Preventing Sexual Harassment: A Practical Course for HR Professionals

Audience: HR professionals in manufacturing, engineering, food production, SMEs, and family-owned businesses

Focus: Practical compliance, risk assessment, leadership influence, cultural change, and immediate takeaway actions under the preventative duty

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the day, delegates will be able to:

•Assess their organisation’s current prevention arrangements and evidence “all reasonable steps”

•Conduct a sexual harassment risk assessment tailored to manufacturing and SME contexts

•Influence directors and senior leaders to secure buy-in

•Apply relevant case studies from manufacturing and multigenerational workplaces

•Embed respectful behaviours beyond policy

•Leave with a concrete workplace action plan and compliance checklist

Course Content Overview

HR Compliance Health Check

HR Practical Compliance Checklist

Assessing current organisational arrangements (policy, training, reporting routes, investigations, governance)
Identifying gaps in prevention measures
Building and retaining evidence of all reasonable steps
Using a structured compliance checklist
Creating a practical, prioritised action plan from the health check

Takeaway: HR Compliance Health Check checklist template

Conducting Sexual Harassment Risk Assessments

Sexual Harassment Risk Assessment
What a prevention-focused risk assessment looks like (beyond complaint handling)
Identifying high-risk situations and workplaces
Manufacturing-specific risk factors (shop floor culture, shift patterns, hierarchies, isolation)
Lone working, agency workers, contractors, and apprentices
Multigenerational and male-dominated workforce dynamics
Prioritising controls and preventative measures
Documenting assessments as evidence of reasonable steps
Takeaway: Risk assessment template and prioritisation matrix

Securing Leadership Buy-In

Influencing Directors and Senior Leaders
Presenting risks, legal duties, and business consequences to directors
Framing the case for owner-managed and family-owned businesses
Gaining support for preventative measures
Influencing organisational culture from the top
Anticipating and managing resistance to change
Practical scripts and board/leadership briefing approaches
Takeaway: Leadership briefing structure / one-page risk & responsibility summary

Manufacturing and SME Case Studies

Practical case studies drawn from:

Embedding Respectful Workplace Behaviours

Embedding Cultural Change
Moving from policy compliance to behaviour and standards
Setting clear expectations at every level
Manager accountability and capability
Having difficult conversations early and well
Reinforcing standards consistently (including with long-serving or high-performing staff)
Creating visible cultural change that people notice on the floor
Linking culture work back to risk assessment and leadership messaging
Takeaway: Manager conversation prompts and culture reinforcement checklist

Delegates leave with:

A personal action plan

Priority actions for their organisation (30 / 60 / 90 days)

A completed (or started) checklist of preventative measures

Clear owners, timescales, and evidence they will retain

Resources to support implementation

Facilitated individual work + peer challenge so plans are realistic for SME and manufacturing constraints.

Close, Resources and Feedback

Document pack: compliance checklist, risk assessment template, leadership briefing outline, action plan template, case study notes

Signposting for further support

Date: Thursday 8th October 2026

Location: Newtown