Calls to Acas have risen sharply since the implementation of a new legal duty under the Workers Protection Act 2023, which came into force in October 2024.
Law firm Nockolds’ analysis of Acas data reveals there were 5,583 calls to the conciliation and arbitration service in the first six months of the year, up from 4,001 during the same period last year.
Under the Workers Protection Act 2023 employers have a duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, rather than the previous requirement, which was to address sexual harassment after complaints were made. The sustained elevation in call volumes suggests not just increased awareness, but also growing uncertainty or concern about compliance.
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Nockolds said that recent widely reported sexual harassment cases and the power dynamics of workplace relationships could encourage staff experiencing sexual harassment to speak out.
In September 2025, Nestlé dismissed CEO Laurent Freixe following an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate. The investigation into the McDonald’s CEO in November 2023, which prompted allegations from workers relating to sexual harassment, and the resignation of BP’s CEO in September 2023 following revelations of past personal relationships with colleagues, together with the recent Coldplay kiss cam story, have all shone a spotlight on power dynamics and workplace relationships. Not all of these cases involved allegations of harassment, but each has led to public scrutiny of power dynamics and professional boundaries, said Nockolds.
Rachel Davis, principal associate at Nockolds, said the new preventative duty had pushed sexual harassment to the top of the workplace risk agenda. With helpline calls up nearly 40%, she added “year‑on‑year, the message is clear: awareness is rising, but so is uncertainty about what compliance really looks like.
“Many employers are seeking guidance post-implementation of the new duty, likely in response to internal audits or external complaints. Historically, sexual harassment policies were often generic and rarely enforced unless a complaint was made. Moving from a reactive to an initiative-taking posture is a major cultural step-change for many organisations. Tick-box training and vague reporting channels no longer meet the required legal standard.”
Davis added that the organisations that acted immediately to embed prevention into governance, culture, and day‑to‑day practice “will be the ones best placed to navigate the higher expectations – and higher stakes – of this new and evolving compliance landscape.”
According to Nockolds, the Campbell v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust case (2025) was significant because it illustrated how an employer could successfully rely on the “all reasonable steps” defence to avoid liability for discriminatory acts by an employee. Although the case was concerned with racial harassment, its significance for sexual harassment claims was that the same legal defence applies: if an employer can show they took all reasonable steps to prevent harassment of any kind – whether racial, sexual, or otherwise – they may avoid liability for an employee’s conduct.
Davis said: “This case shows that tribunals will now scrutinise not just what employers say they stand for, but what they actually do. Posters and policies are not enough – training must be regular, values must be embedded, and accountability must be visible.”
Once it passes parliament this autumn, the government’s employment rights legislation will significantly raise the bar for employers when it comes to preventing sexual harassment, said Davis, as it expands on the statutory duty to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment by requiring employers to take “all reasonable steps”, interpreted more stringently and with broader scope.
Crucially, employers will be accountable for harassment by clients, customers, or contractors, even if the perpetrator is not on the payroll. This means public-facing sectors – retail, hospitality, healthcare – face heightened exposure unless they can prove robust safeguards.
Davis added: “For sectors like hospitality and retail, already grappling with rising national insurance and minimum wage costs, this added burden could push marginal businesses beyond viability.”
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