Equality law call for evidence – Acas response

This is the Acas Executive response to the government's equality law call for evidence.

Equal pay

Question 6. Do you have evidence about the prevalence of pay discrimination on the basis of race, disability and sex in England, Scotland and Wales and/or the effectiveness of existing measures in reducing pay discrimination?

Acas response: Yes

Question 7. What evidence is there on the prevalence of pay discrimination on the basis of race, disability and sex in England, Scotland and Wales?

We are particularly interested in evidence relating to:

• the overall prevalence
• how levels and patterns of pay discrimination may differ across different situations, sectors, employer types or types of work
• how these levels and patterns of pay discrimination may differ where the discrimination is based on sex, race or disability

Acas response

Acas does not hold publicly available data on equal pay claims.

Recent data from this financial year does show significant numbers of cases related to monetary matters and to discrimination: Acas early conciliation notifications and employment tribunal claims (ET1s) received on the grounds of discrimination continue to outnumber the majority of other jurisdictions.

Between April 2024 and March 2025, we received 124,613 early conciliation cases, of which 36,246 (29%) related to discrimination. Over the same period, Acas received 42,836 ET1s – 21,611 (50.4%) of which related to discrimination.

Note – the jurisdictions reported against early conciliation notifications differ from those reported in cases received for conciliation from the Employment Tribunal service in that the former are assigned by Acas officers on an indicative basis only and do not necessarily represent the jurisdictions a claimant might record when submitting an ET1.

The table below shows the trends in topics from the Acas annual report 2023 to 2024 (GOV.UK) where monetary matters feature among the drivers of disputes.

Employment tribunal data is handled by Ministry of Justice – various independent analysts have calculated rises in equal pay claims: Thousands of equal pay claims still received by tribunals each year - Personnel Today and HR Magazine reported in 2024 that equal pay claims increased for the third consecutive year in 2023, according to new analysis released for International Equal Pay Day.

In 2024, Acas commissioned YouGov to survey perceptions of pay equality in relation to sex. The results showed that more than one third of women do not think they get equal pay in their organisation.

Insights from the Acas website shows some interest in equal pay issues (sourced via Google Analytics – Google Analytics data only recorded for users who accept performance cookies). From 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025:

• the Acas website recorded 7 million sessions
• 28,200 sessions viewed equal pay advice
• monthly sessions viewing equal pay advice range from 2,000 to 3,000 sessions per month
• for context, our 10 most viewed web pages attracted between 157,000 (grievance procedure) and 87,900 (statutory sick pay) views

Question 9. Do you have evidence about actions the government could take, and those it should avoid, to make the right to equal pay effective for ethnic minority and disabled people?

Acas response: Yes

Question 11. What evidence is there of the changes needed to make expanding the equal pay scheme to claims on the basis of race and disability effective, if this approach were taken?

We would be particularly interested in:

• advantages that the equal pay scheme may offer claimants that are not available to those currently bringing claims for race or disability pay discrimination, and how they could be extended
• disadvantages that claimants may face under the equal pay scheme that are not currently faced by those bringing claims for race or disability pay discrimination, and how they could be removed
• any unintended consequences that could arise from such an approach, and any steps which could reduce the risk of these
• any changes that may be needed to the procedure for equal pay claims to ensure it is fair and effective
• any changes that may be needed to job evaluation schemes in equal pay claims to ensure that they are fair and effective

Acas response

Equal pay claims must normally be made within 6 months of leaving the employment whereas disability and race discrimination claims must normally be made within 3 months of the last act of discrimination. We find it plausible that claimants are likely to see the equal pay time limits as more favourable, and may choose which jurisdiction to pursue on this basis.

However, we have not seen evidence that this is a common decision-maker for claimants, and the government's proposals to extend the time limit for all tribunal claims to 6 months is likely to address this issue through another channel.

The Equality Act, Part 5, Chapter 3 (legislation.gov.uk) sets out that someone seeking to bring an equal pay claim must identify an actual comparator who is employed on 'equal work' to them. For a race or disability discrimination claim a claimant may cite either a hypothetical or an actual comparator to consider whether discrimination has taken place. This can make a significant difference in a working environment where pay systems are not fully transparent.

The complexities of equal pay legislation often require multi-day hearings and lengthier periods for consideration by the courts. Determining whether work is of 'equal value' requires input of independent experts. Expanding current equal pay legislation in its current form could have the unintended consequences of increasing costs and adding to employment tribunal backlogs. Longer waits to access justice could in turn disincentivise people from pursuing these expanded rights.

