Sexual Harassment One-to-One Training
Confidential one-to-one sexual harassment training for individuals following workplace concerns, focusing on boundaries, impact and future behaviour.
Confidential one-to-one sexual harassment training for individuals following workplace concerns, focusing on boundaries, impact and future behaviour.
This confidential one-to-one training is designed for individuals whose workplace behaviour has raised concerns relating to sexual comments, conduct, boundaries or harassment. The session provides an appropriately challenging but constructive environment in which the individual can reflect on behaviour, understand how it may be experienced by others and develop clearer professional boundaries for the future.
Organisations sometimes need a different response from general awareness training. A concern may relate specifically to one individual's behaviour, communication, judgement or understanding of professional boundaries.
Our one-to-one sexual harassment training provides focused learning tailored to the circumstances and development needs of that individual.
It may be commissioned following a complaint, allegation, investigation, disciplinary process, informal management intervention or another identified workplace concern.
Importantly, commissioning training does not necessarily mean that every allegation has been substantiated or that the organisation has concluded that unlawful sexual harassment occurred. The training can address behaviours, perceptions, professional standards and future expectations without making assumptions about matters that remain disputed or unresolved.
Comments, jokes or conversations have caused concern, although the individual may have regarded them as harmless humour or workplace banter.
Behaviour involving a manager, senior colleague or another workplace relationship has raised concerns about boundaries, pressure, influence or consent.
An organisation wants an individual to undertake focused learning following an investigation, complaint, disciplinary outcome or management intervention.
One-to-one training is not intended simply to tell somebody that they were wrong, nor is it designed to provide an easy route through an organisational process.
Effective individual training creates space for meaningful reflection. The trainer can explore the individual's understanding of what happened, identify gaps in awareness or judgement and challenge assumptions that may have contributed to the concern.
At the same time, the approach should be fair. An individual may disagree with some or all of an allegation, and training should not require them to admit to conduct they dispute simply in order to participate.
The focus is therefore on learning: understanding professional expectations, recognising how behaviour can be experienced by others and identifying practical changes that reduce the likelihood of similar concerns arising in the future.
A common difficulty in workplace behaviour cases is the difference between what somebody intended and how their behaviour was experienced.
An individual may genuinely believe that they were joking, flirting, being friendly or participating in a workplace culture in which similar behaviour appeared to be accepted. Those circumstances can be explored without assuming that intention alone determines whether behaviour was appropriate.
The session helps the individual consider questions such as:
Workplace relationships can be friendly, informal and sometimes personal. That does not remove the need for professional judgement and appropriate boundaries.
The training explores how consent and boundaries operate in workplace situations, including conversations, humour, physical contact, personal questions, invitations, messages and social interaction.
Particular attention can be given to power. A manager, senior colleague or influential member of a team may not intend to create pressure, but their position can affect how freely another person feels able to refuse an invitation, challenge a comment or ask for behaviour to stop.
The aim is to develop better judgement rather than create anxiety about ordinary human interaction.
The session provides an accessible explanation of sexual harassment under the Equality Act 2010 and helps the individual understand how the legal concept relates to everyday workplace behaviour.
Sexual harassment involves unwanted conduct of a sexual nature which has the purpose or effect of violating somebody's dignity, or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
Examples explored where relevant may include:
The trainer can distinguish between behaviour that may be inappropriate or contrary to organisational expectations and behaviour that may meet the legal definition of sexual harassment. These are not necessarily the same thing.
Our role is to provide training and development. We do not determine whether an allegation is true, make findings of misconduct or replace your organisation's investigation, disciplinary or grievance procedures.
Where training follows a workplace process, the organisation can provide appropriate background information and identify the learning outcomes it would like the session to address.
This enables us to tailor the training to the issues that have arisen while maintaining a clear distinction between organisational decision-making and individual learning and development.
One of the principal advantages of one-to-one training is that the session does not need to rely on generic examples where more relevant learning can be achieved.
Subject to appropriate confidentiality and information-sharing arrangements, the organisation can tell us about the concerns that led to the referral, relevant policies or expectations and the outcomes it wants the training to achieve.
The trainer can then adapt the discussion and exercises to the individual's role, level of responsibility and learning needs.
This can be particularly valuable where an individual understands the organisation's rules in theory but needs help recognising how those principles apply to their own communication, judgement or behaviour.
By the end of the session, the individual should be better able to:
This service is normally commissioned by an employer, HR or People team, manager or another organisation responsible for supporting an individual's workplace development.
It may be appropriate:
If you are unsure whether individual training is appropriate, you can discuss the circumstances with us before making a booking.
The most appropriate option depends on whether you need organisation-wide preventative training or focused development for an individual.
For an individual following a workplace concern or organisational intervention
Choose this confidential one-to-one service when an individual needs tailored learning around sexualised behaviour, professional boundaries, intention and impact, workplace relationships and future behaviour.
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For organisations, managers and teams
Choose this course when you want to raise awareness, prevent sexual harassment, strengthen workplace culture and help employees and managers understand appropriate behaviour and their responsibilities.
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The session is tailored to the circumstances, the individual's role and the learning outcomes identified by the commissioning organisation.
One-to-one training can be delivered online via Zoom or Teams, or face to face where appropriate.
A half-day session is normally sufficient for this type of individual training. If the circumstances indicate that more extensive development is required, we can discuss an appropriate programme with you.
Over 25 years' experience delivering equality, diversity and inclusion training, consultancy and professional development.
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