Automated decision-making and profiling in recruitment – an impossible equation from data protection and employment law perspective?
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School of Business |
Master's thesis
Authors
Date
2020
Department
Major/Subject
Mcode
Degree programme
Yritysjuridiikka
Language
en
Pages
109+35
Series
Abstract
Automated decision-making and profiling have become increasingly tempting tools for recruiters. However, those may pose special risks to applicants, which for example the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation has aimed to tackle. Automated decision-making and profiling in general have been widely researched, but a comprehensive analysis of specific issues concerning recruitment is yet to be made. This research aims to create an overall picture of the use of automated decision-making and profiling in recruitment by (i) interpreting what automated decision-making and profiling mean in recruitment context, (ii) clarifying what are the prerequisites from data protection and employment law point of view for using automated decision-making and profiling in recruitment, (iii) identifying the possible data protection and employment risks related to such processing, and (iv) assessing what advantages could possibly be gained by using automated decision-making and profiling in recruitment. The main method used in this research is doctrinal legal research, which is supported by legal informatics approaches and interdisciplinary insight from human resources literature. The research material consists mainly of EU legislation and Finnish legislation, legal literature from Finnish and international scholars, computer science and human resources literature, case law and instructions of data protection authorities. The main finding of the research is that currently, in certain rather limited circumstances, using automated decision-making in recruitment process could be possible in Finland if the employer has implemented sufficient safeguards to protect applicants. Whereas, the use of profiling in recruitment context is not as limited. When using automated decision-making or profiling, special attention should be paid also to complying with the general data protection principles and securing that the applicants can exercise their rights. Even though the obligation to implement all the special safeguards does not apply to profiling, many of those would be recommendable also in profiling practices. Further, it is important to remember the co-operation obligations before any changes to recruitment principles or practices are made. Regardless of all the safeguard measures, these systems may pose risks for instance to applicants’ right to privacy, equal treatment and access to justice. Consequently, when planning to implement these systems employers should pay special attention to the risks and their mitigation and weight those against the benefits that may be gained through their use. Although using automated decision-making and profiling in recruitment is possible under certain circumstances, implementing and deploying these methods requires careful consideration.Description
Thesis advisor
Kuoppamäki, PetriLuukkonen, Marja
Keywords
automated decision-making, profiling, recruitment, data protection, employment law