How Employment Lawyers Can Harness the AI Revolution

Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly transforming the legal profession, and employment law is no exception. From streamlining internal processes to enhancing client service, AI offers employment lawyers the opportunity to work more efficiently. However, alongside the opportunities come challenges.

This article explores how employment lawyers can responsibly harness the power of AI—both in practice management and in advising clients on workplace AI use.

1. AI in Legal Practice – Opportunities for Employment Lawyers

a) Document Automation and Contract Drafting

One of the most practical uses of AI in employment law practice is the automation of routine documentation. AI-powered platforms can now generate tailored contracts, staff handbooks, disciplinary letters, redundancy packs and settlement agreements based on pre-set variables and templates.

This automation reduces drafting time, minimises the risk of error, and ensures consistency across documents—particularly useful when advising corporate clients with large or complex workforces.

Benefit: Employment lawyers can focus on high-value tasks such as advising on strategy, litigation risks, and compliance.

b) Legal Research and Case Analysis

AI-enhanced research tools are increasingly capable of rapidly analysing vast bodies of legislation, case law, and tribunal decisions. Some platforms can even predict the likely outcome of claims based on factual patterns or jurisdictional data.

Benefit: Faster and more accurate legal research supports better-informed advice and helps lawyers keep up with rapidly evolving areas of employment law.

c) Client Advisory and Risk Profiling

AI tools can also be used to help employers assess their exposure to legal risk. For example, predictive models may flag departments with a high probability of tribunal claims based on grievance patterns, turnover rates, or historic complaints.

By integrating such tools into their advisory services, employment lawyers can offer more proactive and data-driven compliance support.

Benefit: Enhanced client value and new advisory offerings in a competitive legal services market.

2. Ethical and Professional Considerations

While AI offers enormous potential, employment lawyers must approach its use with caution and professionalism. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has issued guidance on the ethical use of technology, and AI tools must be deployed in a way that upholds solicitors’ core duties.

a) Confidentiality and Data Security

Client confidentiality remains paramount. Employment lawyers routinely handle sensitive personal data—such as health records, grievance details, and disciplinary findings. Feeding this information into third-party AI tools, particularly cloud-based platforms, can raise data protection and cybersecurity concerns.

Action: Firms should conduct thorough due diligence on AI vendors, ensure compliance with UK GDPR, and implement robust data processing agreements.

b) Competence and Supervision

Using AI to draft or review legal documents does not absolve solicitors of responsibility. The SRA Code of Conduct requires that all work be supervised appropriately and that clients receive competent legal advice.

Action: Employment lawyers must review AI outputs critically and ensure that automated tools do not replace professional judgment—particularly in high-risk matters such as dismissals, discrimination claims, or TUPE transfers.

c) Transparency and Client Communication

If AI tools are used in preparing advice or documents, clients should be made aware. Clear communication ensures trust and prevents misunderstandings about how their matters are being handled.

Action: Consider referencing the use of AI in engagement letters, particularly where it impacts cost or turnaround time.

3. Advising Clients on Workplace AI Use

In addition to using AI in their own practices, employment lawyers are increasingly called upon to advise clients on the legal and ethical implications of using AI in the workplace. As employers integrate AI into recruitment, performance management, and redundancy selection, the legal risks are growing.

a) Discrimination Risks

AI tools can inadvertently lead to unlawful discrimination if they replicate biased data patterns. For example, an algorithm trained on historical hiring data may disproportionately exclude candidates based on gender or ethnicity.

Advice: Help clients conduct Equality Impact Assessments and ensure that any AI-driven decisions are justifiable under the Equality Act 2010.

b) GDPR Compliance and Automated Decision-Making

Under Article 22 of the UK GDPR, individuals have the right not to be subject to decisions based solely on automated processing if those decisions have legal or significant effects.

Advice: Ensure clients have appropriate safeguards, including meaningful human oversight and transparency obligations when using automated HR tools.

c) Employee Monitoring and Privacy

AI is also being used to monitor employee productivity, assess behaviour, and track online activity. While such monitoring may be lawful in some circumstances, it must be proportionate and respect employees’ privacy rights under the Human Rights Act and UK GDPR.

Advice: Support clients in drafting clear monitoring policies and conducting data protection impact assessments (DPIAs).

d) Procedural Fairness and Employment Claims

If an employer uses AI to select an employee for redundancy or disciplinary action without proper human review, they risk breaching the implied term of mutual trust and confidence or the duty of procedural fairness under the Employment Rights Act 1996.

Advice: Warn clients against over-reliance on AI in decision-making. Human judgment must remain central to fair process.

4. Future-Proofing Legal Practice

The AI revolution is unlikely to slow down—and employment lawyers must evolve to stay relevant. This means:

• Investing in tech skills: Understanding how AI systems work enables better advice to clients.
• Staying informed on regulation: The UK government is developing its AI regulatory framework, and EU laws (such as the AI Act) may still influence UK practice.
• Collaborating with technologists: Cross-disciplinary collaboration with data scientists and HR software providers can create new advisory opportunities.

Conclusion

AI is set to reshape employment law in fundamental ways. For lawyers, the opportunity lies not in resisting change but in embracing it responsibly. By integrating AI into their practice, employment solicitors can improve efficiency, enhance client service, and develop forward-looking offerings .

But this must be done ethically. Professional judgment, legal oversight, and compliance with data and equality laws remain essential. The lawyers who thrive in the AI age will be those who combine technological fluency with deep legal insight, with clients’ interests in mind.

Redmans are employment lawyers based in London