We are noticing an increasing amount of our clients are facing obviously AI-generated grievances/complaints from employees. Whilst there is nothing inherently wrong with an employee using AI tools to help them write a complaint, we are seeing more and more that AI is exaggerating the complaint, broadening the scope of the issues, making complaints lengthier, and giving overly optimistic/ not realistic advice to employees on their prospects of a successful claim. AI also tends to quote case law that does not exist and to make grievances overly legalistic. In this article we aim to give some practical tips for how to handle these lengthy grievances. Practical Tips The best way of avoiding having to deal with AI grievances is to not create an environment which gives cause for a grievance in the first place, but we recognise no matter how well you are operating there is always the chance of someone raising a complaint. The first element that needs to be remembered is the core purpose of a grievance, that being to raise a complaint and have it resolved. With that in mind, just because AI is used that does not absolve the employer of their usual grievance obligations such as following a fair procedure, following the ACAS Code, and dealing promptly with the grievance without undue delay. Arguably the key tip is to meet with the employee face-to-face, asking them to explain in their own words what the issue is and, crucially, what they want by way of redress. The main idea here is to drill down into the real substance of the grievance and then to proceed with the investigation from there with hopefully a narrower scope of issues to consider. That should provide a degree of separation from the often long and complex AI-written grievance which contains a lot of extra wording and issues which are irrelevant to the main issues at the heart of the employee’s complaint. Allied to this point is to focus on issues you can actually resolve, in light of the fact grievances are about seeking redress on the whole. You should agree the scope of what will be investigated and explain why you are excluding some complaints if necessary. It would also be useful for future evidence purposes to put the scope of what you will investigate in writing afterwards in an email. If the employee will not attend a meeting, then clarify the issues yourself first (summarise scope of grievance), be specific in your requests for further information, and set expectations around communication (politely but firmly state that concise and clear responses are the standard expected if they are continuing to use AI to write emails). In Conclusion Unfortunately, using AI does not invalidate a complaint, even though it may exaggerate or make it more complex. In the vast majority of cases, the focus should be on narrowing and resolving the grievance itself. As always, this advice is general in nature and will need to be tailored to any one situation. As an RMI member you have access to the RMI Legal advice line, as well as several industry experts for your assistance. Should you find yourself in the situation above, contact us at any stage for advice and assistance as appropriate. Motor Industry Legal Services Motor Industry Legal Services provides fully comprehensive legal advice and representation to UK motor retailers for one annual fee. It is the only regulated law firm in the UK which specialises in motor law and motor trade law. MILS currently advises over 1,000 individual businesses within the sector as well as the Retail Motor Industry Federation (RMI) and its members.