In 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 Greg 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 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 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 26th, 2024, requiring employers to take “reasonable steps” to protect their staff from sexual harassment in the workplace. 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.
Alan Price, CEO at BrightHR, says: “The recent allegations against BBC Presenter Greg Wallace have rightfully brought the topic of sexual harassment and inappropriate workplace behaviour back into the public discourse, raising the question of whether organisations really are doing enough to identify sexual harassment, respond effectively to allegations, and create a culture of zero tolerance.
“While there is clearly still much work to be in some of the most well-known organisations in our country in terms of creating a culture where sexual harassment cannot take place, it is heartening to see in our data that small businesses are responding effectively to new legislation and taking proactive steps to train their staff and managers on what counts as sexual harassment, how to identify and assess risks, and what ‘reasonable steps’ they should take to prevent it.
“The surge in businesses assigning their managers training on how to prevent sexual harassment and downloading key HR documents to help them comply with their new ‘proactive duty’ shows that SMEs in the UK are learning from the failings of larger organisations by putting clear measures in place to embed a culture of zero tolerance from the top.
“Compared to larger organisations, small and medium-sized businesses have fewer resources available for staff and manager training and often don’t have dedicated HR departments to help them manage and comply employment law changes. That is why tools such as e-learning and online HR document libraries are such an important lifeline for SMEs, who rely on them to stay ahead of regulatory shifts, such as the new Worker Protection Act (2023), and ensure their businesses are compliant. Our latest Leaders in Tech report demonstrates that HR and health & safety e-learning in general is rapidly growing in popularity as a tool for small businesses, with 750,000 e-learning courses completed globally over the past year on our LMS, a 1,289% increase on the previous year.”