Preventing Sexual Harassment Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends HR Managers, Employee Relations Specialists and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-LR-029

Before you join: Participants should have basic experience of workplace policies, employee conduct, grievances, disciplinary processes or people management.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Sexual harassment complaints can expose employers to harm, disrupted teams, loss of trust, legal claims and poor retention. The risk increases when managers dismiss early concerns, policies are unclear, reporting channels are inaccessible, or investigations lack fairness and evidence discipline. HR and labour relations professionals must prevent misconduct while responding credibly when concerns are raised, protecting all parties from retaliation and maintaining procedural fairness.

This course examines sexual harassment through employment law principles, workplace conduct standards, labour relations practice and organisational prevention controls. Participants learn to distinguish harassment from other workplace conflict, assess risk indicators, write usable policies, establish reporting routes, receive complaints appropriately and support fair investigations. The course addresses supervisor responsibilities, bystander action, confidentiality limits, documentation, interim measures, corrective action and post-case learning. Participants also examine how power, protected characteristics, remote work, third parties and cultural norms affect reporting and prevention.

Teaching combines focused briefings with case analysis, facilitated group work, complaint-intake simulations, investigation planning and policy-review activities. Cases reflect settings such as public agencies, financial institutions, humanitarian programmes, manufacturing sites and multinational offices. Participants leave with a prevention and response toolkit containing a policy review checklist, complaint intake record, investigation plan, risk register and 90-day implementation plan.

The course suits HR practitioners, employee relations specialists, line managers, compliance staff and internal investigators who have responsibility for workplace conduct or grievance handling. It is particularly valuable for organisations seeking more consistent responses, clearer accountability and prevention measures that staff can understand and use.

What you will be able to do

  • Assess sexual harassment risks using reporting, workforce and workplace-control evidence
  • Interpret legal, policy and labour relations principles relevant to harassment complaints
  • Draft prevention policy clauses, reporting routes and manager accountabilities
  • Receive concerns using trauma-informed communication and accurate complaint documentation
  • Plan impartial investigations using allegations matrices, evidence logs and interview sequences
  • Apply proportionate interim measures, confidentiality controls and anti-retaliation safeguards
  • Determine corrective actions using consistent decision criteria and documented rationale
  • Produce a 90-day sexual harassment prevention and response implementation plan

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Greater confidence receiving sensitive disclosures without making premature findings
  • A repeatable method for planning fair and defensible harassment investigations
  • Practical language for explaining confidentiality, process limits and anti-retaliation protections
  • Stronger judgement when selecting interim measures and escalating serious allegations
  • A documented prevention plan ready for discussion with HR and senior leaders

For your organisation

  • Earlier identification of harassment risks through clearer reporting and manager escalation
  • More consistent complaint handling supported by documented intake and investigation methods
  • Reduced retaliation risk through defined safeguards, monitoring and accountability
  • Stronger evidence of reasonable prevention measures for audits, disputes and reviews
  • Improved employee trust through fair processes and visible corrective action

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can identify sexual harassment, distinguish it from related conduct concerns and explain its workplace impact.

  • Sexual harassment definitions: unwanted conduct, protected characteristics and hostile environments
  • Quid pro quo harassment distinguished from bullying, conflict and consensual relationships
  • Power imbalance, vulnerability and intersectionality assessed in workplace conduct scenarios
  • Physical, verbal, visual and digital behaviours examined against conduct standards
  • Remote work, travel and social events included within work-related settings
  • Business impacts traced through turnover, absence, grievances and employee trust

Participants can relate organisational duties to applicable legal, labour relations and international standards.

  • Employer duties of prevention, response and non-retaliation under employment law
  • ILO Convention 190 principles applied to violence and harassment prevention
  • ILO Recommendation 206 measures considered for reporting, support and remedies
  • Collective agreements and union roles examined in complaint handling processes
  • Vicarious liability, reasonable steps and organisational accountability compared
  • Jurisdictional legal advice separated from internal policy and procedural decisions

Participants can assess harassment risks and select prevention controls matched to identified exposures.

  • Risk registers built from workforce data, complaints and exposure points
  • High-risk settings identified: isolated work, hierarchy, travel and client contact
  • Reporting patterns analysed for underreporting, repeat concerns and location clusters
  • Control hierarchy applied to policy, supervision, training and reporting measures
  • Third-party risks addressed through contracts, visitor rules and escalation routes
  • Prevention indicators defined for board reporting and management review

Participants can design policy provisions and reporting arrangements that staff can use confidently.

  • Policy clauses specify prohibited conduct, scope, examples and consequences
  • Multiple reporting channels reduce dependency on direct line management
  • Anonymous reporting boundaries explained without promising guaranteed investigation outcomes
  • Confidentiality statements distinguish privacy expectations from disclosure obligations
  • Manager escalation duties set with clear timeframes and referral points
  • Policy accessibility tested through language, disability and literacy considerations

Participants can coach managers and bystanders to recognise concerns and take safe early action.

  • Manager first-response protocol: listen, clarify, document, protect and escalate
  • Supportive language avoids blame, diagnosis, promises and premature conclusions
  • Bystander intervention options include direct action, distraction, delegation and documentation
  • Informal resolution assessed against seriousness, power imbalance and complainant preference
  • Performance management separated from retaliation after a disclosure or complaint
  • Supervisor coaching addresses recurring conduct, team norms and reporting responsibilities

Participants can receive complaints, document allegations accurately and implement appropriate immediate safeguards.

