Regulating the future workplace

Digital panel discussion with Darren Jones MP, Chair of the Commons Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) Select Committee; Mary Towers, Future of Employment Regulation Lead at the Trades Union Congress (TUC); Dom Hallas, Executive Director at the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec); and Max von Thun, Future of Work lead at Global Counsel discussing our Future of Work survey findings and report. 

The key issues raised at the event include:

• Business leaders strongly support hybrid working, with a small majority favouring regulation to formalise changing work practices. 90% of those polled by Global Counsel saw a hybrid approach as the best option for the future of the workplace. When compared to the reduced number in favour of regulation, however, the conclusion that can be drawn is that the overall balance between remote and in-person working is best determined by employers and the workforce, with a limited role for government.
• There is considerable scepticism around the use of technology to monitor employees. Most business leaders do not believe assessing employee performance with artificial intelligence would be acceptable, with even fewer supporting its use in redundancies. There is a need for careful regulation of technology use going forward, with improved sharing of productivity targets and measures to prevent discriminatory decisions from being made based on flawed data.
• Despite the risks of growing AI involvement in the workplace, there is also cause for optimism. The focus of technology is often on its potential to replace workers but there could be significant benefits for the workforce in integrating with tech and AI, with the potential for productivity gains and more fulfilling work due to employees’ changing responsibilities. Trade unions could help improve workers’ access to employment data, allowing them to highlight and address any potential discrimination, and have a role to play advocating the ethical use of workplace technology.
• The UK lags behind international policymaking on workplace regulation. Despite major legislative steps being taken by the EU and strong political will for regulatory change in the US, the UK government is now unlikely to being forward a substantive employment bill prior to the next general election. This risks the current system becoming increasingly unfit for purpose, with significant parts of the current regulatory framework deriving from arbitration and legal cases. Overall the debate remains at an early stage, but efforts to guarantee the rights of remote workers and updated legal definitions provide some indication of where the future discussion will lead.