“Shocking” increase in explicit racism at work in recent years – new TUC research reveals

• NEW TUC POLLING shows Black and ethnic minority workers face significant increase in overt forms of racism at work over the past six years
• Wider unfair treatment and discrimination of Black and ethnic minority workers “plaguing labour market”, warns TUC
• Union body calls for urgent action to stamp out racism and discrimination at work

Black and ethnic minority workers are facing “appalling levels” of racism, bullying and unfair treatment at work, according to new TUC research published today. 

The polling – conducted by Hold Sway - reveals a “shocking increase” in explicit racism at work over the past six years, when the TUC polled the same questions. 

The TUC warns that unfair treatment, bullying and explicit racism of Black and ethnic minority workers is rife and says urgent government action is needed to be stamp it out. 

Explicit racism at work 

Explicit racism at work is plaguing the labour market and getting worse, according to the TUC.

The new polling reveals that since 2020, black and ethnic minority workers say they are experiencing racism at markedly higher levels including: 

• Having their ability to speak English questioned (increasing from 20% to 31%)
• Racist jokes and banter (increasing from 36% in 2020 to 41% in 2026)
• Racist remarks directed at you or made in your presence (increasing from 31% in 2020 to 36%  in 2026)
• Verbal abuse directed at them or at others (increasing from 32% in 2020 to 35% in 2026)
• Physical violence, threats and intimidation at work (increasing from 19% in 2020 to 26% in 2026)
• Racist content through social media being shared in the workplace (increasing from 22% in 2020 to 28% in 2026)
• Racist literature or music being shared in the workplace (increasing from 19% in 2020 to 25% in 2026)

Unfair treatment at work

Our poll also found that Black workers face a range of unfair treatment at work, with the most common being: 

• Over 2 in 5 (45%) say they have been given harder or less popular work tasks
• Over 2 in 5 (43%) say they have received unfair criticism
• 2 in 5 (41%) say they have been kept on temporary of fixed terms contracts 

The most significant worsening of treatment since 2020 all relate to contracts and working hours: Black and ethnic minority workers reporting:

• Not being given sufficient hours has increased from 30% to 40%
• Not being offered overtime has increased from to 30% to 37%
• Being kept on temporary or fixed term contracts has grown from 33% to 41%

Perpetrator

The most common perpetrator varies by whether the most recent incident was unfair treatment, bullying or explicit racism. 

• The perpetrators of unfair treatment are more likely to be direct managers (35 per cent) or other managers (19 per cent). 

• Bullying is most likely to come from direct managers (30 per cent) and colleagues (28 per cent). 

• Explicit racism is most likely to be perpetrated by colleagues (33 per cent) and customers, clients or patients (22 per cent).  

Urgent action

The TUC is calling on the government to urgently tackle racism and discrimination of Black and ethnic minority workers in the labour market. 

The union body says ministers should: 

• Ensure employers are meeting their obligations to prevent harassment at work under the Worker Protection Act 2024 by providing ring-fenced funding for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) so it can carry out its role to enforce protection for workers.

• Fully deliver and enforce plan to Make Work Pay including statutory rights for equality representatives 

• Legislate at pace to introduce mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting for employers with more than 50 employees and require action plans to address identified disparities. 

The union body says the Employment Rights Act, which will introduce third party harassment protections, so that employers have a duty to protect workers from harassment and abuse from customers, patients and punters, will be an important step forward.

The TUC says employers have a role to play too. The union body says employers must:

• Treat racial harassment and racialised sexual harassment as a workplace health and safety issue requiring proactive prevention measures. 

• Implement comprehensive ethnicity and intersectional monitoring, including recruitment, retention, promotion, pay and grading, ethnicity pay gaps, training access, and disciplinary processes. 

• Work with unions to embed racial equality commitments within collective bargaining agreements. 

• Ensure flexible working opportunities are available and applied fairly across the workforce.

TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: 

“No one should be treated unfairly or discriminated against because of their background, where they’re from or the colour of their skin. 

“But Black and ethnic minority workers are facing appalling[NS7]  and growing levels of racism and unfair treatment in Britain.

“This racism is plaguing the labour market – and it's getting worse. The most explicit forms of racism have seen a shocking increase over recent years. 

“Enough is enough. It’s time for action to stamp this out. The new duty on employers to protect workers from harassment from patients and customers – introduced through the Employment Rights Act – will be an important step forward for Black and ethnic minority workers. 

“Ministers should now get on with beefing up enforcement so that workers are able to exercise their rights and protections – and swiftly introduce legislation to deliver mandatory ethnicity pay gap reporting, it’s a common-sense way to deal with glaring inequalities in our labour market.”