Algorithmic or automated decision-making system
The expression used in Article 3(2)(k) of Spain's Royal Decree 723/2026 for systems that take, or help take, decisions affecting the employment relationship. The company must inform every worker whose relationship lasts more than four weeks, in writing, that such systems exist. Spanish law, unofficial English rendering.
It is the subject of the Spanish employment duty of algorithmic transparency, and its perimeter is wider than that of “AI system”.
Which obligations it carries
The duty to inform about these systems is a legal obligation for the Spanish employer, applicable from 5 October 2026, regardless of the risk level of the system and of whether it is artificial intelligence at all. Where the system decides on working conditions, the information must also cover its guidelines, criteria and operating rules.
What it is not
It is not “AI system”. The provision does not refer to Article 3, point 1, of Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 or to any definition of artificial intelligence: a deterministic shift engine, a fixed productivity formula or a task router all fall within it. Nor is it a risk category: nothing in point (k) depends on the system being high-risk.
The nuance almost nobody captures
The point has two layers and only the second is qualified. Reporting that the systems exist carries no condition; reporting their guidelines, criteria and operating rules is required where the system is used to decide on working conditions. The list of conditions — working time, tasks, pay, progression, workplace and termination — is introduced by “tales como”, “such as”: they are examples, not a closed list.