PPMI | Part of the Verian Group, together with Cambridge Econometrics, has kicked off a new study for the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL). The study will support the ex-ante analysis of a potential EU initiative on algorithmic management in the workplace – a fast-growing phenomenon reshaping how workers are hired, scheduled, monitored and evaluated across Europe.
About the study
The assignment will provide the Commission with robust evidence on how algorithmic management (AM) is used today, the problems and opportunities it creates, and which EU-level policy responses could best protect workers while enabling innovation.
The study will:
- Map Member States’ existing laws, regulations, collective agreements and other measures on algorithmic management, and cluster countries according to the maturity of their national approaches.
- Analyse how AM tools are actually used across sectors and company sizes – from hiring and task allocation to performance monitoring – combining desk research, surveys and case studies to capture both benefits and harms for workers and businesses.
- Define the key problems, their drivers and the likelihood they persist without new intervention, establishing a clear baseline scenario against which future EU action can be assessed.
- Develop and assess policy options and their economic, social, fundamental-rights and environmental impacts, including a cost–benefit analysis and competitiveness check aligned with the EU Better Regulation Toolbox.
The contract will run for 15 months, with the final months of the study foreseen for the revisions of findings in line with feedback from the Commission and the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (RSB).
Our study team
The consortium is led by PPMI | Part of the Verian Group, Cambridge Econometrics as core partners. Together, they bring extensive experience in impact assessments for EU employment and digital policies, including work on platform workers’ rights, working time and competitiveness.
PPMI | Part of the Verian Group will coordinate the overall methodology, problem definition, stakeholder consultations and synthesis of findings, drawing on a multidisciplinary team of experts in labour law, digitalisation, occupational safety and health, and industrial relations. The consortium also includes leading academic experts on algorithmic management who previously co-authored the Commission’s landmark study on the topic, ensuring strong continuity with existing evidence and state-of-the-art research.
Cambridge Econometrics will lead the quantitative impact modelling, including macro-economic projections and analysis of the “cost of non-Europe” if no common EU framework is adopted.
What is algorithmic management – and what we can do?
From AI-driven recruitment tools and automated shift scheduling to performance dashboards and risk-scoring systems, algorithmic management is rapidly becoming embedded in workplaces across Europe. While these tools can boost efficiency, reduce administrative burden and support more data-driven decisions, they also raise serious concerns about worker privacy, fairness, transparency, well-being and collective rights.
Current national rules address issues such as data protection, algorithmic transparency or worker consultation unevenly, resulting in a patchwork of protections and potential legal fragmentation across the EU. At the same time, many AM tools are developed and deployed across borders, making it difficult for individual Member States to regulate them effectively in isolation.
The study will therefore examine whether and how EU-level action – for example, through legislation, guidance or other instruments – could ensure a consistent baseline of rights and responsibilities, foster trust in AI at work and create a level playing field for businesses operating in the single market.
Next steps
Over the course of the study, we will:
- Engage extensively with workers, employers, social partners, national authorities and experts through surveys, interviews, focus groups and workshops.
- Build a dynamic, foresight-informed baseline scenario to understand how algorithmic management and its impacts might evolve if the EU does not act further.
- Propose a coherent framework of monitoring indicators, enabling the Commission and Member States to track the implementation and impacts of any future initiative over time, using clear, RACER-compliant metrics and existing data sources wherever possible.
The final outputs will equip the European Commission with a comprehensive, evidence-based foundation for deciding whether and how to move forward with an EU initiative on algorithmic management – helping to ensure that Europe’s digital transition at work is not only innovative and competitive, but also fair, transparent and human-centred.
