There is no fixed timeline in the AI Regulation for the process with your works council. The Regulation defines what an AI system is and which obligations come with it, but says nothing about how long internal consultation with employee representatives may or must take. That timeline follows from Dutch labour law and, especially, from the way your organisation and the works council structure the consultation themselves.
In practice we see processes that take a few weeks and processes that take several months. The difference rarely lies in the law, but in three things: whether it concerns a decision requiring advice or consent, whether the file is complete at the first request, and how many consultation rounds are needed before everyone has the same information. If you map this out in advance, you prevent the implementation of an AI system from being delayed at the last moment.
What the AI Regulation does and does not regulate
The AI Regulation focuses on the AI system itself: what it is used for, what risk level that entails and what documentation a provider or user must be able to demonstrate. An AI system deployed for personnel assessment, recruitment or monitoring of workers falls under a category in the Regulation that requires extra attention, with associated transparency and documentation obligations. Whether and how your works council is involved in this is not set out in the AI Regulation; that follows from existing Dutch labour law on employee participation. These two tracks run alongside each other and are often confused with each other in practice, which itself takes time to sort out.
Where the lead time gets stuck in practice
Most delays do not arise during the consultation itself, but before it. A frequently heard bottleneck is unclear scope: whether this specific system falls under employee participation or not, and who within the organisation assesses that. A second bottleneck is an incomplete file at the first advice request, causing the works council to ask supplementary questions and requiring another round. This often happens because the information about the AI system still has to come from the software supplier, and that information is not always provided on time or in usable form.
A third bottleneck is planning: the IT rollout is often already fixed before the employee participation process is completed, resulting in consultation under time pressure. That backfires, because hasty consultation leads to more questions rather than fewer. Finally, when the AI system processes personal data of employees, a GDPR assessment often also plays a role, such as a data protection impact assessment. These two processes — employee participation and GDPR assessment — are best planned simultaneously, not one after the other.
What you can clarify in advance
The time you save is mainly in preparation. First map out what kind of AI system it is and whether it falls under one of the categories that require extra documentation; this also determines what questions the works council will ask. In the knowledge base where this has been worked out for each situation you will find how different types of AI systems and product groups are classified. Next, engage early with your software supplier about what documentation is available, so you do not have to wait for documents halfway through the process. A complete file at the first advice request often saves an entire consultation round.
It can also help to explore in advance, outside the formal process, roughly where your organisation stands. With a few questions that immediately provide an indication you gain insight into which obligations seem relevant for your situation, so you can address them specifically in your conversation with the works council. For questions that differ slightly from yours, an overview can be found in frequently asked questions from other entrepreneurs. You can read how we substantiate our information and where it comes from on the page that explains where the information comes from.
Because the precise obligations regarding employee participation come from labor law and not from the AI Regulation, this is par excellence a subject on which a lawyer or, in case of doubt about the classification of the AI system, the competent supervisory authority can provide clarification for your specific situation. Would you first like an indication for yourself, without obligations? Take the free quick-scan or read further at your leisure in the knowledge base.