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Bullying and Sexual Harassment at Work Workshop

Do your bullying and sexual harassment policies comply with the October '24 Worker Protection Act? 

Date: Thursday, 21st November

Time: 09:30 - 13:30  

Cost per attendee: £275 + VAT per attendee 

According to a recent Fawcett society report, almost half of all women will experience some form of sexual abuse in the workplace. That figure rises online and has significantly increased with the rise of working from home.

Preventing Workplace Harassment New Legislation: What does it mean for employers?

In October 2024, the Worker Protection Act comes into force and will oblige employers to take a proactive stance towards tackling sexual harassment in their workplaces. Granting tribunals the power to award an uplift of 25% in compensation where an employer has failed to comply to this duty. 

Inclusive workplaces must move beyond airy words and demonstrate real commitment to ensuring inclusion and safety for all, and to communicate clearly the consequences of failing to respect female colleagues properly.

This course ensures you can quickly and comprehensively demonstrate your commitment to protecting employees from sexual harassment. It covers what constitutes harassment, consequences of non-compliance, and how to audit your policies and procedures to ensure they are robust and legal.

Platform: Zoom - An encrypted zoom platform with password access:
Click here for further information and to test access 

Prefer to run this course In-house?

We offer this course as a face to face or online in-house training option, if this would be more suitable, please email teamtraining@bfi.co.uk

Which functions will benefit from attending

  • HR, Resourcing, Employee Relations, Policy & Strategy, Health & Safety, Occupational Health, Legal, Operations, Risk and Compliance, Line Management, Talent, Equality, Policy, Organisational Development, Engagement, People Development, Learning And Development and all those with specific responsibilities in this area.

Hear from

Schedule

Introduction & overview of the day

Elizabeth Smith

Elizabeth Smith

Director of Research
Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI)

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Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI) logo

Elizabeth Smith

Director of Research , Business Forums International Ltd. (BFI)

Elizabeth is director of research and a founding co-director at Business Forums International. She is responsible for all programme content and writing, and researches current areas of interest for senior HR professionals in large organisations. BFI is the UK’s leading HR risk specialist conference and training provider, delivering key and timely information to over 3,000 delegates a year both through public and in-house training courses. Before founding BFI in 1996, Elizabeth specialised in researching corporate financial programmes in Asia and the Middle East, based in Dubai. She also worked in advertising and publishing in the Middle East and London. Elizabeth was educated in the West Indies, Saudi Arabia and Belgium before reading Modern Languages at Durham University. She is currently developing an online training course for line managers to raise awareness of menopause symptoms and ways that employers can work to make their workplaces more inclusive.

A welcoming session which will run under the Chatham House Rule. Delegates are encouraged to share concerns and challenges they are facing in their own organisations. There will be time in the programme to table specific issues and questions to ensure maximum value and learning.

The legal landscape

Jasmin Dhillon

Jasmin Dhillon

Partner - Employment and Immigration
Spencer West LLP

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Spencer West LLP logo

Jasmin Dhillon

Partner - Employment and Immigration , Spencer West LLP

Jasmin is an employment and immigration lawyer, with in depth experience in employment tribunal litigation and dispute resolution. She has advised and litigated on complex issues, including restrictive covenants, multiple discrimination claims, whistleblowing and TUPE. Jasmin has brought and defended bullying and harassment claims on behalf of clients, ranging from individuals to multinational corporations. The evolving landscape of this area, with a heightened social awareness of it, has led Jasmin advising on a diverse range of legal issues. As part of Jasmin’s immigration practice, she advises on cross-border employee transfers and talent management. Jasmin works with many UK and overseas companies to facilitate inward investment.

  • The legal definition of bullying and harassment
  • The problem with subjectivity
  • The nine ‘protected characteristics’ – age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation
  • Harassment by association and perception
  • Beyond 9 – 5: Where does the “workplace” extend to when looking at bullying and harassment?

Interactive session: what constitutes bullying and how do you respond?

This session will present a series of scenarios to determine what constitutes bullying, what’s harassment and what’s sexual abuse in the workplace. Designed to open discussion and debate, the varying situations presented will explore current and future issues, looking at both legal and workplace principles.

