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The Fair Work Commission is receiving a surge in workplace claims, driven by the use of AI tools. (Source: AAP) <\/p>\n The Fair Work Commission is receiving a surge in workplace claims, driven by the use of AI tools. (Source: AAP) <\/p>\n
Disgruntled Aussie workers who have been laid off are turning to artificial intelligence tools<\/a> to generate unfair dismissal and workplace complaints<\/a>. Workers can create complaints within a few minutes, with AI chatbots reportedly telling scorned employees they are likely to receive payouts even when their claims are baseless.<\/p>\n Fair Work Commission (FWC) president Adam Hatcher recently revealed the workplace tribunal was being clogged up by AI-generated claims<\/a>. The FWC has received a record number of lodgements, with its total workload increasing by more than 70 per cent in the space of three years.<\/p>\n HR expert Jonathon Woolfrey told Yahoo Finance aggrieved workers<\/a> were putting their situation into ChatGPT or other AI tools, and it would often respond with an affirming and positive response about making a claim.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/p>\n \u201cWithin minutes, a worker can generate what sounds like a plausible unfair dismissal or general protection claim. Then they think, why not have a go and lodge it?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The problem is that AI tools can be prone to inventing fake dismissal stories, having \u201challucinations\u201d<\/a>, and using incorrect references. So while applications might look like they hold legal water, in reality, they have no chance of being successful.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re given false impressions by AI, specifically ChatGPT, that does its very best just to invent a reason for them,\u201d Woolfrey said.<\/p>\n \u201cA general worker wouldn\u2019t then be able to critique what ChatGPT is telling them because that\u2019s not their expertise. You would take it on face value.\u201d<\/p>\n A number of companies have recently rolled out redundancies for Australian staff citing a shift towards AI<\/a>. Ironically, some of those same AI displaced workers could be using the technology in a bid for some Hail Mary retribution.<\/p>\n In a speech to the Victorian Bar Association last month, Hatcher revealed the FWC\u2019s operations were being \u201csignificantly disrupted\u201d by the availability and use of AI tools<\/a>.<\/p>\n Annual lodgements are expected to hit between 50,000 to 55,000 by July, up from the previous \u201cnormal\u201d of 30,000 matters a year. The rapid increase is primarily being driven by the increasing use of AI tools by potential litigants.<\/p>\n Hatcher said AI tools could invent facts to justify a weak unfair dismissal claim, \u201cgloss up\u201d a general protection claim for those who don\u2019t qualify, and \u201cgive a sheen of legal plausibility\u201d to cases that, on analysis, don\u2019t have reasonable prospects of success.<\/p>\n Story continues <\/p>\n Hatcher said the \u201cpenny dropped\u201d when he tried using ChatGPT<\/a> himself to prepare a meritless dismissal claim late last year.<\/p>\n After he provided ChatGPT with a few basic facts, including telling it he believed he had been sacked because he made a complaint a few years earlier, it prepared an application in less than 10 minutes.<\/p>\n Hatcher said the application included a \u201csubstantially-invented story\u201d about his dismissal, with ChatGPT claiming that in a \u201crealistic scenario\u201d, he would get in the range of $15,000 to $40,000 compensation.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd this was for a putative case which, on the facts I provided to ChatGPT, could not be assessed as having reasonable prospects of success,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n FWC has now reformed its procedures by requiring applicants to disclose the use of AI in all forms and documents.<\/p>\n This is currently done on an ad hoc basis, but Hatcher said the intention was for all forms to include an AI disclosure requirement in the near future.<\/p>\n Woolfrey urged workers who are genuinely looking to make a FWC claim to think twice before using AI.<\/p>\n He admitted the reality was that there wasn\u2019t a great detriment to workers having a crack and submitting a claim, and this was half the problem.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the conciliation stage of it, which is what gets triggered, there\u2019s no costs awarded. All the worker has to give up is their own time,\u201d Woolfrey said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only downfall for workers in putting these in, is they embarrass themselves. They clog up the time, their expectations get raised, and on a case that has no merit that they don\u2019t realise, they\u2019re distracted from actually getting on with their life and actually finding a new role or moving on with their life as well.\u201d<\/p>\n If a worker did continue to push the issue and the matter went to a hearing, then Woolfrey warned they could be liable for costs if their claim is completely spurious.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s unlikely, but if they continue to waste the court’s time, that could be a consequence down the track,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Woolfrey said the reality was people would continue to use AI tools for advice.<\/p>\n He recommended people also seek expert advice so they don’t end up wasting their time and that of the FWC. Some options include FWC\u2019s free legal advice referrals<\/a> or an employment law centre in your state.<\/p>\n Get the latest Yahoo Finance news – follow us on Facebook<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> and Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n Talenting founder Jonathon Woolfrey has encouraged Aussies to seek expert advice, free or paid, if they are genuinely looking to make a claim. (Source: Talenting\/Getty) <\/p>\n