees from the risk of discrimination.
According to the UODO President, AI systems process personal data on a large scale, often reaching for information beyond the catalogue permitted under Article 221 of the Labour Code. These algorithms tend to entrench biases present in training data, which may lead to the reproduction of stereotypes and unequal treatment based on gender, age, disability or other characteristics protected by law. In addition, there is a risk of processing special category data without adequate safeguards.
The existing GDPR and Labour Code provisions provide basic protection mechanisms, including a prohibition on discrimination and the right not to be subject solely to automated decisions. However, the dynamic development of AI technology calls for more precise solutions. Systems used in recruitment have indeed been classified as high-risk under the Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act). This requires an impact assessment on data protection and an assessment of the impact on fundamental rights to be carried out before such a tool is deployed.
The new rules should, among other things, define the purposes for which AI systems may be used, identify the data controller, and introduce requirements concerning data quality, technical documentation, event logging, transparency and effective human oversight. The UODO President placed particular emphasis on transparency: persons affected by a decision made by a high-risk AI system have the right to a clear and meaningful explanation of the system’s role in the decision-making procedure and of the main elements of the decision taken.
UODO has declared its readiness to cooperate in developing legislative proposals and has offered expert support from the perspective of personal data protection. Without appropriate national regulations, the growing use of artificial intelligence tools in employment may lead to violations of fundamental rights, including privacy, equality and human dignity.
Source: Announcement of the Personal Data Protection Office of 16 July 2026 (DPNT.0623.18.2026).