  • Trauma-informed intake techniques support choice, clarity, dignity and control
  • Open questions gather dates, locations, witnesses, communications and requested outcomes
  • Complaint records separate facts, observations, allegations and investigator inferences
  • Immediate risk assessment considers safety, contact, reporting lines and evidence preservation
  • Interim measures selected without penalising complainants or presuming respondent guilt
  • Support referrals cover employee assistance, union representation and medical services

Participants can plan a fair harassment investigation with defined allegations, evidence and process controls.

  • Allegations matrix links each claim to evidence, witnesses and findings
  • Terms of reference define scope, roles, timelines and decision authority
  • Investigator independence assessed for conflicts, reporting lines and prior involvement
  • Evidence preservation covers messages, access records, CCTV and personnel files
  • Standard of proof explained using balance of probabilities and reasoned findings
  • Procedural fairness protects notice, response opportunity and impartial decision-making

Participants can conduct structured interviews and evaluate evidence without relying on stereotypes or assumptions.

  • Witness interview plans sequence complainant, respondent and corroborating evidence
  • Cognitive interviewing principles improve recall without leading or contaminating accounts
  • Question funnels move from open narrative to specific chronology testing
  • Credibility assessment tests consistency, plausibility, corroboration and contemporaneous records
  • Cultural assumptions and trauma myths excluded from evidence evaluation
  • Investigation reports distinguish established facts, findings, rationale and unresolved evidence

Participants can recommend proportionate outcomes, monitor retaliation risks and communicate decisions appropriately.

  • Decision criteria consider severity, frequency, power, impact and prior conduct
  • Corrective actions range from coaching to discipline, separation and referral
  • Restorative options assessed only where safety, voluntariness and accountability exist
  • Anti-retaliation monitoring tracks work changes, exclusion, threats and adverse treatment
  • Outcome communications protect privacy while explaining process completion and safeguards
  • Records retention schedules balance legal holds, confidentiality and data protection

Participants can establish governance measures and produce a practical sexual harassment prevention action plan.

  • Governance roles assign ownership to HR, managers, investigators and senior leaders
  • Dashboard metrics track reports, resolution times, recurrence and retaliation concerns
  • Climate survey questions test awareness, trust, safety and reporting confidence
  • Case reviews identify control failures, policy gaps and training priorities
  • Board reporting presents trends without exposing personal or case-sensitive details
  • Ninety-day action plans set owners, milestones, measures and review dates

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Sexual harassment policy review checklist
  2. Workplace harassment risk register
  3. Complaint intake and triage template
  4. Investigation terms-of-reference template
  5. Allegations matrix and evidence log
  6. 90-day prevention implementation plan

Who should attend

  • HR Managers — responsible for prevention policy, complaints and workforce confidence
  • Employee Relations Specialists — handle grievances, discipline and sensitive workplace disputes
  • Line Managers — need to recognise concerns and respond without causing further harm
  • Internal Investigators — require a disciplined method for fair harassment fact-finding
  • Compliance and Ethics Officers — oversee reporting channels, controls and conduct standards
  • Union and Employee Representatives — support workers while preserving fair process

Skills and tools covered

Harassment risk assessmentComplaint intakeWorkplace investigationsAnti-retaliation controlsPolicy draftingManager accountability

Tools and standards

ILO Convention 190, ILO Recommendation 206, Allegations matrix, Trauma-informed interviewing

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to establish legal, policy and labour relations principles, followed by guided case work drawn from workplace scenarios. Participants review policy extracts, identify risk indicators, practise complaint-intake conversations and build investigation plans from allegations and evidence. Group exercises test decisions on confidentiality, interim measures, retaliation and corrective action. Facilitated simulations develop manager response skills. Each participant applies the methods to their own workplace through a structured prevention and response action plan.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have basic experience of workplace policies, employee conduct, grievances, disciplinary processes or people management. Familiarity with their organisation’s code of conduct and reporting arrangements is useful. The course assumes participants can read and discuss employment-policy scenarios and handle confidential information professionally. Prior investigation training, legal qualifications and specialist counselling knowledge are not required. Participants should bring awareness of their local legal and collective-agreement context, since statutory duties and reporting requirements differ by jurisdiction.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants need basic familiarity with workplace policies, employee relations or people management. Prior legal training or formal investigation experience is not required.

Bring your organisation's sexual harassment policy, code of conduct and grievance procedure if you can share them appropriately. Do not bring identifiable case files, confidential witness statements or personal employee information.

It is designed for HR managers, employee relations practitioners, line managers, compliance staff, union representatives and internal investigators. It is most useful for people who receive concerns, manage staff or shape workplace conduct controls.

General respect training focuses on broad behavioural expectations and inclusion. This course concentrates on preventing sexual harassment, receiving complaints, conducting fair investigations, controlling retaliation and improving organisational response systems.

Participants can review reporting routes, improve manager escalation guidance and use the complaint intake and investigation templates. The final implementation plan identifies actions, owners and measures for the first 90 days.

The programme contains ten modules delivered across five training days, with approximately 6.5 contact hours daily. Time is divided between instructor input, case analysis, group exercises, simulations and individual application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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