Britain's employment courts are clogged with AI cases. British employment law contains a provision called "interim relief", an emergency measure under which a judge can order a firm to reinstate a fired employee, or at least pay their wages. The subject may be a whistleblower who has complained of safety breaches, or a troublesome trade-union official.

Little known outside legal circles, this provision has been sought infrequently—across Britain tribunals used to get about 20 applications a year—and rarely granted. The surge in AI-related disputes has dramatically increased caseloads, transforming a rarely used legal mechanism into a focal point for workplace technology conflicts.

This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline "A tragedy of the commons" from the August 8th 2026 edition. The growing intersection of artificial intelligence and employment law signals a fundamental shift in how workplace disputes are adjudicated.