Progressive technological development forces a new look at the basic constructs of labour law. The science of labour law has so far paid little attention to the legal analysis of the risks associated with the ever-increasing interaction between people and technological tools, both in the form of advanced machinery as well as software used to manage enterprises and production processes. At the same time, questions about the future of labour law have long been posed in the science of labour law, primarily raising the need to realize the principle of social justice when work is not performed within the framework of the traditionally understood employment relationship (under employee subordination). The present study is a voice in this discussion, focusing on the issue of artificial intelligence in relation to the axiological foundations of labour law. The article analyzes the humanisation of work and human interaction in the world of new technologies primarily from the perspective of the central value of labour law, which is the inherent and inalienable dignity of the employee as a human being. There is also a consideration of the concept of autonomisation of the employee in the work process using artificial intelligence.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

The rapid development of artificial intelligence and large-scale application of algorithmic management has led to significant changes in the work environment. These primarily concern the ways in which work is provided and the conditions under which it is carried out, but they should be viewed much more broadly. Already today, most of the employer’s tasks in relation to individual employment relationships can be performed by artificial intelligence. In the near future, this trend will become even more noticeable. Since AI manages employees and de facto exercises control over them in the work process, it seems worthwhile to start a discussion on the subjectivity of AI as an employer. This is all the more important because other branches of law already discuss the subjectivity of AI, while the doctrine of labour law does not address this topic, although it is in the work environment that the impact of AI is most visible.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

Invisible workers—who is behind the artificial intelligence?

The article is dedicated to microworkers—highly precarious, often “invisible”workers whose labour is pivotal for the development of artificial intelligence (AI). It examines how crowdwork platforms such as Amazon Mechanical Turk, Appen and Clickworker organise the work of globally dispersed workers annotating data. It argues that, more often than not, this kind of work is performed in a highly structured, yet intransparent way, and is subject to substantial algorithmic control. This gives rise to the question of the employment classification of formally independent microworkers. The paper discusses this issue in light of the proposed Directive on the improved working conditions of platform workers.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

Algorithmic management is the subject of numerous scientific studies. This article attempts to answer the question of what kinds of new competencies and skills should be acquired by trade unions in the face of challenges related to algorithmic management. The author indicates two main areas of trade union activities: The first concerns the challenges associated with the process of explaining and transplanting artificial intelligence. The second concerns participation in the AI certification process. Considering that artificial intelligence algorithms’certification process is an entirely new undertaking, it should be based on a pragmatic search for peaceful solutions, encourage compliance with the law and limit the possibility of stiff administrative and criminal sanctions. For this purpose, the author considers using the theory of responsive regulation as a pragmatic approach for certification agencies and trade unions. The author considers the cooperation of artificial intelligence to be the main principle. In the working environment, there should be a principle of human importance—the focus of personalism.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: H55, K31

Algorithmic discrimination in employment. An overview

Debates about the future of work in light of developments in artificial intelligence are held predominantly in the context of job losses and technological unemployment. Far less attention is paid to the challenges posed by the increasingly widespread phenomenon of algorithmisation of management functions in the modern world of work. Meanwhile, the shift to algorithmic management represents a significant qualitative change that, in addition to promising broadly understood modernisation and optimisation of decision-making processes, carries specific repercussions in the context of human rights protection, including in particular the prohibition of discrimination in employment. The article attempts to assess the adequacy of the EU antidiscrimination instrumentarium to the specifics of algorithmic discrimination mechanisms, and aims to encourage an in-depth scientific discussion on the need to develop effective regulatory responses at the national level.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

The artificial intelligence as a tool to guide foreigner employment policies?

The global migration is one of the most significant challenges facing global society today. Exactly the same statement can be applied to the phenomena related to the development of artificial intelligence. Therefore there is no doubt that the areas where migration and artificial intelligence meet, require the attention of researchers. The analysis of this article will focus on the phenomenon of labour migration in the context of creating the policy of employing foreigners by means of, or with the use of, artificial intelligence. In view of the current lack of any integrated national migration policy, it is possible to attempt to determine the directions of its creation in the future, taking into account artificial intelligence tools, the proper regulation of which poses a particular challenge, in view of the threat against human rights violations.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

Profiling help for the unemployed – past experiences and new challenges from a human rights perspective

The dynamic development of modern information and communication technologies, enabling data collection on a much larger scale than before, has contributed to a change in the way services are provided also in the public sector. It is noticeable, among others, in the area of labor market policy, where tools based on profiling are used, understood as developing profiles of people on the basis of specific data and inferring on their basis the occurrence of certain characteristics or behaviors in people assigned to a given profile. Experiences in this area on the ground of Polish legal regulations show what consequences the use of profiling may have in the context of providing help to the unemployed. The aim of this article is to analyze the issue of profiling on the basis of regulations on personal data protection and labor market regulations as well as to identify threats related to the use of profiling in the area of providing help to the unemployed from the perspective of human rights.

ASCJ: 3308, JEL: K31

In the first part of the article, the authors analyse the legislation of the Slovak Republic relating to the termination of employment of an employee with disabilities. In that regard, in the main part of the article, they point to the fundamental contradiction of the case-law and practice of public authorities in the question of defining a disabled employee as well as in the question of the authority of a public authority which creates fundamental practical barriers for the employer in the intended termination of employment with such an employee. The conclusion goes from practical problems to theoretical considerations of the justifiability of the legislation in question which aims to protect groups of disabled workers at particular risk.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

FINANSOWANIE

The paper attempts to answer the question of whether periods of daily and weekly rest provided for in Art. 132 and 133 of the Labour Code Act of 26 June 1974 are to be accounted for with reference to the employment relationship, employer, or employee. Determinations in this respect were made by analysing various situations occurring in practice—employment of an employee with one employer on the basis of one employment relationship, simultaneous employment of an employee in several employment relationships with that employer, and parallel employment of an employee by more than one employer. This takes into account the need to ensure that the employee is afforded rest periods within strictly defined legal limits, as well as the nature of the right to daily and weekly rest and the purposes of this right.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

Improvement of professional qualifications as means of increasing the level of professional competences of members of the civil service corps

The author of the present article broadly analyzes the principles of improving professional qualifications by members of the civil service corps, including both the obligation to develop professional knowledge as well as other factors affecting the level of professional competence of corps members, such as the requirement to be qualified to hold a specific position and to serve a preparatory service. In particular, the study indicates requirements for establishing obligation to develop professional knowledge as one of the main duties of members of the civil service corps, introduces its legal nature and, separate from the principles provided for under the Labor Code, rules for its implementation through the absolute obligation of a corps member to participate in the civil service training system. The author also emphasizes the non-exhaustive nature of the regulation provided for by the Civil Service Act and points to the possibility of improving professional qualifications by members of the civil service corps, on the basis of the provisions of the Labor Code, at the initiative of the employer or with his consent.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

What will be the impact of the UK Supreme Court ruling declaring Uber drivers as employees on the GIG ECONOMY?

The author presents the verdict of the Supreme Court of Great Britain, recognizing Uber drivers as employees in the light of current laws. The subject of consideration is also the influence of the British judgment on legal and factual relations based on digital platforms in Poland, particularly in relation to Uber drivers. The author analyses the scope of protection to which persons employed on a basis other than employment contract are entitled and points out the necessity to adapt the existing regulations to the requirements of the labour market.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31

Aid and loan funds are a self-help institution in the work environment. The Act of 11 August 2021 on aid and loan funds regulates their status for the first time in a comprehensive manner. The article presents issues related to their organization and functioning in the Polish legal system.

ASJC: 3308, JEL: K31