Negotiating the future of work: Legislating to protect workers from surveillance

New technologies are radically transforming worker surveillance. Employers’ surveillance of their workforce increased substantially during the pandemic and rapidly evolving artificial intelligence is creating new ways to monitor and track workers. The intense and extensive surveillance enabled by new technologies pose serious risks to workers’ rights and wellbeing, and potentially economic productivity.

Meaningful worker voice is needed over surveillance practices to address these risks. But UK law currently provides little scope for workers to influence decisions over the adoption or deployment of surveillance technologies. The government’s commitment to introduce worker rights to negotiation and consultation is therefore significant.