Acas Received Double The Number Of Sexual Harassment Enquires In 2024 Compared To 2023

The number of sexual discrimination disputes reported to Acas last year exceeded 7,000 and was 6% higher than 2023, according to a Freedom of Information (FoI) request made by expert employment lawyers at Irwin Mitchell.

The law firm submitted the request to get an accurate understanding of the impact of The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 – a new legal duty introduced in October last year which means employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.

Acas’ data reveals that out of the sexual discrimination cases reported to them over the last nine months, 878 (16%) related to sexual harassment.

Notably, the FoI also found the total number of sexual harassment-related enquiries received by the Acas helpline from both businesses and employees had more than doubled in 2024 compared to the previous year.

Key findings from the FOI are:

• Sexual discrimination disputes reported to Acas reached 7,245 in 2024, representing a 6.2% rise compared to the previous year

• 878 (16%) of the sexual discrimination disputes reported to Acas in the last nine months mentioned ‘sexual harassment’ or ‘harassment’.

• Acas received 803 calls from employees about sexual harassment in Q3 2024, representing a 59% rise compared to Q2 2024.

• Employer-side helpline calls about sexual harassment rose by 164% in the most recent quarter as the number exceeded 100 for the first time.

• Total number of helpline calls for Q3 2024 from both employees and employers sides stands at 906 - 110% higher than the same period in 2023 and equivalent to 13 calls a day.

• The proportion of total helpline calls from employees related to sexual harassment increased significantly to 0.62% in Q3 2024 from 0.37% a year ago.

• The proportion of calls from businesses was even higher at 0.65%. Calls received by employers were therefore more likely to be about sexual harassment compared to calls from employees.

  Expert Opinion

  “Although the figures have increased, they are unlikely to be a true reflection of the extent of the issue of sexual harassment in today’s workplace.
  
  “We know that, historically, sexual harassment is widespread and underreported. But the recent change in the law appears to have started to increase awareness and I wouldn’t be surprised to see these figures continue to increase until employers get a grip on the problem. Employees are beginning to understand that sexual harassment doesn’t just occur if they are touched inappropriately and can cover situations where they overhear comments of a sexual nature which, in turn, create a hostile or degrading work environment.
  
  “It’s difficult to know what the nature of the employer-side calls were but from our experience speaking to clients, businesses are taking these new responsibilities seriously and are seeking guidance to ensure compliance.
  
  “Our recommendation is that businesses create a culture where sexual harassment is understood to be unacceptable. This includes explaining what it is, developing a policy on sexual harassment, training managers on their responsibilities, and creating an environment where people feel safe to report incidents of sexual harassment and situations where they felt unsafe.”
  Elaine Huttley, partner and national head of employment law at Irwin Mitchell,

The Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023, which came into effect on 26 October 2024, introduces a legal duty for employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment.

Specialist lawyers at Irwin Mitchell have produced two modules to help businesses understand the new duty. Further details are here with a short video here.