AI and employee privacy

AI can lighten HR work. But as soon as it concerns employees, it concerns personal data. Then data protection rules apply, and some uses are simply prohibited.

Status November 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Employees' personal data

Names, appraisals, absence, salaries and conversations are personal data. Some of it, such as health data, is especially sensitive. It follows that:

• You don't paste employees' personal data into a personal AI account.
• If you use AI for HR, choose a business plan with data processing terms.
• You use only the data you really need. A job title is often enough instead of a name.

Prohibited and highly sensitive

• Emotion recognition in the workplace has been prohibited in the EU since 2 February 2025. So you can't use systems that infer how employees feel from their face, voice or behaviour.
• AI that decides on hiring, promotion, dismissal or task allocation is high-risk under the AI Act. The stricter rules apply, under the current text, from 2 December 2027. Be careful now.
• Monitoring employees, such as tracking emails or screens, is subject to strict rules. Consult your payroll provider or a lawyer before doing anything in this area.

Honest and open

• Tell your employees which AI tools you use and for what.
• Set it out in your AI policy.
• Always leave decisions about people to people.

AI literacy

The AI Act requires organisations that use AI systems to take measures to support their staff's AI literacy. Training in safe AI use, including privacy, is a logical part of that.

Checklist

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