The European Commission opened the second phase of consultation on its planned Quality Jobs Act on July 20, 2026, according to the Commission. In that consultation, the Commission says it is looking at five priority areas, including “algorithmic management” and “artificial intelligence at work.”
The Commission says it wants automated decisions to be “more transparent and human-centered,” and says it wants workers protected from “excessive monitoring.” The consultation runs until September 28, 2026. After that, the Commission says social partners may choose to open negotiations, and it says it expects to present the proposal before year-end.
The move is part of an ongoing policy process rather than a completed rule change. The supplied sources say the first-stage consultation took place in December 2025 and January 2026 and drew input from 34 EU-level social partners, including 12 unions and 22 employer organizations.
What the Commission says is on the table
In the Commission’s own description of the second-phase consultation, “algorithmic management” and “artificial intelligence at work” are among the five priority areas. The Commission says it wants automated decisions to be more transparent and human-centered, and it says it wants employees protected from excessive monitoring. The supplied sources do not identify the other three priority areas in this research bundle.
Europa Press, reporting on the same initiative, said the draft would regulate AI use at work, strengthen subcontracting-chain protections, and adapt labor rules to telework and new risks. That reporting also said the Commission is considering rules ensuring automated decisions are transparent, human-supervised, and not excessively surveillance-heavy. The supplied primary source supports the consultation’s focus on AI at work and excessive monitoring; the supplied sources do not separately identify the other draft elements as adopted measures.
What happens next in the process
The consultation is scheduled to run until September 28, 2026, according to the Commission. The Commission says that, after the consultation ends, social partners may decide to begin negotiations. It also says it may present the proposal later in 2026.
That sequence matters because the research bundle describes a consultation and possible follow-on negotiations, not a finished law. The supplied sources do not say negotiations have begun, that a proposal has been issued, or that any final text has been adopted.
Who is affected
Based on the supplied sources, the immediate policy focus is employers and workers where automated systems are used to manage work. The Commission says it wants automated decisions to be more transparent and human-centered, and it says it wants workers protected from excessive monitoring. Europa Press says the draft would regulate AI use at work, which places workplace AI systems and worker monitoring within the same consultation.
The supplied sources do not identify any named companies, sectors, or member states that would be singled out by the proposal. They also do not say whether any specific employer practice is already prohibited; they only describe the Commission’s stated objectives and the subject areas under consultation.
What the first phase showed
The Commission says the first-stage consultation took place in December 2025 and January 2026 and involved 34 EU-level social partners, including 12 unions and 22 employer organizations. Europa Press reported the same totals. The supplied sources do not identify which organizations participated or what positions they took.
That earlier round gives the second phase a procedural backdrop, but the bundle does not say how the participants responded, whether they supported the Commission’s direction, or whether they asked for changes. It only states the number and type of organizations involved.
Why this is a live AI-at-work file
This consultation is a concrete regulatory step aimed at AI in the workplace. The Commission’s stated emphasis on transparency, human-centered automated decisions, and limits on excessive monitoring places worker-surveillance tools and other algorithmic management systems inside a live legislative process. The supplied sources support that characterization; they do not provide a completed legal standard or a final compliance regime.
For AI Replaced Me readers, the key point is not a layoff count but a policy pathway. If the process advances, the Commission says it may present a proposal later in 2026, and the consultation itself runs through September 28, 2026. Until then, the factual record in the supplied sources remains limited to a second-phase consultation, a prior first-stage round, and the Commission’s stated aims.
What to watch
Three dates and procedural markers are the ones the supplied sources support: July 20, 2026 for the launch of the second-phase consultation; September 28, 2026 for its close; and later in 2026 as the Commission’s stated timing for a possible proposal. After the consultation ends, the sources say social partners may decide whether to open negotiations. The supplied materials do not say whether they will do so.
For now, the Commission has placed AI at work into a formal consultation track. The rest depends on whether the process moves from consultation to negotiation and, potentially, to a proposal later this year.
Sources
- Commission opens second-phase consultation on Quality Jobs Act — European Commission
- Bruselas consulta a sindicatos y patronales sobre la futura Ley de Empleo de Calidad — Europa Press