Question

To ask His Majesty's Government, with reference to clause 21 of the Employment Rights Bill, what steps they will take to ensure employers are legally accountable for content generated by their AI systems, including harassment by those systems.

Harassment in the workplace is prohibited under the Equality Act 2010. Once clause 21 of the Employment Rights Bill is in force, employees will be able to bring a claim in the Employment Tribunal against their employer for harassment by a third party.

This means that an individual will be able to bring a claim against their employer for harassment where the employer has failed to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent it. It will be for courts and tribunals to decide on a case-by-case basis, taking into account all relevant circumstances of the case, if an employer is liable for harassment.