The AI Employment Reality

Robert de Loryn
Aug 6
2 min read

For decades, employment law was something many employees only explored after speaking with a lawyer or their union. Today, every employee carries something very different in their pocket.

Artificial intelligence.

Within seconds, employees can ask questions about disciplinary action, performance management, workplace rights, leave entitlements, bullying, discrimination or dismissal.

While AI is not a substitute for professional legal advice, it has dramatically lowered the barrier for employees to understand their rights and question decisions made by leaders.

That is changing workplaces.

In Australia alone, the Fair Work Commission received more than 16,500 unfair dismissal applications during the 2024-25 financial year, with dismissal related matters continuing to rise. Recent commentary from the Commission has also linked a significant increase in applications to the growing use of AI tools by self represented applicants.

This should not concern organisations that consistently follow employment law, apply procedural fairness and document decisions properly.

It should concern those who rely on shortcuts.

Too often, leaders avoid difficult conversations, fail to document performance issues, skip procedural steps or make emotional decisions instead of lawful ones. Those actions may have gone unchallenged years ago. Today they are far more likely to be questioned.

The financial consequences can be significant. Even where an employer successfully defends an unfair dismissal claim, the cost of legal representation, management time, lost productivity, witness preparation, reputational impact and employee morale can easily exceed the value of the original employment issue. Where claims succeed, compensation, reinstatement orders and ongoing legal costs can increase the impact even further.

This is not a reason to fear AI.

It is a reason to become better leaders.

Employment law has always existed to encourage fairness, consistency and accountability. AI is simply making that information more accessible to everyone. That is ultimately a positive development for organisations that value good leadership and ethical decision making.

The best leaders do not manage people with the expectation that nobody will challenge them.

They lead knowing every decision should withstand scrutiny.

In an environment where every employee has instant access to workplace information, following sound employment practices is no longer simply an HR responsibility. It is a core leadership capability.

Good leaders have nothing to fear.

Those looking for shortcuts should.