TikTok Moderators Launch Legal Action Over Alleged Union-Busting

17 January 2026 • By Tom Street

Around 400 TikTok content moderators in London have been sacked, and three of them are now taking the social media giant to an employment tribunal. Their claim? That TikTok fired them specifically to stop them forming a union.

The timing is striking. TikTok announced the redundancies on 22 August 2025, just seven days before workers were due to vote on union recognition. The ballot was immediately suspended. By Christmas, the redundancies were complete.

TikTok says this is all a coincidence. The company describes the legal claims as “baseless” and insists the job cuts were part of a global restructuring driven by AI improvements. According to TikTok, its automated systems now remove 91% of content that violates its rules, reducing the need for human moderators.

The workers and their union see it differently.

What the Workers Are Claiming

The legal claim, supported by tech justice organisation Foxglove and law firm Leigh Day, makes two main arguments.

First, the workers are claiming unlawful detriment under section 146 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (TULRCA). This protects workers from being treated unfairly because of their union activities.

Second, they’re claiming automatic unfair dismissal under section 152 of the same Act. If dismissal is proven to be because of union membership or activities, it’s automatically unfair. No two-year qualifying period. No need to prove the dismissal was unreasonable.

John Chadfield, the Communication Workers Union’s national officer for tech workers, put it bluntly: “This is holding TikTok to account for union busting.”

Why This Case Matters

Content moderation is brutal work. These workers spend their days reviewing videos of violence, abuse, self-harm, and worse, trying to keep TikTok’s 30 million UK users safe. Many report headaches, vertigo, and lasting psychological effects.

The moderators had been trying to form a union to get better protections: safer working conditions, more say over their workflows, and protection from the punishing “utilisation rate” software that monitors their every click.

Rosa Curling, co-executive director of Foxglove, argues that by “laying off essential safety workers they are putting the platform’s users at risk.” The organisation has called TikTok’s approach “appalling.”

Michael Newman, a partner at Leigh Day, framed it more broadly: “This case is an important example of how individuals who band together can stand up to the might of big tech firms.”

What TikTok Says

TikTok strongly denies any connection between the redundancies and the union vote. A spokesperson said the changes were “part of a wider global reorganisation, as we evolve our global operating model for trust and safety with the benefit of technological advancements.”

The company points to its investment in AI moderation, claiming it has reduced moderators’ exposure to graphic content by 76% in the past year. The implication is clear: fewer human moderators are needed when machines can do the job.

But internal TikTok documents from May 2025, seen by Sky News, apparently show the company had planned to keep human moderators in London through at least the end of the year. What changed between May and August? The union vote.

My View

I think this case will be one to watch closely. The timing of these redundancies raises obvious questions that TikTok will need to answer at tribunal.

UK law gives strong protections to workers who want to join or form a union. Section 152 exists precisely because Parliament recognised that some employers will find ways to dress up anti-union dismissals as something else. The question for the tribunal will be: what was the real reason for these dismissals?

Whatever the outcome, this case highlights a growing tension in the tech sector. As companies rush to replace human workers with AI, those workers are increasingly fighting back through collective action. And when employers respond by removing the workers trying to organise, they shouldn’t be surprised when it ends up in court.

What to Do If You’re in a Similar Situation

If you’re facing redundancy shortly before or after union activities at your workplace, you may have a claim. The key protections apply regardless of how long you’ve worked for your employer.

Keep records of any union-related communications and the timeline of events. Speak to your union representative if you have one, and consider getting legal advice early. The time limit for bringing a tribunal claim is just three months minus one day from the date of dismissal.