Works Council and AI, Co-Determination as Architecture Constraint

The Usual Approach: Convincing the Works Council

In most companies, AI deployment is treated as a change management project. The works council (Betriebsrat) is informed, convinced, brought along. The goal: getting approval for the works agreement (Betriebsvereinbarung).

This approach has a problem: it treats the works council as a hurdle, not a requirements source. The works agreement ends up as a compromise, written in legal language, filed in a folder. The technical implementation often remains unclear.

The Better Approach: Co-Determination as Architecture Constraint

In the Gosign architecture, works agreements are implemented as technical constraints in the Decision Layer. The works council’s requirements are not negotiated as compromises but implemented as rules in the system.

If the works agreement states: “Decisions on performance reviews must not be made fully automated”, then this is implemented as a Human-in-the-Loop rule in the Decision Layer. The agent physically cannot bypass this rule.

If the works agreement states: “The works council receives a quarterly report on all AI-supported HR decisions”, then the Auditor Portal generates this report automatically.

If the works agreement states: “If discriminatory patterns are suspected, AI usage for the affected process must be stopped immediately”, then this becomes a bias monitoring trigger in the Decision Layer.

What the Works Council Can See

The works council receives access to the Auditor Portal, with a dedicated read-only access restricted to the controls relevant to them.

They can trace: which works agreement rules are implemented as controls, whether all controls are active and functional, how frequently Human-in-the-Loop escalations are triggered, and whether there are anomalies in bias monitoring.

This transparency builds trust, not through promises, but through verifiable technology.

Practical Implementation

Step 1: Analyze existing works agreements. Which provisions affect AI deployment directly or indirectly?

Step 2: Draft a new works agreement for AI deployment. Not as a prose document, but as a requirements catalog with specific, technically implementable rules.

Step 3: Implement requirements as controls in the Decision Layer. Every requirement receives a Control_ID, a technical implementation, and an evidence generator.

Step 4: Grant the works council Auditor Portal access. They can verify at any time whether their requirements are technically implemented.

More on this topic: Co-Determination and AI

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Frequently Asked Questions

Does the works council have co-determination rights for AI?

Yes. Under §87 para. 1 no. 6 BetrVG (technical monitoring facilities) and §90 BetrVG (workplace design). AI agents that support HR decisions are subject to co-determination (Mitbestimmung).

How are works agreements integrated into AI systems?

Works agreements (Betriebsvereinbarungen) are implemented as rules in the Decision Layer. If the works agreement states that performance reviews must not be fully automated, this is technically enforced as a Human-in-the-Loop rule.

Can the works council verify whether its requirements are implemented?

Yes. Through the Auditor Portal, the works council can trace the implementation of its requirements as controls. Every works agreement rule has a Control_ID, a technical implementation, and an evidence history.