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Is this finally some good news for small businesses? EAT backs strike-out over ex-employee's LinkedIn campaign, warns off AI-abusing claimants

ended 24. September 2026

A sacked NFU handyperson's whistleblowing claim has been struck out for good after he ran 145 LinkedIn posts trashing his ex-employer while the case was live, including documents he'd only seen through disclosure. On appeal he tried to bury the tribunal in a 300-page skeleton argument written by ChatGPT. The rules say 15 pages, max. The EAT wasn't having it, and used the case to warn every claimant off dumping unchecked AI paperwork on a court. A rare win for employers dealing with a claim that's turned into a public grudge match. Full judgment: https://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKEAT/2026/139.html

Two takeaways. If an ex-employee starts airing your dirty laundry, or theirs, on social media mid-claim, screenshot it. It can get the claim thrown out. And if anyone's using AI to draft your tribunal response, disciplinary letters or grievance outcomes, someone still has to read every word before it goes out. AI drafts, it doesn't decide, and it definitely doesn't know your business.

  • Have you ever had an ex-employee vent about your business online while a claim was live, and what did you do about it?
  • Would you feel confident spotting a dodgy AI-written document before it went out under your name?
  • Should tribunals be tougher on AI-generated paperwork, or is this making too much of one bad actor?
  • Do you check what AI drafts for you before you send it, or do you trust it to get HR letters right first time?

2 responses from the Newspage community

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Kate UnderwoodVerified
Founder & Chief People Strategist at Kate Underwood HR & Training
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AI is brilliant at sounding confident, which is exactly the problem. It'll hand you 300 pages of plausible nonsense as happily as one accurate page, and won't tell you which you've got. Anything AI drafts for a tribunal, a client or an employee is a first draft, not a finished one; someone with the facts needs to read it first. And running your grievance on LinkedIn while the case is live? Fastest way I know to lose it.
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Kelly SmallcombeVerified
Fractional Chief People Officer at Meliorem HR Consultancy
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This case is a gift for employers dealing with a claim that's spiralled into a grudge match, or those employees who 'want their day in court'. 145 public posts trashing an ex-employer mid-claim, including disclosure documents, is exactly what can get a case struck out. Screenshot everything, dates included, it may become your best evidence.

The AI angle matters just as much. A 300-page ChatGPT argument against a 15-page limit isn't ambition, it's outsourcing judgement, poorly. The EAT put it plainly: litigants must take personal responsibility for every document they submit.. AI can draft a grievance outcome or disciplinary letter, but it doesn't know your business or how a tribunal will read the wording. Someone still has to read every line before it goes out under their name. Expect more of this, and get yourself prepared, AI is often happy to agree with disgruntled employees, but it doesn't mean they're always right!