Comfort break

Bullying and harassment policy content refresh and update

Jasmin Dhillon

Jasmin Dhillon

Partner - Employment and Immigration
Spencer West LLP

View Bio
Spencer West LLP logo

Jasmin Dhillon

Partner - Employment and Immigration , Spencer West LLP

Jasmin is an employment and immigration lawyer, with in depth experience in employment tribunal litigation and dispute resolution. She has advised and litigated on complex issues, including restrictive covenants, multiple discrimination claims, whistleblowing and TUPE. Jasmin has brought and defended bullying and harassment claims on behalf of clients, ranging from individuals to multinational corporations. The evolving landscape of this area, with a heightened social awareness of it, has led Jasmin advising on a diverse range of legal issues. As part of Jasmin’s immigration practice, she advises on cross-border employee transfers and talent management. Jasmin works with many UK and overseas companies to facilitate inward investment.

  • What makes a toxic workplace where bullying can thrive?
  • Statistics and recent trends: covid, social media, political polarisation, identity politics
  • What must a comprehensive policy contain? Key areas to cover
  • Best practice: identifying potential areas of improvement
  • Reporting and procedures: what to communicate and how
  • Auditing your current policy: role of the staff liaison committee
  • What to include in your training sessions
  • What constitutes sexism and misogyny and how do you communicate that? Tips on educating and upskilling your workforce
  • Banter and the usual excuses: tackling grey areas to ensure company-wide understanding

Case study: embedding change into a male-dominated culture

Chloe Carrubba

Chloe Carrubba

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Lead
Reach South Academy Trust

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Reach South Academy Trust logo

Chloe Carrubba

Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging Lead , Reach South Academy Trust

Chloe Carrubba is the Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging Lead at Reach South Academy Trust, where she is committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable educational environment for all students. With a background in teaching and educational leadership, Chloe has a passion for promoting diversity in education and ensuring that every learner feels valued and supported.

  • Who needs to be at the table and how do we get them there?
  • Visible and invisible obstacles to inclusivity: creating a new paradigm
  • Aligning top-down practice to your diversity agenda: where change needs to happen
  • Revisiting your fertility policy and practice
  • Power dynamics in education and the impact on the next generations

Comfort break

Case studies resolution options – internal and formal complaint handling procedure

Sharon Docherty

Sharon Docherty

DBA Researcher
Cranfield University

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Cranfield University logo

Sharon Docherty

DBA Researcher , Cranfield University

Sharon Docherty has worked as a civil servant within the Ministry of Defence for over 20 years. During that time, she has undertaken a wide range of high-profile roles from working as the Liaison Officer to the PM's Special Representative for the First World War Commemorations to acting as a Legislative Policy Officer negotiating a bi-lateral agreement between HMG and the Republic of Cyprus. Sharon is passionate about lifelong learning and to that end in 2017, she joined an Army Advanced Development Programme which is an innovative partnership with McKinsey and Co to develop a cohort of military officers and civil servants with business skills. This included studying for a MBA with Henley Business School exploring the link between Staff Engagement and Burnout, completing the Project Leadership Programme with Cranfield University, and obtaining a Level 7 in Management Consultancy. Putting these skills to good use Sharon joined the Central Transformation team in MOD Main Building, Whitehall to help upskill change and transformation teams across Defence. During this time, Sharon was successful in obtaining a place on the Advanced Command and Staff Course which provided an opportunity to further her knowledge in Defence, national security, strategic operational planning, and international relations, while also studying for a MA in Defence Studies with King's College, London exploring the impact of Heuristics and Biases on Decision Making within Defence. Current activities More recently Sharon joined Defence Intelligence heading up a change programme reviewing training, education, research offer for Intelligence personnel, while at the same time studying for a Doctorate in Business Administration with Cranfield University looking at the phenomenon of Upward Bullying.

Working in small groups, delegates will formulate responses to a series of real-life scenarios, designed to explore the themes covered during the course. This will build confidence to tackle and manage potentially inflammatory situations, as well as embed a solid legal understanding and policy implementation

Implementing the new sexual harassment act: processes and policy

Mel Backhouse

Senior People Solutions Manager
Utility Warehouse

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Utility Warehouse logo

Mel Backhouse

Senior People Solutions Manager , Utility Warehouse

  • Anatomy of a case study: how a sexual harassment issue unfolded in a global organisation
  • Support strategies for both parties during the process
  • Challenges and lessons learned
  • What does ‘zero tolerance’ look like?
  • Choosing and working with an EAP provider: essential issues to consider
  • The importance of culture: where and how you should review your organisation in light of the new Act

Q&A Clinic: a bespoke session to answer specific questions and concerns faced by individual delegates

End of workshop

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