The UK government has opened a consultation on Make Work Pay: workplace monitoring technologies, a document published on 8 July 2026 and applicable to England, Scotland and Wales. The consultation asks for views on the fair, transparent and responsible use of workplace monitoring technologies, and it says it is considering options to improve clarity, transparency, worker voice, and broader industrial relations around those technologies.
The policy options in the document are set out as three broad approaches: a statutory code of practice with guidance, a legislative requirement to consult and negotiate with trade unions or elected representatives, or non-statutory guidance. The GOV.UK material identifies AI, automated decision-making, and algorithmic management as part of workplace monitoring technologies, and the document also refers to biometric access or verification (fingerprint or facial recognition), keystroke logging, and performance or productivity evaluation.
The consultation closes on 30 September 2026. The British Retail Consortium said the government is seeking views on whether further steps should be taken on workplace monitoring technologies.
What the consultation covers
The GOV.UK consultation materials say the subject is workplace monitoring technologies and use that term to include AI, automated decision-making, and algorithmic management. The paper asks about the fair, transparent and responsible use of those technologies, and it says it is considering how to improve clarity, transparency, worker voice, and broader industrial relations around them.
The supplied sources do not identify any final decision, adopted rule, or enforcement step. They show only that the government has opened a consultation and that the paper presents policy options for consideration. Because the sources do not state which option, if any, will be chosen, it would be inaccurate to treat the consultation as a completed change in law or as a confirmed requirement for employers.
The three policy paths in the paper
The consultation document lists three broad policy options. One is a statutory code of practice with guidance. A second is a legislative requirement to consult and negotiate with trade unions or elected representatives. A third is non-statutory guidance.
Those options matter because they point to different possible obligations, but the supplied sources do not say which path ministers will select. They also do not state that any of the proposed duties are already in force. The only procedural fact supported by the bundle is that the consultation is open and closes on 30 September 2026.
Who is affected, and what changed
The consultation applies to employers and workplace monitoring technologies across England, Scotland and Wales. The supplied reporting does not identify a specific sector, company, or group of workers as already covered by a new rule. It also does not provide a final roster of affected technologies beyond the examples named in the consultation materials: AI, automated decision-making, algorithmic management, biometric access or verification (fingerprint or facial recognition), keystroke logging, and performance or productivity evaluation.
What changed is that the government has moved from discussion to a live consultation on whether to tighten the framework around those tools. That is a policy development, not a layoff announcement. The supplied sources do not identify any job cuts, any workforce-composition change, or any effect on headcount.
Why employers and workers are watching
The research bundle says the consultation could lead to new rules on how employers use workplace monitoring technologies, including AI-assisted monitoring. It also says the stronger regulatory option could leave employers facing new obligations before rolling out AI-powered surveillance and management tools. Those are the possibilities described in the bundle; they are not presented there as already adopted outcomes.
The British Retail Consortium’s summary is narrower. It says the government is seeking views on whether further steps should be taken on workplace monitoring technologies. The supplied sources do not identify any broader employer commitment, any union position beyond the options listed in the consultation, or any confirmed timetable for implementation after the consultation closes.
What to watch next
The key date in the supplied evidence is 30 September 2026, when the consultation closes. The bundle does not identify the next procedural step after that date, the department’s preferred option, or any draft legislation. It also does not identify whether the government will choose a statutory code, a consultation-and-negotiation requirement, or non-statutory guidance.
For now, the reported development is a consultation, not a final rule. The practical question left open by the supplied sources is whether the government will translate that consultation into a stronger duty for employers to consult trade unions or elected representatives before using workplace monitoring technologies, or whether it will settle for guidance instead.
Sources
- Make Work Pay: workplace monitoring technologies — GOV.UK
- Make Work Pay: Workplace Monitoring Technologies Consultation — GOV.UK / Department for Business and Trade
- UK government could force bosses to consult employees before rolling out worker surveillance tools — TechRadar
- Workplace Monitoring Technologies: Consultation Launched — British Retail Consortium