Over a quarter of employees have been bullied – but are too scared to report it

New data has revealed a fear within UK organisations about reporting bullying and harassment, despite most employers encouraging employees to speak up.

Over a quarter (28%) of UK employees say they have been bullied, harassed, or sexually harassed in the workplace over the past 12 months, yet over half (57%) chose not to report it. Under-reporting primarily came down to fear and a lack of trust that anything would be done.

The new research of over 1,000 UK employees, commissioned by Culture Shift, explored the prominence of bad behaviour in the workplace and barriers to reporting.

Over a third (37%) of workers said that ‘raising concerns isn’t worth the personal risk’.

There is also widespread concern about how reporting would be handled, with 39% of employees saying raising concerns is ‘pointless’ as ‘nothing meaningful will be done’, while 42% of people said they would be worried about the repercussions of speaking up.

The findings come in a big year of employment law changes via the rollout of the Employment Rights Act, which from October 2026 will stipulate that UK employers take ‘all reasonable steps’ to protect employees from sexual harassment. Putting adequate reporting pathways in place and creating cultures where employees feel safe to speak up will be a core part of this.

Gemma McCall, Co-Founder and CEO of Culture Shift, said: “Despite increasing efforts from many businesses around workplace misconduct over the past few years, including the introduction of stricter policies, reporting pathways, and training around workplace misconduct, the research reveals that many still aren’t getting it right.

“Organisations might be telling employees that they should raise concerns, but the lack of willingness to speak up is telling and there’s clearly a lot of work to do to create cultures where employees feel safe to speak up. This requires working hard every day to create a culture where doing so is encouraged, valued and respected, and ensuring that leaders model this behaviour.

“Employees also need to see that when they do speak up, something meaningful is done about it – this is an area where many employees currently lack faith. How reports are dealt with either earns or eradicates trust, with employees far more likely to feel confident speaking up if they can see that action is being taken when people do.”