Fairwork AI Principles

To achieve this point, the employer takes appropriate steps to ensure ALL of the following:    

• Workers, regardless of their employment status or contract type, must earn the local minimum wage^[1] or the wage set by collective sectoral agreement (whichever is higher) for all hours worked.^[2]
• Workers, regardless of their employment status or contract type, are paid on time and in full.  
• Workers receive clear and accessible information on how their wages are calculated, including base rates of pay, overtime rates, bonuses or allowances, and any deductions applied. They must have access to accurate wage records that detail the amounts paid and the period of work covered, and a channel through which to challenge discrepancies or raise concerns regarding payment accuracy or timing.  
• Employers must ensure transparency and fairness in any algorithmic or AI-managed pay systems to prevent errors, underpayment, or delays.  

Minimum wage can be insufficient to ensure workers and their dependents a basic but decent standard of living. The living wage exists to set the benchmark of what is required to enable this decent standard of living.^[3]

To achieve this point, the employer takes appropriate steps to ensure the following:

• Workers, regardless of their employment status or contract type, must earn at least the living wage, or the wage set by collective sectoral agreement (whichever is higher) for all hours worked.

Workers face several risks in the course of their work, including strain, exhaustion, and exposure to traumatic content. They have a right to protection from these risks.^[4] Employers must show they are aware of task-specific risks and take steps to mitigate them.

To achieve this point, the employer must satisfy ALL of the following:

• Implement policies and practices that protect workers’ safety from task-specific risks. This should, at a minimum, account for well-evidenced risks such as:
  • High job strain, which can lead to a range of negative health impacts, including cardiovascular disease and mental health disorders
  • Secondary traumatic stress, which can be associated with repeated exposure to traumatic content
  • Musculoskeletal injuries, which may emerge as a result of unsuitable equipment, excessive workload, or perverse incentivisation in physical or repetitive tasks.
• Risks related to a specific job are flagged to workers before they accept a role or project (such as indicating that they might be exposed to violent content).
• The employer places a maximum limit on standard working time that meets either the applicable national regulation or, in cases where there is no applicable national regulation, the ILO standard of 40 hours a week.^[5]
• Workers are entitled to take breaks during working time that is defined under the applicable national regulation, or in cases where there is no applicable national regulation, is equivalent to a minimum of one hour for every eight hours worked.
• If the work arrangements require workers to work in shifts, companies must have a clear policy outlining how reasonable accommodations can be made for workers with additional needs due to health, safety, and other personal reasons (such as pregnancy, care requirements, disability, and other health conditions).
• For work involving exposure to explicit, distressing, or otherwise potentially traumatic content (such as content moderation), employers must adopt additional, trauma-informed safeguards.^[6] In the absence of such provisions, companies must refrain from participating in projects that require workers to handle disturbing or explicit material.

Workers are vulnerable to the possibility of losing their income as the result of unexpected or external circumstances, such as sickness or injury. Most countries provide a social safety net to ensure workers don’t experience sudden poverty due to circumstances outside their control. However, not all workers might qualify for the social safety protections due to their own personal circumstances (e.g., visa status, residency status). In recognition of the fact that most workers are dependent on the income they earn from their work, employers must ensure that workers are compensated for any loss of income due to an inability to work. In addition, employers must minimise the risk of sickness and injury.

To achieve this point, the employer must ensure ALL of the following:

Workers have access to paid time-off (such as bereavement, parental, sick, and annual leave.)
Where core medical treatment is not provided by a public system, such as a national healthcare scheme, the employer makes a meaningful provision for the healthcare costs of its workers.^[7]

Fair and transparent employment terms are a fundamental part of decent work. Employment on temporary contracts can have significant negative effects on job satisfaction, well-being, and health. Short-term contracts, such as those lasting one to three months or with no guaranteed working hours, place workers in precarious positions and are likely to exacerbate these negative effects. In addition, companies are required to comply with all applicable local laws and regulations. The thresholds outlined below apply in addition to legal requirements and establish higher standards for fair and responsible employment practices.  

 To achieve this point, the employer must meet ALL of the following:  

• Workers must sign a contract and/or give informed consent to the terms of conditions upon signing up, and for each subsequent contract extension.  
• The contract or terms and conditions are presented in full, in clear and comprehensible terms, and provided to each worker in a language workers are proficient in. 
• The contract or terms and conditions are easily accessible to workers in paper and/or electronic form. If these conditions differ for different contract types, reasonable steps are taken to inform workers about the differences in contract types.  
• The party employing the worker must be identified in the contract or terms and conditions and be subject to the law of the place in which the worker works.  
• Workers working on long-term projects that exceed the probation time are provided with the option to sign an employment contract lasting at a minimum the same length of time as the project.  
• Non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) and other contractual or policy provisions must not prevent workers from reporting health and safety concerns, seeking support, or exercising their right to organise collectively.  

Whilst fixed-term employment may be suitable for some workers’ circumstances, secure employment is a fundamental improvement in working conditions for many others.

