Ethnic discrimination complaints surged despite employers' preventive duty

Swedish employers have a legal duty to prevent ethnic discrimination, yet working-life complaints linked to ethnicity rose 49 percent in a single year. The increase does not prove each allegation, but it directly tests whether employers' preventive systems are finding and reducing risk.

The Equality Ombudsman's employer guidance says workplaces must continuously investigate discrimination risks, take preventive action, follow up and document the work. The duty applies before an individual case becomes a legal dispute.

DO's latest complaints statistics show that working-life complaints associated with ethnicity increased 49 percent from 2024 to 2025.

Complaints are allegations. They are not a count of proven violations, nor a prevalence rate for the whole labour market. Reporting awareness, access to advice or a few concentrated events can also change the annual total.

The rise nevertheless tests prevention systems because it records more people saying that work, recruitment or treatment produced an ethnic-discrimination concern. A duty hidden in policy documents offers little assurance if workers cannot see risks being found and corrected.

Employers should publish the issues their active-measures process identifies, the action taken and whether outcomes improve, while protecting complainants. DO should also show sector and complaint-stage patterns so a one-year increase can be distinguished from a durable workplace failure.

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