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Workplace sexual harassment training surges in wake of high profile allegations and new legislation
wake , not only of a series of high profile allegations of sexual misconduct and assault , but also of new legislation which came into effect on October 26 , 2024 , requiring employers to take ‘ reasonable steps ’ to protect their staff from sexual harassment in the workplace .
I n recent months , allegations of sexual misconduct by high profile figures have dominated the headlines in the UK . From the ongoing police investigation into historic claims of rape and sexual abuse against former Harrods owner , Mohamed Al- Fayed , to the litany of accusations of inappropriate behaviour against BBC presenter , Gregg Wallace , it seems that some of the most powerful institutions in our country are still grappling with how to identify and prevent sexual harassment in the workplace .
But behind the scandal lies a quiet cause for optimism , as businesses across the country put training and policies in place to prevent sexual harassment at work and develop organisational cultures in which no form of harassment is tolerated .
According to HR and health & safety software provider , BrightHR , which provides people management support to over 85,000 businesses across the UK , e-learning courses and HR policies on the topic of preventing sexual harassment in the workplace have seen a huge surge in popularity in recent months .
Data from the company ’ s Learning Management System ( LMS ), which provides CPD-accredited HR courses on topics ranging from anti-bribery and whistleblowing to neurodiversity and flexible working requests , shows that its course on ‘ How to Prevent Sexual Harassment ’ for managers has been assigned over 15,000 times since it was launched in October , making it over ten times more popular than the average e-learning course on the platform based on monthly assignments .
The course saw a particular spike in popularity in October , when the news was dominated with the case of Mohamed Al-Fayed and the wave of fresh allegations against him . The course was assigned to managers over 9,200 times in October alone , compared to the average course assignment rate of 765 per month . Downloads of key HR documents on the topic of preventing sexual harassment at work , including risk assessments , action logs and a Sexual Harassment Policy , also spiked in October and November .
This surge in manager training and document downloads came in the
The Worker Protection Act ( 2023 ) introduced a new ‘ anticipatory duty ’ for employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace and at work-related social events such as office Christmas parties or after work drinks and including harassment by third parties such as clients and customers . Failure to take ‘ reasonable steps ’ to prevent sexual harassment , including conducting risk assessments and having a clear policy in place , could lead to 25 % higher compensatory awards at tribunal , as well as enforcement by the EHRC , which has new powers to enforce the rules and investigate employers who have failed in their proactive duty , even if no allegation of harassment is made . �
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BUT BEHIND THE SCANDAL LIES A QUIET CAUSE FOR OPTIMISM , AS BUSINESSES ACROSS THE COUNTRY PUT TRAINING AND POLICIES IN PLACE TO PREVENT SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT WORK .
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