The Equality Act states the following about sex:

'In relation to the protected characteristic of sex—
(a) a reference to a person who has a particular protected characteristic is a reference to a man or to a woman;
(b) a reference to persons who share a protected characteristic is a reference to persons of the same sex'

The Equality Act definitions of disability and race are more nuanced:

• Equality Act definition of disability (legislation.gov.uk)
• Equality Act definition of race (legislation.gov.uk)

How individuals identify in relation to disability and race may not always match up with the Equality Act definitions, for example someone may consider themselves to be disabled but not meet the definition, and equally an individual may meet the definition but not identify as disabled.

Many disabilities are invisible, and ethnic identities can be multifaceted. All these elements may make it harder for even the most well intended employers to meet their responsibilities effectively in relation to the expansion of current equal pay provisions to include disability and race. It may also make it harder for employees to identify appropriate comparators.

Question 12. What evidence is there regarding any potential barriers that individuals could face in making equal pay claims and approaches to address these barriers?

Acas response:

Lack of representation may be an issue. We reviewed a sample of group claims (claims where multiple claimants take action about the same matter, typically with a single representative) that have equal pay as the listed or one of the listed jurisdictions. We broke those group claims down into the corresponding individual cases that they comprise. Of the more than 3,000 individual cases, fewer than 20 had no professional representative listed.

Acas conciliators handling these types of cases believe that the legal complexities (especially in equal value cases) mean that they are generally not pursued without legal representation. These legal complexities combined with a lack of access to legal representation and potential costs involved with obtaining representation could be potential barriers to individuals making equal pay claims.

Question 13. Do you have evidence about the way the law works regarding employer and employee rights and responsibilities in relation to pay when reasonable adjustments are made?

Acas response: No

Question 15. Do you have evidence about the prevalence and pattern of pay discrimination on the basis of race, disability or sex experienced by outsourced workers in England, Scotland and Wales and/or barriers to redress?

This would include where outsourcing leads to outsourced workers of a particular race, disability or sex being paid less than those employed directly by the principal company for equal work.

Acas response: No

Question 18. Do you have evidence on whether outsourced workers should be able to draw comparisons between their work and pay with those working for a principal employer in an equal pay claim and/or evidence on where liability for equal pay claims by outsourced workers should lie?

Acas response: No

Question 21. Do you have evidence on the effectiveness of current enforcement of the equal pay scheme and/or evidence on who should have standing to bring an equal pay claim?

Acas response: Yes

Question 23. What evidence is there about the effectiveness of individuals bringing equal pay claims?

We are particularly interested in:

• the enablers and barriers for those who have experienced pay discrimination in seeking redress
• what can be done to remove barriers to redress
• whether any other changes are needed to ensure equal pay claims brought by individuals can be adjudicated effectively and fairly for all parties

Acas response

Acas experience is that equal pay claims frequently take much longer to reach conclusion than other types of claims, including discrimination cases. Large scale equal pay claims tend to take a long time to conclude and there are many examples of cases that have become more protracted due to legal points being appealed to appellate courts.

For example, the case of Brierley and others v Asda Stores Ltd was first lodged in 2014. The respondent's application for reconsideration was partly granted in March 2025 – therefore this case is still awaiting conclusion. The employment tribunal judgment history can be found here: Employment tribunal judgment: Ms S Brierley and others v Asda Stores Ltd

This case was also subject to appeal to the:

• Employment Appeal Tribunal – Employment Appeal Tribunal judgment for Asda Stores Ltd v Brierley and others (PDF)
• Court of Appeal – Court of Appeal judgment for Asda Stores Ltd v Brierley and others
• Supreme Court – Supreme Court judgment for Asda Stores Ltd v Brierley and others

Strengthening protections against combined discrimination

Question 32. Do you have evidence about the prevalence of combined discrimination in England, Scotland and Wales and/or the effectiveness of actions that can be taken to protect individuals against combined discrimination and accessing redress?

Acas response: Yes

Question 33. What evidence is there on the prevalence of combined discrimination in England and Wales and Scotland?

We are particularly interested in:

• the overall prevalence of combined discrimination
• how levels and patterns of combined discrimination may differ across different situations, sectors or regions

Acas response

Acas early conciliation notifications and employment tribunal claims (ET1s) received on the grounds of discrimination continue to outnumber the majority of other jurisdictions. Between April 2024 and March 2025, we received 124,613 early conciliation cases, of which 36,246 (29%) related to discrimination.

