Articles

How can employers adapt to AI-assisted grievances and appeals?

30 Sep 2026 | 4 minute read

With the rise in use of AI tools in the workplace, many employers have noticed an increase in grievances and appeals that appear to have been drafted, or heavily assisted, by AI tools. AI can help employees articulate concerns that they may otherwise struggle to express. However, this can also pose practical challenges for employers tasked with responding to complaints. Employers should therefore consider how best to manage AI-assisted grievances and appeals whilst ensuring that employees continue to receive a fair and reasonable process.

What are the key challenges of an AI assisted grievance or appeal?

Lengthy complaints which can increase management time

AI-generated complaints are often significantly longer than grievances or appeals drafted without AI assistance. A complaint that could have been expressed in a few paragraphs may instead run to many pages, which can increase the administrative burden associated with internal HR processes of reviewing the document and preparing a response.

Unrealistic expectations

Given that AI tools are often designed to produce persuasive content, they may overstate the merits of potential legal claims.

As a result, employees may develop unrealistic expectations regarding the merits of potential complaints and/or the potential resolutions. This can make informal resolution more difficult to manage.

Overly legalistic and/or overexaggeration of incidents being complained about

The excessive use of highly legalistic language is often the most common indicator that the grievance or appeal has been generated using AI tools. Documents may include detailed references to employment legislation, case law, discrimination law, or implied contractual duties and often the legal references are incorrect.

In some cases, employees may raise legal arguments that do not accurately reflect the factual issues they are seeking to complain about. This can make it more difficult for managers to identify the substance of the complaint and focus on the issues that genuinely require investigation.

Additionally, AI systems can amplify the sincerity of workplace issues by framing events with emotive legal terminology. For instance, common workplace disagreements can be described as harassment, victimisation, or discriminatory conduct without supporting evidence.

Poor structure and repetition

AI-generated documents can often appear polished at first glance, but are often repetitive and lack a clear structure. The same issues can be repeated several times or clustered together with irrelevant issues, often spanning a lengthy period. This can make it difficult for the employer to identify the employee's primary concerns and ascertain the scope of the investigation.

Data protection and confidentiality risks

When drafting AI-generated grievances and appeals, employees might upload confidential business information, personal data about colleagues, and commercially sensitive information or documents into publicly available AI tools. Employers often have little visibility over how that information will be sorted, processed or used.

How should an employer manage AI assisted grievances and appeals?

Although AI may have changed the way grievances and appeals are presented, the underlying employment law principles remain unchanged - the key objective should be to identify and address the employee's actual concerns in a fair and reasonable manner and without unreasonable delay.

Hold an initial meeting with the employee

Where a grievance or appeal is lengthy or difficult to follow, consider arranging an initial meeting with the employee at an early stage, so that they can outline their concerns in their own words. This can help ensure that the employer understands the substance of the complaint rather than becoming distracted by extensive legal arguments or repetitive content. Ensure that detailed minutes are kept of any discussions with employees.

Face-to-face meetings, whether in person or by video call, can often be particularly valuable when dealing with AI-assisted complaints. Employees are usually able to explain their concerns more clearly through discussion than through lengthy AI-generated documents.

Try and agree key points

Following the initial discussion, it can be helpful to prepare a written summary of the key complaints or appeal points. The employer can then confirm that the investigation or appeal process will focus on those agreed points. This approach can significantly improve efficiency and reduce the risk of later disputes regarding the scope of the process.

Discuss the desired resolution

AI can often omit the desired resolution to a grievance or appeal – this should be clarified as soon as possible with an employee to focus the process.

Limit written correspondence with the employee if possible

Lengthy written exchanges can often lead to further AI-generated responses, which can escalate the volume of correspondence without enhancing the process. Employers may wish to focus on meetings and discussions wherever possible, whilst ensuring appropriate written records are maintained.

However, caution should be exercised where an employee has requested written communication as a reasonable adjustment, or where a disability or other particular circumstance makes written correspondence more appropriate or required.

Update internal policies

Employers should look to update IT and data protection policies to clearly address the use of AI specifically, and ensure they are readily accessible.

Most importantly, employers should specify what types of data and information employees should not place into public AI platforms. The unauthorised disclosure of confidential business information, trade secrets or personal data should be treated as a potential disciplinary matter.

Additionally, employers should consider updating workplace policies to prohibit unauthorised AI recording or transcription of meetings.

Importantly, employers should continue to: