Workplace monitoring: 'Make Work Pay' consultation

What happened

On 8 July 2026 the Department for Business and Trade published a formal consultation titled “Make Work Pay: workplace monitoring technologies,” asking for views on how workplace monitoring technologies should be regulated to ensure their use is fair, transparent and responsible. The consultation invites input on a range of possible regulatory interventions that would affect UK employers, HR analytics programmes and employee privacy practices.

The government frames the exercise as part of its wider Make Work Pay agenda and positions the consultation as a step toward shaping policy on employer surveillance, data-driven people management and workplace AI. The paper asks stakeholders — employers, employees, unions, vendors and advisers — to respond to questions about risks, harms, accountability and potential regulatory responses.

Why this matters for HR

HR teams are central to how monitoring technologies are chosen, configured and communicated. The consultation signals that change is on the table: possible policy outcomes could create new obligations around transparency, oversight of third‑party analytics vendors, record-keeping and employee-facing notices.

Even at the consultation stage, HR leaders should treat this as a strategic issue rather than a narrow IT or compliance project. Monitoring and productivity tools are already integral to recruitment, performance management, absence and shift rostering; any regulatory intervention that constrains data collection, increases documentation duties or tightens vendor accountability will affect how those systems are procured and operated.

Practical HR implications to consider now include:

• Reviewing how monitoring technologies are described in employee policies and privacy notices. Clear, accessible explanations of purpose and use are likely to be a focus of the consultation.
• Mapping where employee data flows to third parties (vendors, analytics platforms) and how decisions based on those systems are governed inside HR.
• Strengthening cross-function collaboration: HR, legal/compliance, procurement and IT should be aligned to respond quickly to new guidance or rules.

What to watch next

The consultation asks about a range of possible regulatory interventions rather than setting out a preferred option. HR leaders should monitor the process closely for signals on three fronts:

1) Scope and definitions — which technologies and uses count as "workplace monitoring"? The breadth of the definition will determine how widely any new rules apply across HR systems (e.g., recruitment screening, productivity analytics, location tracking).

2) Transparency and employee rights — the government is explicitly seeking views on fairness and transparency. Expect potential proposals that would require clearer employee-facing notices, standardized disclosure practices, or rights to explanations of automated decisions.

3) Oversight and enforcement — responses to the consultation may recommend new oversight mechanisms, reporting requirements, or stronger obligations on vendors. That could translate into supplier due diligence obligations and more extensive record-keeping for HR teams.

The consultation text invites evidence and will inform the government's next steps. HR teams should consider preparing submissions or feeding into corporate responses where appropriate.

Immediate steps for HR teams

While outcomes are uncertain, HR teams can act now to reduce future disruption:

• Audit current monitoring tools and document purposes and data flows.
• Update employee communications to make monitoring practices more transparent.
• Engage procurement and legal teams to review contracts with analytics and monitoring vendors.
• Open dialogue with unions or employee representatives to understand concerns and surface operational impacts.

The consultation opens a policymaking process that could reshape employer obligations around surveillance, analytics and workplace AI. HR leaders who treat the consultation as an early warning — and who start assessing and documenting current practices now — will be better placed to adapt if and when new rules are announced.