ERA 2025: AI in the Workplace — Employer Obligations

The Employment Rights Act 2025 does not directly regulate AI in the workplace — the UK's AI governance framework is developing separately. But ERA 2025 matters for AI use in HR because its day one rights, transparency requirements, and discrimination protections all apply regardless of how employment decisions are made.

Using an AI tool to screen CVs, score performance, or flag absence patterns does not remove employer liability for discrimination. If the tool produces a result that disproportionately disadvantages a protected group — by race, gender, disability, age — the employer is liable. The tool is not the decision-maker in law: the employer is.

For businesses using AI-assisted HR tools, the obligation is transparency and oversight. Workers should know when AI is being used to inform decisions about them. Employers should be able to explain how the tool works and demonstrate that human review is part of the process. Mellow's AI agents — available in the Intelligence tier — are designed with this in mind. Every recommendation is flagged as AI-generated, every output is reviewable, and no decision is automated without a human confirmation step.