Course Description
Create a safe, respectful workplace where your people can thrive and where your organisation meets its legal duties under the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act and the Employees Rights Act 2025. This half-day, in-person course equips leaders with the clarity, confidence and practical strategies needed to prevent and respond to sexual harassment, including harassment from third parties such as customers or clients.
This training is especially vital for small business owners, where close-knit teams, informal processes and limited HR capacity can make organisations more vulnerable to risk.
Why This Training Matters — Especially for Small Businesses
From October 2024, a new legal duty required all employers, including small and micro‑businesses, to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace. Future regulations changes are expected in April and September 2026 with employers now expected to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment.
But what does that mean? For small businesses, where resources are tight and reputational damage hits harder, understanding and implementing these expectations is essential.
What happens if small businesses don’t comply?
Failure to take reasonable steps can lead to:
- Compensation uplifts of up to 25% in Employment Tribunal sexual harassment cases if the preventative duty has not been met.
- Enforcement action from the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) even without a formal complaint, if there is evidence an organisation has failed to take reasonable steps.
- Reputational damage, which is often harder for small businesses to recover from.
- Operational disruption, staff turnover, and a harmful workplace culture.
The EHRC has emphasised that compliance is not a tick‑box exercise: employers must proactively assess risks, train staff, monitor culture and take action to prevent harm.
This training provides the clarity and structure small businesses need to get this right.
Course Content
Our Preventing Sexual Harassment in the Workplace for Business Owners, Directors and HR Leads training supports leaders to understand:
- Their legal duties under the Worker Protection Act and Employees Rights Act
- Their pivotal role in shaping safe, inclusive workplace cultures
- How organisational structures and leadership behaviours influence risk
- Best practice approaches to prevention, response, and reporting
Through case studies, reflective discussions and practical exercises, participants gain confidence in leading prevention efforts and responding effectively to reports or disclosures.
Delivery
Date: 18 June 2026
Time: 09:00 – 12:30
Venue: Mercure Hotel, Northampton
Cost: £120 PP + VAT*
*Early bird rate until 29 May 2026. Price increases to £150pp from 30 May 2026
Who's It For?
This training is ideal for:
- Small business owners
- Company Directors
- HR and People Leads
- Senior Managers
- Any leader responsible for workplace culture, behaviour or staff wellbeing
Learning Objectives
By the end of this session, you will be able to:
- Define sexual harassment under the Worker Protection Act, including workplace and third‑party harassment.
- Understand legal responsibilities for employers and leaders in creating safer, non‑discriminatory workplaces.
- Recognise signs of harassment, victimisation and inappropriate behaviour from colleagues, clients, customers or external parties.
- Respond appropriately and lawfully to incidents, following best‑practice safeguarding, reporting, documentation and support processes.
- Identify the steps your organisation must take to prevent sexual harassment, sex‑related harassment and victimisation — including the “all reasonable steps” expected of all employers.
