PL · Missing: publication date
Profiling the unemployed in Poland
- Reported by
- Panoptykon Foundation
- Methods
- FOI / records request
- Data analysis
- Legal challenge
From 2014, Polish job centres placed unemployed people into one of three profiles using a scored, computer-based interview, and the profile decided what help they could get. The scoring logic was confidential, and the questions only became public after the Panoptykon Foundation used freedom of information law. Its research and the Human Rights Commissioner's referral took the system to the Constitutional Tribunal, which ruled it unconstitutional in 2018. Profiling ended in 2019.
panoptykon.orgProfiling the unemployed in PolandA scoring system used by Polish job centres that combined registration data with a computer-based interview to place each unemployed person in one of three 'profiles of assistance', based on their 'distance from the labour market' and 'job readiness'. The profile limited which forms of support they could receive.Poland · Reported by Panoptykon Foundation (opens in a new tab)How they investigated
FOI / records request
Panoptykon used freedom of information law to request details of the profiling mechanism. As a result the interview questions became public, including closed answer lists such as 22 set answers to 'What is the main obstacle for returning to the job market?'. The case also set a precedent that computer-based interviews count as public information.
Data analysis
Panoptykon's 2015 report drew on statistics from 100 labour offices and on interviews with officials and unemployed people. The research found that staff used the system in very different ways, sometimes adjusting a profile to what the jobseeker wanted. Profile I covered 2% of unemployed people, profile II 65% and profile III 33%.
Legal challenge
At Panoptykon's request, the Human Rights Commissioner examined the law and referred it to the Constitutional Tribunal. On 6 June 2018 the Tribunal ruled that the data scope and profiling rules had to be set by parliament, not by ministerial regulation, and a 2019 amendment ended profiling. A 2016 survey of 327 job centres had already found that 44.6% did not think profiling helped them target support.