Over the same period, Acas received 42,836 ET1s, 21,611 (50.4%) of which related to discrimination.

Note – the jurisdictions reported against early conciliation notifications differ from those reported in cases received for conciliation from the Employment Tribunal service in that the former are assigned by Acas officers on an indicative basis only and do not necessarily represent the jurisdictions a claimant might record when submitting an ET1.

Insights from the Acas website (sourced via Google Analytics – Google Analytics data only recorded for users who accept performance cookies) show significant interest in discrimination issues. From 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025:

• the Acas website recorded 7 million sessions
• 295,700 sessions viewed discrimination advice pages
• monthly sessions viewing discrimination advice range from 26,000 to 39,000 sessions per month
• for context, our 10 most viewed individual web pages attracted between 157,000 (grievance procedure) and 87,900 (statutory sick pay) views

Question 34. What evidence is there as to whether there is currently sufficient legal protection against discrimination based on a combination of protected characteristics?

Acas response:

Claimants do already bring claims about two or more types of discrimination as the jurisdiction – they do not have to raise these as multiple different claims.

We have reviewed our data to identify the number of cases we currently receive where there is one protected characteristic compared with the number of cases where there are two or more protected characteristics listed as the jurisdiction.

The data shows that at both the early conciliation and employment tribunal stages, there are consistently more cases with multiple protected characteristics listed as the jurisdiction compared with cases with a single protected characteristic listed as the jurisdiction.

One group often cited as benefiting from enactment of the Equality Act provisions on combined discrimination is women experiencing workplace issues related to the menopause as the menopause relates to both sex and age.

In this employment tribunal judgment: Ms D Thomas v Bibimoney Global Ltd the court was asked to consider whether a comment directed at the claimant about being menopausal amounted to discrimination. This was pursued by the claimant as direct age and sex discrimination.

The tribunal judgment made following determination at paragraph 58:

'The tribunal also accepted that this was an act of direct discrimination on the grounds of sex or age. It was clear that a hypothetical male or younger female comparator would not have had such a comment made to them due to the very nature of the comment. For that same reason, it was also determined by the tribunal that act was said because of the protected characteristics of sex or age.'

This judgment therefore appears to demonstrate that the tribunal is not currently considering discrimination due to different protected characteristics in isolation and is instead considering the overall relationship between a claimant's multiple protected characteristics and the treatment they have received.

Question 38. What evidence is there on the prevalence of the following types of discrimination on the basis of a combination of protected characteristics in England, Scotland and Wales?

• indirect discrimination
• harassment
• victimisation
• discrimination on the basis of a combination of protected characteristics that includes pregnancy and maternity and/or marriage and civil partnership

Acas response

Pregnancy and maternity discrimination and sex discrimination are often claimed together on a case. We have reviewed our data to identify the number of pregnancy and maternity discrimination cases where sex discrimination is and is not included as another jurisdiction.

Because marriage and civil partnership discrimination comes under the sex discrimination jurisdiction, it is not easy to isolate how many cases include marriage and civil partnership combined with another protected characteristic(s) from Acas case data.

We carried out a key word search across our cases (which does not necessarily capture all cases that include this as an issue) and the total number of cases returned was very low. At the early conciliation stage, it represented 1.6% of the total number of discrimination cases. At the employment tribunal stage, it represented 1% of the total number of discrimination cases. This is supported by insight from conciliators that it is very rare to deal with a case that includes marriage and civil partnership as the jurisdiction or one of the jurisdictions on a case.

Therefore, our view is that the number of cases where marriage and civil partnership is combined with another protected characteristic is likely to be a very low percentage of the overall number of discrimination cases.

Creating and maintaining workplaces and working conditions free from harassment

Question 41. Do you have evidence on effective steps that can be taken by employers to reduce/prevent sexual harassment in the workplace?

Acas response: Yes

Question 42. What evidence is there on effective steps or specific issues that employers should take into account when trying to reduce/prevent sexual harassment in the workplace?

We are particularly interested in:

• effective steps that employers can take in relation to company culture, staff training, how policies are enforced, reporting systems and procedures, and recording and investigating complaints
• how best practice may potentially differ according to employer size, sector, or other factors
• where there may be gaps in the evidence base, noting those identified by the literature review

Acas response

Acas provides advice, guidance and training on various equality, diversity and inclusion topics, including sexual harassment.

Between April 2024 and March 2025, Acas handled more than 598,500 calls from individuals and employers to our national helpline, of which over 68,500 (11.5%) related to discrimination and over 2,800 related to sexual harassment specifically (0.47%).

