Introduction

The book “Performance Appraisal in Modern Employment Relations: An Interdisciplinary Approach” is the outcome of an ongoing multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary project run by the Marco Biagi Foundation (University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy) seeking to cast light on the new challenges and trends in the world of work arising from digital technologies. It brings together the contributions of experts in labour law, labour economics and human resource management, with a focus on the dynamics of performance evaluation techniques explored from various angles. Along with a general analysis of performance evaluation in the public and private sectors, the study examines such aspects as power, autonomy, discretion and control over work performance, and the new balance of rights and obligations at work, examining the impact of digitalisation on the right to privacy and the right to lie, the discriminatory potential of the new methods of performance evaluation including the role of customer ratings, and the impact on the employment contract. The book proposes an original mix of theoretical and empirical research including case studies and case law from different national contests such as Italy, the US, Sweden, Spain and Poland along with the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union.