Apply safeguards to solely automated decisions with significant effects

Practical action

Map every significant automated decision, add a human-review route and a notice to affected people.

Who does it apply to?

Any controller making solely automated decisions with legal or similarly significant effects.

Actors

Deployer / user organisationPublic authority / government body

Sectors

Cross-sector / all sectorsEmployment and HRFinancial services and credit

Use cases

AI in hiring and employmentAI in finance, credit and insuranceAI in public services

Which controls meet this duty?

Satisfies: the control, operated properly, does the work the duty asks for. Supports: it contributes but the duty needs more. Each control page lists every other duty it serves, so work done once can be counted once.

• satisfiesProcessCustomer operations lead · once per ai system
  Decision explanation, human review and appeal route

  Serves 12 recorded duties · evidence: Adverse-decision explanation template, AI decision challenge and human review procedure, Challenge and reversal log

  Notice, human intervention and contest route for significant automated decisions.

• supportsProcessAI system owner · once per ai system
  Human oversight design and override procedure

  Serves 12 recorded duties · evidence: Human oversight and override procedure, Human-involvement design rationale, Overseer training completion

  Meaningful human intervention design.

• supportsProcessProduct owner · at launch and on material change
  AI interaction and use disclosure notices

  Serves 18 recorded duties · evidence: AI interaction or use notice, Notice catalogue, Notice wording approval

  Telling people a solely automated decision was made.

Templates that cover this duty

Generated from the records. Free · no account · links emailed to your work address. This duty is cited in each file with its source reference and a link back here.

• Human Oversight Procedure

  Procedure · DOCX and XLSX · v5

• AI Agent Registry and Permission Matrix

  Register · XLSX and DOCX · v6

• NIST AI RMF ↔ EU AI Act ↔ ISO/IEC 42001 Crosswalk

  Crosswalk · XLSX · v3

• AI Audit Evidence Tracker

  Register · XLSX · v1

All 7 templates that cover it →

What evidence would a reviewer expect?

Framework mappings

Original editorial crosswalks. They cite clause numbers only and reproduce no standard text; confidence reflects how direct the mapping is.

See every United Kingdom duty mapped this way →

Frequently asked questions

Cite this record

AIPolicyTracker (2026). “Apply safeguards to solely automated decisions with significant effects (ICO AI guidance)” [AIPT-OBL-0078, verified 26 September 2026 by Bhaskar Bhatt]. https://aipolicytracker.org/id/AIPT-OBL-0078 (accessed 27 October 2026). Data licensed CC BY 4.0.

Permanent id AIPT-OBL-0078: it never changes or gets reused, and its address keeps working if this page moves.

Cite the official text alongside it: Guidance on AI and data protection, Information Commissioner's Office, https://ico.org.uk/for-organisations/uk-gdpr-guidance-and-resources/artificial-intelligence/guidance-on-ai-and-data-protection/.

@misc{aipolicytracker2026_applysafeguardstosolelya,
  author       = {{AIPolicyTracker}},
  title        = {{Apply safeguards to solely automated decisions with significant effects (ICO AI guidance)}},
  year         = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://aipolicytracker.org/obligations/uk-ico-automated-decision-safeguards}},
  url          = {https://aipolicytracker.org/obligations/uk-ico-automated-decision-safeguards},
  urldate      = {2026-10-27},
  note         = {Data licensed CC BY 4.0. Accessed 27 October 2026}
}

Change history

Similar obligations in other instruments

• Employers and employment agencies must let candidates request an alternative selection process or accommodation — NYC Local Law 144 (automated employment decision tools), New York (United States)
• Offer meaningful human review of an adverse consequential decision — Colorado ADMT law (SB 26-189), Colorado (United States)
• Respect the right to object to automated decision-making without human intervention — UAE PDPL, United Arab Emirates
• Operators of high-impact AI must ensure human management and supervision — AI Basic Act, South Korea
• Enable and assign effective human oversight — EU AI Act, European Union
• Provide routes to contest AI outcomes and seek redress — UK AI regulation framework, United Kingdom (voluntary)
• Test and monitor systems, enable human control, and be transparent with users (guardrails 4 to 6) — Australian Voluntary AI Safety Standard, Australia (voluntary)
• Determine the appropriate level of human involvement in AI decisions — Singapore Model AI Governance Framework, Singapore (voluntary)