The UK is writing rules for AI that monitors staff

A UK consultation on workplace monitoring technology closes on 30 September, with eight proposed principles covering transparency and human oversight.

The UK government is consulting on how to regulate workplace monitoring technology, with AI-driven performance evaluation named as a particular concern. Eight proposed principles cover ground such as transparency, fairness and human oversight. The consultation closes on 30 September 2026.

The consultation is explicit that data protection law applies whichever policy option is chosen, so the obligations you already have do not pause while the rules are drafted. In the same period, the EU AI Act's Article 50 transparency rules took effect on 2 August 2026, requiring a machine-readable label on AI-generated images, video and audio. The same article requires disclosure when a person is dealing with an AI system rather than a human.

You do not need a UK office for this to reach you. Under the EU rules, an organisation based outside the EU is covered when the output of its AI system is used inside the EU. If you employ contractors in Europe, run a support tool that answers European customers, or use a scoring tool on an international team, the question is where the output lands.

The practical step is to find out what you are already running. Productivity scores in a helpdesk, or an automated shortlist from a hiring tool: both are monitoring, whether or not anyone called them that when they were switched on. Write down what each one measures and which decisions it feeds. Then check that the people being measured know it exists.

Rules that are still being drafted are the cheapest ones to prepare for. The inventory is the work, and it holds up whatever the final wording says.