To achieve this point, the employer must meet ALL of the following:

• Workers with three years or more of consistent short-term employment should be provided with the option to move onto permanent contracts if they so desire.
• The employer should make reasonable adjustments in wages and conditions between both: fixed-term and permanent employees and outsourced workers; and any outsourced or indirectly employed workers and directly employed workers. Workers who are outsourced or indirectly employed should be compensated for  additional costs incurred, including visa/work permits and their extensions, insurance, pensions, and other social security premiums.
• In cases of justified redundancy, the employer should provide workers with severance allowance  commensurate  with tenure at the company and retraining opportunities. In cases where redundancies are made for economic, technological, structural, or similar reasons, workers or their representatives are consulted, and steps are taken to minimise the resulting redundancies.^[8]
• If desired, workers should be able to invite worker representatives to their end-of-contract meetings with the relevant HR departments.
• In the case of subcontracting arrangements, where part or all of the work is subcontracted to other companies, management implements a reliable mechanism to monitor and ensure that the subcontractor is living up to the standards expected from the company itself regarding working conditions.

The employment relation is an unequal one, with managers being afforded significant legal and economic sources of power not available to most workers. The interests of these two groups may diverge, leading to sometimes opposed immediate interests in the workplace. This dynamic can lead to unfair management practices.   

  To achieve this point, the employer must meet ALL of the following:  

• Management should refrain from deploying any form of depersonalised bullying or mobbing in order to ensure organisational goals are met.^[9]  
• There is a policy in place that guarantees that any form of harassment in the workplace will not be tolerated and ensures that incidents are dealt with promptly, fairly, and without retaliation.  
• There is a policy in place to prevent and address discrimination against persons on the grounds of racial, ethnic, social or minority background, caste, religion or belief, political or any other opinion, language, gender, gender identity, sex, sexual orientation, disability, age, geographical location, or any other status.   
• Workers have access to a fair and transparent process to appeal dismissals and other disciplinary measures, and reasonable effort has been taken to communicate this process to all workers. The process must include safeguards against retaliation, with particular attention to workers in precarious or short-term arrangements. Workers are not disadvantaged for voicing concerns or appealing disciplinary actions. 
• Workers have opportunities to provide input into the setting of task rates, productivity targets, and performance metrics. These mechanisms should ensure that targets are transparent and periodically reviewed.

Contemporary workplaces are increasingly defined by data. The use of AI systems and automated management processes exacerbates both the incentives for employers to gather data from the work process, and diminishes the importance of workers’ existing rights to receive explanations, appeal decisions, and access/own their data.  

  To achieve this point, the employer must meet ALL of the following:  

• Where AI systems are involved in work, employers must create explainability mechanisms such as transparency reports, question and answer processes, and measures to ensure human oversight that allow workers to understand both the model behaviour of the system as a whole and specific decisions.^[10]  
• Employers using AI systems for evaluation, monitoring, or performance management must inform workers and conduct regular impact assessments to identify and mitigate risks of bias or discrimination.  
• Workers must be able to appeal decisions made by AI systems through a multi-stakeholder process that reflects collective worker voice, and successful appeals to lead not only that specific decision being revised but also to wider revisions of the decision-making process.^[11]
• Management avoids excessive surveillance in the workplace and avoids use of invasive technologies.  
• Workers must not be subject to excessive data collection practices and should be informed about the data that is being collected about them. Employers must apply the principle of data minimisation (collecting the minimum amount of personal data required to fulfil a legitimate purpose) in their collection processes.  
• Workers must have the right to access and review their personal data, to request corrections or deletions where appropriate, and must be able to opt out of non-essential data processing without risk of penalty, discrimination, or loss of employment.  
• Workers’ personal data must not be shared or sold to third parties without a lawful reason and the worker’s informed consent. Where such sharing is optional, workers must be able to opt out without risk of penalty, discrimination, or loss of employment.

Freedom of association is a fundamental right for all workers and is enshrined in the constitution of the International Labour Organisation and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The right for workers to organise, collectively express their wishes – and importantly – be listened to, is an important prerequisite for fair working conditions.  

To achieve this point, the employer must satisfy ALL of the following:  

• There is a documented mechanism for the expression of collective worker voice that allows ALL workers, regardless of contract type or duration, to participate in collective groups without risks.^[12]
• There is a formal, written statement of willingness to recognise, and bargain with, a collective, independent body of workers or trade union, that is clearly communicated to all workers, and available in a durable, accessible format (for example, in onboarding materials, contracts, or an internal company document).^[13]
• Freedom of association is not inhibited, and workers are not disadvantaged in any way for communicating their concerns, wishes, and demands to the company management, or expressing willingness to form independent collective bodies of representation.  

To realise fair representation, workers must have a say in the conditions of their work. This could be through a democratically governed cooperative model, a formally recognised union, or the ability to undertake collective bargaining with the employer.  

To achieve this point, the employers must satisfy at least ONE of the following:  

Workers play a meaningful role in governing the company.  

In a written document available, the company publicly and formally recognises an independent collective body of workers, an elected workers’ council, or trade union, and takes meaningful steps towards signing a collective bargaining agreement. This recognition is not exclusive and, when the legal framework allows, the company should recognise any significant collective body seeking representation. ^[14]