Thousands of workers across the UK are being affected by AI at work, often without being told, let alone consulted. It's time to change that.

Something is changing at work and most of us weren't asked

Whether it's software that tracks how fast you work, a system that monitors your calls, or technology quietly learning your job, AI is already here for millions of workers. But here's the problem: Most employers are rolling it out without telling staff what it does, why it's there, or what it means for them.

In warehouses, it's pushing people to work faster and faster. In supermarkets, it's watching the shelves so fewer staff are needed on the shop floor. In call centres, it's listening in. These aren't things happening in the future, they're happening right now, to people we know.

With little to no transparency, most workers are finding out about new AI systems the same way customers do, through a press release. Here at Organise we are launching a new AI Early Warning System. This project intends to find out how AI is being used in UK workplaces, straight from the workers experiencing it.

Workers fill in an anonymous survey about what's happening where they work. Those responses build a live, public picture of which employers are using AI fairly and which ones aren't. The more workers who take part, the stronger that picture gets, and the harder it becomes for employers to ignore what's happening on the ground.

The idea is simple: if workers don't have information, they can't push back. The AI Early Warning System gives them that information, and turns it into something employers and the government have to take seriously.

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Who gets hurt the most?

Not everyone is affected by AI roll uts equally. Workers in low-paid and insecure jobs, the people who can least afford disruption, are often the last to be consulted and the first to feel the impact.

When AI replaces in-person advice with an app recommendation, or swaps a human check with an automated scanner, it changes the nature of a job, sometimes completely. But those changes rarely show up in contracts, pay packets, or any conversation with a manager.

That's not progress, that's workers being left behind.

Have you noticed AI being used where you work? It takes two minutes to take part in our anonymous survey and your answer could help workers everywhere.

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It doesn't have to be this way

Here's the thing: AI isn't automatically bad for workers. When it's introduced properly, with consultation, transparency, and workers' voices at the table, it can genuinely make jobs better. NHS radiologists, for example, are using AI to double-check scan results, and many say it's helped them work more confidently and catch things they might otherwise miss.

The difference is that they were involved and have a say on whether they use it or not. That's what every worker deserves.

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What's actually happening out there: worker stories

Through the AI Early Warning System, Organise has been gathering testimony from workers across some of the UK's biggest employers. Here's what that research has uncovered.

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Morrisons: AI surveillance on the shop floor

Workers at Morrisons reported that AI monitoring tools were watching their behaviour at work, without any clear explanation of what was being tracked, why, or what the data was being used for. Many had never been told the technology existed. When workers raised it through Organise, they were able to name the practice publicly for the first time and push back collectively, rather than feeling like isolated individuals raising a concern that management could easily dismiss. The campaign, Stop AI spying on us at Morrisons, gave workers a mechanism to challenge something that had been quietly introduced as routine operational technology.

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Sainsbury's: Facial recognition without consent

Sainsbury's introduced facial recognition technology in some stores, raising serious concerns among workers about consent, data protection and dignity at work. Workers felt they were being treated as security risks rather than trusted employees. The Organise campaign, End facial recognition at Sainsbury's, connected a specific technology to broader questions about workers' rights, and fed directly into wider public debate about the use of biometric surveillance in retail spaces.

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Asda: Replacing workers with machines

At Asda, workers reported that automation was being used to reduce headcount, with remaining staff expected to absorb the extra workload. The pressure was increasing, but pay and contracts weren't changing to reflect it. Through Organise, workers launched the campaign Stop replacing workers with machines, creating a public record of opposition to changes that had been presented to staff as inevitable business decisions rather than choices that could be questioned or challenged.

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Royal Mail: Automation without a conversation

Royal Mail has publicly reached 90% automation across its parcel operations. For workers, that milestone arrived without meaningful consultation. Rounds got longer. Staffing got leaner. The physical toll increased. Organise's research found that 65% of Royal Mail workers involved in the AI Early Warning System project had found out how automation was being used in their workplace through the project itself, not from their employer. The campaign, Royal Mail: we need shorter rounds and more staff now, turned that knowledge into a direct, collective demand.

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Co-op: An algorithm nobody asked for

Co-op introduced a new AI-driven rota system without meaningful input from the workers it affects most. Shifts became harder to predict and work-life balance got harder to manage. The system had been presented as a done deal. The Organise campaign, Get rid of the new rota system at Co-op, gave workers a way to push back on algorithmic management and put the question of consultation back on the table.

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What these stories have in common

In every case, the problem wasn't just the technology itself. It was the way it was introduced: without transparency, without consultation, and without any route for workers to raise concerns safely. And in every case, workers found that when they could name what was happening and act together, there was a pathway to change things. If you have concerns about AI in your workplace, why not start your own petition here.

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What Organise is building and why your voice matters

Organise is creating the UK's first live dashboard to track how AI is being used in workplaces, in real time. It will show which employers are being open and fair, and which ones aren't. Employers who respond to workers' concerns and change their practices will see their score improve. Those who don't will have nowhere to hide.

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But the dashboard is only as powerful as the people behind it. Every survey response is a data point that holds employers to account. The more workers who take part, the harder it becomes for companies to ignore what's happening on their shop floors, warehouses, and offices.

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The next two years will shape how AI is used at work for a generation. There is a window right now to get this right, but only if workers are heard.

Ready to have your say?

It takes two minutes. It's anonymous. And it means your experience becomes part of a picture that could push employers, and the government, to act.

Take the anonymous survey

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