What Is A DPIA And When Is It Needed For Workplace AI Tools?

A data protection impact assessment, or DPIA, is a structured review required under UK GDPR before starting any processing activity that is likely to result in a high risk to individuals. The ICO's DPIA guidance explains when one is mandatory and what it needs to cover.

If you are introducing an AI tool to your workplace, whether to help manage performance, allocate shifts, support hiring decisions, or monitor how employees work, you may have come across the term "data protection impact assessment" and wondered whether it applies to you. The idea is that before you begin processing personal data in a way that carries a meaningful privacy risk, you assess what that risk is and how you plan to manage it.

The ICO has published a list of processing activities that will almost always require a DPIA. For workplace AI tools, the most relevant triggers include systematic monitoring of employees, the use of AI to make or significantly influence decisions about people such as performance assessments, recruitment, or disciplinary matters, and the processing of biometric or sensitive personal data.

If your AI tool profiles employees, automates decisions that affect them, or collects data on a large scale about how they work, a DPIA is very likely to be mandatory before you deploy it. This is particularly relevant given recent reporting about tools that track employee behaviour to train AI models, a use case that sits squarely within the types of processing the ICO considers high-risk.

A DPIA involves describing what the processing is and why you need it, assessing the necessity and proportionality of what you propose to do, identifying the risks it poses to individuals, and setting out the measures you will put in place to address those risks. 

The DPIA should be carried out before you deploy the tool. If your assessment identifies risks that you cannot adequately mitigate, you may need to consult the ICO before proceeding.