When the algorithm manages the workforce: Sweden's proposed platform work act

Background: an EU directive, a Swedish implementation gap

The EU Platform Work Directive was adopted on 23 October 2024. The Swedish government appointed Justice of the Supreme Court Jonas Malmberg to lead the inquiry, who concluded that Swedish law largely lacks provisions corresponding to the directive's requirements, making a new, standalone act necessary. However, no bill or draft bill for the Council on Legislation has yet been published.

Scope: who is covered?

The proposed act applies to digital work platforms, defined as entities providing a service that meets four cumulative criteria: (i) the service is provided at least partly by electronic means at a distance; (ii) it is provided on demand; (iii) it involves, as a necessary and essential component, organizing work performed by individuals for payment; and (iv) it involves the use of automated monitoring or decision-making systems. This is a targeted definition. Conventional employers that happen to use digital scheduling tools or performance tracking software are not automatically caught. Platforms whose primary purpose is sharing resources, or through which non-professionals resell goods, are excluded. However, all companies which meet all four criteria will qualify as a digital work platform.

Algorithmic management: transparency, human control and the right to an explanation

The core of the proposal for businesses operating digital platforms concerns algorithmic management (algoritmisk verksamhetsledning). The inquiry proposes rules in three main areas.

First, platforms must proactively disclose how their automated monitoring and decision-making systems work, including the categories of decisions affected and the main parameters used.

Second, certain decisions must be taken by a human being, not by an algorithm alone. This applies to decisions to restrict, suspend or terminate a worker's engagement or account, or any other decision with comparable adverse effect.

Third, individuals performing platform work gain a right to have automated decisions explained and, where appropriate, reviewed. The platform must provide a written account of the reasons for any decision of significant importance made or supported by an automated system. Any person performing platform work may request a clear explanation of all automated decisions affecting them and may ask for a review. The platform must designate a contact person with sufficient competence and authority to discuss the facts and reasoning behind such decisions.

What businesses should consider now

The implementation deadline for the directive is 2 December 2026, and the act is proposed to enter into force on that date. Businesses operating or planning to operate digital work platforms in Sweden should therefore consider three key questions:

1. Does the activity meet the four-criteria definition of a digital work platform? 
2. Which decisions within the business are made or supported by automated systems? 
3. Does the organization have personnel with the knowledge and mandate to explain, review and, if needed, correct those decisions?

For platforms that fall within scope, the answers may require changes to both systems and internal governance well before the act takes effect.