Managing The Rise of AI-Generated Grievances

Workplace disputes are becoming more complicated, and the growing use of AI-generated grievances is adding a new layer of challenge for HR teams. Employees can now use AI tools to turn broad concerns into detailed, formal complaints within minutes, often including references to employment law, tribunal-style language and suggested remedies.

Whilst AI may help some employees articulate genuine concerns more clearly, it can also make grievances longer, more complex and harder to investigate — particularly where the content includes inaccuracies, irrelevant legal arguments or claims the employee may not fully understand.

If you’ve noticed this rise in AI generated grievances and require support, consider our Employment Law and HR Consultancy services. Our expert team take the time to get to know your business before providing high quality support and access to experienced legal specialists on a fixed-fee basis.

The number of AI-generated grievances is increasing

Research reported earlier this year in People Management magazine found that:

• 95% of respondents reported encountering cases where an employee used AI to raise a grievance or navigate the grievance process.
• In 78% of cases, AI-generated grievances relied on inaccurate information or misrepresented information.
• 11% of respondents said the documents were full of inaccurate information.

Employees are using AI to seek guidance on employment law which helps them articulate their concerns clearly and increases their confidence in raising issues. In some cases, this enables employees to more easily raise legitimate concerns. However, in other cases, it can cause employees to become aggrieved where they otherwise would not have done, escalate minor issues and have unrealistic expectations.

Why AI-generated grievances are more challenging to deal with

Increasingly accessible and common in the workplace, AI is changing both how employees work and how they raise concerns. Whilst AI tools can help individuals quickly produce detailed, professional-looking grievance documents, the output is often unreliable and inaccurate. While it can make employees feel more confident about raising issues, it can also create new challenges for employers when assessing, investigating and responding to complaints. Here are four of the main ways AI is making the grievance process more complicated:

• The use of AI is leading to more grievances overall. It lowers the barrier to complaining by turning a vague concern into a well-structured complaint in minutes. Issues that might have previously stayed informal are now escalated formally.

• Grievances are becoming more complex. An increasing number of grievances are detailed multi-page submissions.

• Grievances increasingly read more like legal pleadings than internal employee grievances. Those that read like employment tribunal claim forms, with references to legislation and case law, are more likely to escalate to formal litigation.

• AI-generated grievances often contained inaccurate, irrelevant and even fabricated legal arguments (known as AI ‘hallucinations’).

The impact of AI-generated grievances

The growing use of AI drafted grievances is having a noticeable impact on how organisations manage issues. While AI can help employees present their concerns more clearly, it can also create additional challenges for employers, HR teams and investigators. From increasing the complexity of investigations to raising data protection concerns, AI-generated grievances can require significantly more time and resources to handle effectively.

Here are four of the most notable impacts of AI-generated grievances:

• Investigations are becoming more complex. Even weak or irrelevant claims require consideration, and it can be difficult to ascertain the real complaint or complaints within a lengthy document. Further, it can be time-consuming to distinguish fact from, sometimes inaccurate, AI-generated framing. If the complainant does not understand what is in their grievance or does not intend to complain about certain aspects now contained within it, there can be inconsistencies between the written and oral evidence.

• Employee expectations can become unrealistic. Incorrect AI-generated information may inaccurately represent the potential outcomes and compensation to which the complainant is entitled. This can make informal resolution more difficult to achieve.

• There is a risk of sensitive or personal data being inputted by employees into public AI tools, raising privacy and data protection concerns.

• AI-generated grievances significantly increase both the workload for HR and legal costs where advice is sought.

How to manage AI-generated grievances

HR teams and managers should treat AI-generated grievances the same as any other. The legal obligations and rights remain the same and the Acas Code of Practice on Disciplinary and Grievance procedures still applies.

The following suggestions may smooth the process of managing AI-generated grievances.

• Where the grievance is akin to legal pleadings, take legal advice at an earlier stage to assess business risk, and increase confidence and robustness in responding to the grievance.

• Where appropriate, and with agreement from the complainant, explore whether mediation could be a cost-effective way to manage the situation and one which is likely to lead to a better outcome overall.

• Where unclear, check that the employee did intend to raise a formal grievance rather than wishing their complaint to be addressed more informally. Complainants who have become swept up in AI research may have never intended to go through a formal process.

• If the complaints within the grievance are unclear, clarify with the employee what their grievance is before starting the investigation stage. This could serve to reduce the extent of the investigation that needs to be carried out.

• Ask the employee to confirm the outcome they are looking for by raising their grievance. This focuses the employee’s mind on their intentions behind raising their grievance and may help resolve the matter more swiftly.

• Ensure data protection, confidentiality and artificial intelligence related policies provide clear rules and guidance on acceptable use of AI and the risks of a data breach if information related to the workplace or staff is inputted into an AI assistant.

Adapting to AI-generated grievances

AI-generated grievances are unlikely to disappear, so employers need to adapt their approach rather than treat them as an entirely new category of complaint. The key is to stay focused on the substance of the employee’s concerns:

• clarify what is being complained about
• separate factual issues from inaccurate or irrelevant AI-generated framing
• follow a fair and reasonable process.

With clear policies, early triage and sensible use of mediation or legal advice where needed, HR teams can manage these grievances confidently while still ensuring genuine concerns are properly heard.

For more information on the benefits of mediation, check out our guide to workplace mediation or get in touch for bespoke and tailored support.