We also carry out training and more in-depth in-company advisory work on sexual harassment. Between April 2024 and March 2025 1,388 delegates attended our open access training across 13 events on the topic, in addition to 2,001 registrations, 1,124 attendees and 1,934 recording views for our joint webinar with the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

In our experience of working in organisations, effective steps depend on each company's specific culture, context, and challenges. Having taken these factors into account, we usually find it most impactful to undertake a range of interventions, which could include a review, refresh or creation of sexual harassment policy and risk assessment, staff survey or listening sessions, increased communications on the topic, rollout of training, and increased or publicised options for reporting.

We find that a helpful first step for most organisations is undertaking qualitative and quantitative analysis on their current context related to sexual harassment, and any specific challenges they may face.

Quantitative data could include numbers of complaints or grievances, numbers of disciplinaries, tribunal cases where appropriate, and staff surveys. This could include assessment of where (for example in specific teams) or when (for example at specific times of the year) there is a spike of complaints.

Qualitative information could involve staff interviews or specific listening sessions – with the caveat that if there have been previous issues of sexual harassment, that could impact whether employees trust the organisation enough to disclose via those routes. We recommend where possible using other sources of employee voice, such as working with trade unions, employee representative groups, and staff networks.

This analysis and subsequent planning should take into consideration the organisation's specific context.

Size could impact on most effective methods of communication and rolling out training. For example, smaller organisations may find it easier to put out key messages on the company's stance against sexual harassment in a company-wide meeting or series of team meetings, whereas larger organisations may decide that consistency of message and approach is easier when communicating in writing, such as a company-wide email or intranet article.

Sector, environment and type of work can influence specific risks, and can mean certain interventions are more challenging to roll out. For example, we find the hospitality tends to have higher incidents of sexual harassment, but is trickier to carry out training in due to shift patterns, working hours, and lack of access to individual technology.

The presence of trade unions, employee representative groups, and staff networks should also influence the approach taken by the organisation to ensure messages are consistent. In these circumstances, we'd advise the organisation to consult with the trade unions, rep group or staff networks both on the approach they intend to take, and how best to implement it. Where possible, joint working with the trade unions, rep group or staff networks demonstrate commitment from all involved, and can help embed the message and desired culture change.

The other factor that will have a strong influence is the organisation's history of sexual harassment issues. For example, if the company has always had a strong stance against sexual harassment, takes effective action if any issues do arise, and has a consistent training programme, it's likely that any new or additional interventions will be better received and easier to implement.

If, however, an organisation has a history of sexual harassment claims that have not been appropriately dealt with, this may have led to low levels of trust. Lower trust means it will be more challenging to introduce interventions so that employees will be receptive to them and believe they are genuine or will be followed through.

We find that steps related to company culture are most effective when they are top-down, with clear commitment from leadership. In our work with employers, we find that this is best received when messages are consistent, and followed up with action. If they aren't, they can be perceived as box-ticking rather than genuine.

We find training to be most effective when it is tailored to the organisation or working environment, and provides the opportunity for delegates to consider how they can incorporate it into their day-to-day work. We commonly hear that a particularly useful aspect of our training on the topic is that they are framed as safe spaces in which delegates can ask difficult and complex questions, and talk through situations without judgment.

A 2018 Acas-commissioned YouGov survey found the majority of respondents would report sexual harassment to their line manager, so training for line managers is particularly crucial.

In our experience, each of these steps are least effective when they are viewed as a one-off. A sole statement from leadership, training course, or listening session that is not followed up on can indicate to the workforce a lack of commitment from the employer, and can erode trust. This includes policies and risk assessments, which should be regularly reviewed and communicated to ensure they remain relevant and clear in people's minds.

On the point of whether steps are 'effective', we advise consideration of what success or effectiveness look like. Effectiveness can be measured in different ways, but different approaches have different restrictions. For example, some employers see fewer formal issues being raised as a measure of success, but that can be an indicator that employees don't trust that issues will be dealt with appropriately.

More commonly, we see that an increase of issues raised following interventions (such as training) can mean the intervention was successful, as it meant more employees have an understanding of what is and isn't acceptable behaviour, and what their options are to raise a concern.

Question 43. Do you have evidence regarding expanding the Equality Act 2010's workplace protections to volunteers and/or evidence on other approaches that could be taken to protect these volunteers from experiencing sexual harassment?

Acas response: No

Question 46. Do you have evidence on other effective interventions that the government should consider to address the problem of workplace sexual harassment?

Acas response: No