From an employee perspective, what’s not to like about getting AI to do the ‘hard work’ of writing a grievance for them? It seems quick and easy enough (not to mention free), a few prompts and hey presto, a weighty sounding, lengthy grievance often complete with legal references is ready to go.
But what seems like a dream to employees can often be a bit of a nightmare for employers. We are increasingly finding that employees turning to AI-generated grievances can make them more difficult and time-consuming to resolve.
We look at why and what it can mean for businesses:
- Longer doesn’t equal ‘better’
- A lack of clarity
- Incorrect legal references
- Inflexibility
- Top tips for dealing with AI grievances
Longer doesn’t equal ‘better’
One of the more common indicators of an AI-generated grievance is that they are often overlong, rambling and somewhat repetitive, with points seemingly stretched or unnecessarily padded out. Whilst employee-written grievances can also share some of these characteristics, they seem more pronounced in those where AI has been used. As AI will rely on the prompts given to it to produce a grievance if an employee hasn’t taken the time to think clearly about what they wish to say – or to critically review the finished grievance – it can be a case of quantity over quality.
For businesses, this can mean there is more to wade through, with a good chunk of it being irrelevant or unhelpful, taking up more management time to identify the crux of the problem/s.
A lack of clarity
AI-generated grievances aren’t always very clear, with employees putting in minimal effort to ‘edit’ or ‘sense check’ them. A lack of clarity can make it more challenging for employers to understand the issues initially, including the possible seriousness of what is being alleged. It can also cause some frustration during the grievance process as it will take additional time and management skill to ensure that all relevant points have been appropriately identified, discussed (and confirmed) with the employee in the grievance meeting and reasonably investigated and responded to.
One area that can cause particular consternation for businesses is the numerous and unnecessary legal references which AI-generated grievances seem to favour. Whilst employee-written grievances can, and do, sometimes include a legal reference to support/lend weight to a point, in our recent experience, this is often magnified in AI-generated grievances. Not only does this take additional time to wade through, it can also cause alarm within a business, particularly if the accusation is one that the business has breached a law you haven’t even heard of….
Incorrect legal references
Whilst legal references in some AI-generated grievances may be correct, we have had cases where the law referred to was:
- Out of date
- Not relevant to the situation in question
- Not applicable as it was foreign law
For businesses, these things are problematic as it may not be immediately obvious whether the legal references are right; this can take time, effort, and in some cases money (if legal / HR advice is not already in place) to identify, particularly if there is a concern about a possible breach. This can make a situation more complex and, in some cases, more daunting for managers to handle.
Inflexibility
If an employee has been using AI to research their situation as well as to draft their grievance, it can, in some cases, make the situation more difficult to resolve, whether or not there is any merit in the employee’s grievance. There are a few reasons for this, including:
- If the grievance ‘sounds good,’ an employee may believe their position is stronger than it is and be less open to accepting an outcome that (rightly) says otherwise or a proposed way forward (…that doesn’t involve ‘compensation’)
- The ease of using AI to draft a formal grievance may reduce the likelihood that an employee will raise a grievance informally with their employer in the first instance. Whilst this is not always a suitable route, for example, for a serious issue, for others it can be a quicker and better way of resolving a simple matter
- Employees may be reluctant to believe or accept that the AI has got something wrong, for example, it indicated that they have a claim or a certain piece of legislation has been breached, where this is not for various reasons the case. This may make it more likely that the employee will disagree with an outcome and appeal the decision.
Top tips for dealing with AI grievances
Ultimately, whether an employee has used AI such as ChatGPT to write (or help them write) a grievance, it will still usually be necessary to handle it following the same process under the ACAS Code of Practice on Disciplinaries and Grievances that would usually be used. As frustrating as it may be, particularly if a grievance is long or unclear, ignoring it won’t usually be appropriate and could make the situation worse.
If your business receives what you think is a grievance written using AI, bear in mind that:
- The grievance meeting with the employee is an opportunity for you to gain from the employee a good understanding of their grievance – you can ask for clarification of anything you are unsure of, check your understanding of the point(s) they are raising a grievance about and ask any relevant questions to both help you understand the situation and to carry out an appropriate investigation. It’s also an opportunity to ask the employee how they would like the situation to be resolved. All these things can help you to get to the bottom of the matter.
- When writing a grievance outcome letter, it will be important to ensure that you have responded appropriately to each of the points of grievance the employee has raised (if there is more than one). This doesn’t necessarily mean responding to each line of a grievance, but it can take some time to respond to the points raised, and it is worth doing well as it can help to put your business in a more robust position.
- Remember, we are here to help, so if an employee raises a grievance in your business, please get in touch for specific advice on the facts of your situation. Whether it’s advice on the grievance your business has received, the steps to follow to address it, or you would like support with matters such as a grievance invitation letter, we are here to help.
We can even hold a grievance meeting on your behalf as part of our range of additional services. If this is something you are interested in, please contact your Employment Law Specialist for further information, including the fixed fee in place.
Looking for more general information on grievances? You might be interested in our earlier Legal Update, Disciplinaries and Grievances: Your Questions Answered.
Need help with an HR matter? Please get in contact.