Collective regulation of algorithmic management

Abstract

This article sets out the case for co-determination in the context of work, with a particular emphasis on why this is mandated in relation to algorithmically managed work and workplaces in particular. Having set out the theoretical case for collective regulation of algorithmic management that includes extensive rights of co-determination, focusing on the power relations implied by algorithmic management for this purpose, the article goes on to explore the current state of collective regulation of algorithmic management in the UK and in Germany. From here, it explores existing EU law mechanisms relating to algorithmic management, highlighting their limits and potential, and identifying how, and in what ways, the blueprint outlined by Adams-Prassl et al in this Special Issue might be further elaborated and improved. The article then presents certain proposals for how to establish conditions conducive to the introduction of co-determination in the EU, both generally and in relation to algorithmic technologies more specifically, while engaging critically with the potential and the limitations of legal, top-down—as opposed to bottom-up—mechanisms to achieve this end.