Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
By the end of the course, you will understand how sexual harassment in the workplace is covered under both employment and criminal law. If a case goes to tribunal, the way an employer handled the complaint will be scrutinised. A victim of sexual abuse can take a claim to an employment tribunal against both the employer and the harasser. In practice, most cases are brought against the employer. Therefore, it is important for employers to show they have taken reasonable practical steps to investigate any allegation of sexual harassment. On average, victims of sexual harassment are awarded £19k but there is no limit set on the amount that can be awarded.
The course begins by defining sexual harassment and the different types of sexual harassment. It describes how not all sexual harassment is obvious and one-off incidents can constitute sexual harassment. A case study of such a one-off incident is detailed in the course. Sexual harassment can be perpetuated by people who are not employees of the company, such as clients, agency workers or contractors. It is, however, the responsibility of the employer of the person who is being harassed that could be held liable for not protecting their employee from sexual harassment.
The results of a survey outlined in the course suggest that 14% of all UK employees have been a victim of sexual harassment in the workplace. Women and those under the age of 35 were statistically more likely to be the target of sexual harassment.
You will learn that employers can be held accountable if they are aware of incidents of sexual harassment and do nothing, regardless of whether it has been reported or not. It is therefore important for employers to be able to show they have robust training systems in place and that they keep records of this training.
If a company doesn’t have an explicit sexual harassment policy, it should be covered inside either the company’s Grievance Policy or Anti-harassment policy. However, it is worth noting that, due to the nature of the allegations, sexual harassment allegations should be handled with extra sensitivity. Everyone in the company or organisation should be made aware of:
- What sexual harassment is
- The disciplinary procedures in place to deal with sexual harassment
- Understand how to make a sexual harassment complaint
You will learn how to plan and conduct an investigation, keeping ‘fair and just’ procedures for both parties involved. The course discusses the temporary measures that can be put in place while an investigation, tribunal or criminal case is in process.
We look at the legal rights of both the accuser and the accused. This covers time scales open to make complaints and the rights of confidentiality. Disciplinary procedures may be subject to precautionary, paid suspensions which are covered under ACAS code of practice. We look at what these codes of practice mean and how it minimises the negative effect a suspension can have. In December, 2019 the UK government also published a new “Code of Practice to tackle Sexual Harassment at Work“.
| Course Content | Module |
| What is sexual harassment? | 1 |
| Examples and research | 2 |
| Dealing with a complaint | 3 |
| Policies and the role of the line manager | 4 |
| Handling sexual harassment in the workplace | 5 |
| The law and sexual harassment | 6 |
| Case studies | 7 |
Sexual Harassment in the Workplace
CPD Units ‘2’
Online assessment is carried out by a series of multiple choice questions. Candidates require 70% correct answers to secure a pass. PDF certificate will be sent directly to your inbox. Hard copy certificate on requrest. Duration: 55 minutes (Note: This is based on the amount of video content shown and is rounded off. It does not account in any way for loading time or thinking time on the questions).
Other related courses include:
Anti-Harassment and Bullying training
Disciplinary Procedures training