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EU AI Act and human resources: what you need to know before 2027
Updated: September 2026 - Annex III point 4 - Regulation (EU) 2024/1689
According to INSEE, 18% of French companies already use AI in 2025. The EU AI Act explicitly classifies HR tools as high-risk systems (Annex III, point 4). This means strict obligations for any organisation using AI in its recruitment, assessment or talent management processes.
The EU AI Act applies whether you developed the tool in-house or purchased third-party software. If you use it, you are a deployer and you have obligations.
1. Which HR tools are affected?
Annex III, point 4 covers all AI systems used in employment and worker management:
- ATS with automatic CV sorting or scoring
- Video interview platforms with behavioural analysis
- AI-powered skills assessment tools
- Performance tracking systems
- AI-assisted promotion or dismissal decision tools
- Remote work productivity monitoring (screenshots, keystroke counting)
Even if the final decision belongs to a human, a system that automatically filters or ranks candidates is high-risk. An ATS that presents 200 CVs out of 5,000 has already automatically eliminated 4,800 people.
2. What has been prohibited since February 2025
- Emotion recognition in professional and recruitment contexts (Art. 5, ยง1(f))
- Biometric categorisation inferring protected characteristics
- Subliminal psychological manipulation of candidates
If your interview tool analyses facial expressions to generate a score, this practice has been illegal since February 2025. Penalty: up to 35 million euros.
3. Obligations for deployers (companies using the tools)
- Effective human oversight: a recruiter must be able to understand and override AI recommendations (Art. 14)
- Notification of candidates about AI use in selection (Art. 13)
- Retention of logs for each sorting decision (Art. 12)
- AI literacy training for HR teams (Art. 4)
4. Timeline
| Date | Obligation |
|---|
| Feb. 2025 | Prohibitions (emotion recognition) - in force |
| Aug. 2026 | HR chatbot disclosure (Art. 50) - in force |
| Dec. 2027 | Full high-risk obligations (documentation, logging, oversight) |
5. Practical checklist for HR directors
- Inventory all HR tools using AI
- Verify no tool analyses candidate emotions
- Add an AI notice in job postings and application emails
- Define who can override AI recommendations
- Ask your software vendors for their EU AI Act compliance plan
Are your HR tools affected?
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