When an employer brings in software that sets rotas, scores performance, allocates work or replaces tasks, a recognised trade union negotiating about pay and conditions often needs to know how the system works and what it is used for. The Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 gives a recognised independent union a right to request information it needs for collective bargaining, with a complaint route to the Central Arbitration Committee (CAC). This page sets out that duty in Great Britain. It is for union representatives and employers.
The short answer: an employer that recognises an independent union must, on request, disclose information about its undertaking without which the union would be impeded to a material extent in bargaining, and which good industrial relations practice says it should disclose (s181). There are exceptions, including confidential information, information about identifiable individuals and information whose disclosure would cause substantial injury to the undertaking (s182). If the employer does not disclose, the union can complain to the CAC, which can ultimately award terms and conditions (ss183 to 185).
Which matters count as collective bargaining
Collective bargaining means negotiations relating to or connected with matters listed in the Act, including terms and conditions of employment and the physical conditions of work; engagement, non-engagement, termination or suspension of employment or duties; allocation of work or duties between workers or groups of workers; discipline; and facilities for union officials (s178(1) and (2)). Software that allocates shifts, sets targets, feeds discipline or decides which tasks people keep touches several of these. The duty to disclose applies only for bargaining about matters, and descriptions of workers, for which the union is recognised (s181(1)).
The duty to disclose
An employer that recognises an independent union must disclose to the union's representatives, on request and for all stages of collective bargaining, information relating to its undertaking, including about its use of agency workers, that is in its possession or that of an associated employer, and (s181(2)):
- without which the union representatives would be to a material extent impeded in carrying on collective bargaining with it; and
- which it would be in accordance with good industrial relations practice to disclose for the purposes of collective bargaining.
What is good industrial relations practice is judged having regard to any relevant Acas Code of Practice, without excluding other evidence (s181(4)). The employer can ask for the request to be in writing or confirmed in writing, and the union can ask for the information to be given or confirmed in writing (s181(3) and (5)). A representative is an official or other person authorised by the union to carry on the bargaining (s181(1)).
For AI and automation, a union bargaining over workloads, pay or job security might, for example, ask what a system measures, which decisions it feeds, how many roles or hours the employer expects it to affect, or how targets are set. Whether a particular item must be disclosed depends on the two tests above and on the exceptions below.
Limits on the duty
An employer is not required to disclose information (s182(1)):
- whose disclosure would be against the interests of national security;
- that it could not disclose without breaching a prohibition imposed by or under an enactment;
- that was communicated to it in confidence, or obtained because of the confidence placed in it by another person;
- that relates specifically to an individual, unless that individual consents;
- whose disclosure would cause substantial injury to its undertaking for reasons other than its effect on collective bargaining; or
- obtained for the purpose of legal proceedings.
The employer also does not have to produce or allow inspection of documents, other than a document prepared to convey or confirm the information, or compile information where the work or expense would be out of reasonable proportion to its value in bargaining (s182(2)). In practice, a vendor's confidentiality terms or the individual scores of named workers may fall within these limits, while aggregate information about how a system is used may not.
Complaints to the CAC
A union can complain in writing to the CAC that the employer failed to disclose information required by s181, or to confirm it in writing (s183(1)). If the CAC thinks the complaint is reasonably likely to be settled by conciliation, it refers it to Acas (s183(2)). Otherwise it hears the complaint and makes a declaration with reasons; if the complaint is well-founded, the declaration specifies the information, the date the employer failed to disclose it and a period of at least one week within which it ought to disclose (s183(3) and (5)).
If the employer still does not disclose after that period, the union can make a further complaint (s184) and then a claim that the contracts of described employees should include specified terms and conditions (s185(1)). If the further complaint is upheld, the CAC can award those terms or others it considers appropriate, for matters for which the union is recognised, and they take effect as part of the employees' contracts (s185(3) to (5)). The right to claim ends if the employer discloses the information (s185(2)).
Practical steps
- Union representatives: make requests in writing, link each item to a bargaining matter for which the union is recognised, and explain why the union would be impeded without it. Ask for aggregate figures rather than information about named individuals.
- Employers: before buying or deploying a system that affects work allocation, targets, discipline or jobs, check what the vendor contract allows you to share, and keep information about how the system is used in a form that can be disclosed. Where something is withheld, say which exception applies.
For members' and officials' time off, see trade union time off; for protection from detriment over union activity, see union membership protection; for how union agreements deal with AI, see AI and unions; for workplace-wide consultation rights that do not depend on recognition, see information and consultation of employees. These provisions extend to England, Wales and Scotland. This page is general information on the law in Great Britain as at 1 November 2026, not legal advice.
Questions and answers
Can a union ask an employer for information about AI systems?
A recognised independent union can request information relating to the employer's undertaking without which it would be impeded to a material extent in collective bargaining, and which good industrial relations practice says should be disclosed (Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992, s181). That can include information about systems that affect pay, workloads, work allocation or jobs, subject to the exceptions in s182.
Can the employer refuse because the information is confidential?
Information communicated to the employer in confidence, information about a specific individual without their consent, and information whose disclosure would cause substantial injury to the undertaking for reasons other than its effect on bargaining are among the exceptions in s182.
What happens if the employer refuses?
The union can complain to the Central Arbitration Committee, which may refer it to Acas and otherwise makes a declaration. If the employer still does not disclose, the union can make a further complaint and claim terms and conditions, which the CAC can award (ss183 to 185).
Does this apply if the union is not recognised?
No. The duty in s181 applies to an employer that recognises an independent trade union, for the matters and workers for which it is recognised.