When ChatGPT and TikTok join the grievance process
Imagine being dismissed from your job – do you call a solicitor or do you open TikTok to find out whether you have a claim? For many people, including some of your employees, the latter option is the obvious choice.
Social media has become a popular source of legal information, with employment lawyers and workplace influencers using short videos to explain workplace rights. Alongside this, AI tools such as ChatGPT are also being used to answer legal questions and produce correspondence within seconds.
We’ve looked at available data on where people are seeking legal advice and what we’ve found is that the way people are accessing that advice has changed (see table below). The data suggests that social media platforms may have become the most popular source for seeking advice on workplace grievances.
In the past, if an individual was looking for some advice on a workplace matter, they might have approached a solicitor, contacted a trade union or organisations such as ACAS or Citizens Advice, or relied on referrals from their friends and family. This undoubtedly still happens. However, social media and AI have changed the landscape. Now if you have a employment concern, you can simply plug the details into any AI tool and ask, “does this sound like it goes against my employment rights?”. Likewise you might simply come across a TikTok post describing a situation very similar to your own. TikTok is full of content creators, many with hundreds of thousands of followers, who offer advice on a variety of employment matters – what could amount to a legal claim, what evidence employees should keep and when it may be appropriate to seek further advice. Many viewers use the comment sections to share their own experiences and ask questions relating to their own situations.
AI has also improved accessibility for many people, as it can simplify complex legal terminology, summarise cases and translate information into different languages almost instantly, making it easier for people whose first language is not English. For someone who may be hesitant to contact a solicitor immediately, these tools can provide enough confidence to take that next step.
Accessibility versus accuracy
Although online content can help people understand their rights, and AI can produce content that looks credible at first glance, accuracy is not guaranteed. Indeed, these tools can create issues for both those seeking the advice and for employers responding to their employees. AI tools tend to generate lengthy responses containing unnecessary information, making it difficult for users to identify what is relevant to their situation. More concerningly, it has been shown to produce inaccurate information and even non existing cases. A 2024 Stanford-led study found that leading AI legal research tools produced fabricated or incorrect legal information in a significant proportion of responses. This can lead to challenges for employers who need to respond to AI generated communications from employees. It can impact significantly on the amount of time needed to provide a response and it can also increase cost, if specialist advice is needed to check legislation cited by individuals.
Platforms such as TikTok can be excellent educational tools with short videos often simplifying legal issues to fit within time limits. This can unintentionally give viewers the impression that every case is straightforward, when in fact employment disputes often depend on detailed evidence and consideration of the specific individual circumstances. Confidentiality is another key concern. Employees may share sensitive details about ongoing workplace disputes online, often without fully considering the potential repercussions. Additionally, comment sections can become a breeding ground for misleading or conflicting advice, frequently offered by individuals without any legal qualifications.
What’s the future?
Social media and generative AI have transformed the way people access legal information, making employment law more accessible than ever before. These tools can help employees understand their rights and identify potential issues, but they should be used as a starting point for informed discussion rather than as a source of unquestioned, copy-and-paste advice. This presents a challenge for employers. Once an employment relationship has become adversarial, questioning an employee’s reliance on AI-generated content or advice found on platforms such as TikTok may be perceived as an attempt to discourage them from raising legitimate concerns or seeking support. With that in mind, your focus should not be on discouraging the use of these tools, but on promoting a balanced and informed approach—recognising both their value and their limitations, while encouraging constructive dialogue and, where appropriate, professional advice.
We’d love to get your views on this topic and have attached a short anonymous questionnaire here. It will only take you about 5 minutes to complete. We’ll share any interesting insights in our next issue.
