This one-day course provides high quality, practical, guidance on how to respond to and investigate potential sexual harassment in a fair and robust manner.  It dovetails with, and builds on, your organisational policy. It clarifies when needed and infills with the detail needed for effective implementation.  It includes a raft of hints and tips on good practice. 

Coverage includes, definitions of sexual harassment, examples of borderline abuse, initial responses, investigation process, decision making, notification and recording; with an emphasis on the all-important defensible documentation, that is to say maintaining robust records and notes that can relied on if challenged in appeal or court.

For Whom
This course is for all those who may be involved in the investigation of sexual harassment at work.  It is also suitable for, new to role managers and HR teams looking to understand the investigation process better.

CONTENT

1. UNDERSTANDING SEXUAL HARASSMENT
   This session explains what sexual harassment is, what it looks like and what it feels like. It helps clarify the grey borderline areas between banter and sexual harassment and provides guidance on decision taking. 

• What constitutes sexual harassment?
• Jokes, Banter – including border lines between harassment and making robust decisions
• The harm it causes, the abused, the workforce as a whole and overall business
• Reasonable & acceptable immediate interventions, abused, witnesses, managers
• What triggers investigation

2. THE WORKER PROTECTION ACT
   This short session provides and overview of the Worker Protection Act and the duty it places on employers to prevent sexual harassment at work

• The Worker Protection Act and the drivers behind it
• Other Considerations – preparing to defend
  • Importance of effective responses to complaints and concerns
  • The need to follow company/organisational policies and procedures
  • The importance of defensible documentation

3. DEFENSIBLE DOCUMENTATION
   Ensuring factual accurate and fully defensible documentation is paramount to the whole investigation. Defensible documentation needs to underpin every stage and activity. In the event of any appeal, tribunal or court case, everything that has been said, written or recorded will be subject to in depth review and scrutiny.  Investigators need to ensure that comprehensive and wholly accurate and factual record of everything.  Whilst this sound easy to achieve, in practice it is not.

   This session provides an A-Z framework of advice, guidance and direction for drafting, writing and keeping high quality notes and records.  Robust notes, records and reports when combined with when combined with high quality implementation of company policy provide a highly effective way to defend decisions in the event of appeal, tribunal or third-party investigation.  They need to underpin every stage and action within the investigation.

4. UNDERSTANDING Organisation policies and Procedures
   Individual organisational/company policies and procedures are written to ensure good practice is adhered to and compliance with the Worker Protection Act can be evidenced. Investigators need to follow organisational policy and procedure closely.  This session explores your own organisation’s policy and procedures for preventing and investigating sexual harassment at work, clarifying understanding and importance.  More importantly it adds, where needed detail on good practice implementation, with hints, tips and advice on how to carry out each element correctly.

NB: Where organisational specific policies and procedures are not available, we use generic examples but highlight the importance that participants understand and follow their own organisations policies closely.

Typical areas covered within this session include:

Responding to the initial complaint

• Assessing initial severity and risk
• Risk reduction/removal – immediate pre investigation options and actions
  • Descaling Initiatives and options including short term options
  • Suspensions, changing work patterns and locations
    Reducing the risk of recurrence
  • Reducing rumour, gossip and work force concern
• What to say to whom, when and where – victim/s, witnesses, alleged perpetrator, workforce
  • Formal, Informal, Written, Verbal
  • Confidentiality and respecting wishes including conflicts of interests

Investigation

• Considering the three key cohorts – victim/s, witnesses and alleged perpetrator
• Sources of Evidence
  • Interviews, statements, CCTV, witnesses – expert & actual
• Creating a professional, neutral and comfortable venue for investigatory meetings
• Conduct meetings, Interviews and notifications
  • Who, when, where, why, including process witnesses & employee representatives
  • Ensuring meeting/interview protocols known and agreed by all participants
  • Being Impartial, fair and robust
• Interview Process
  • Effective questioning – open, closed, leading
  • Active Listening
  • Presenting, using and filing evidence
• Risk Review – has the situation changed? – does risk reduction action need to change?

Reaching Conclusion and Finalising

• Considering the evidence, options and reaching a decision
• Implementing the disciplinary process – points to remember
• Notifications – how, when, where, why – hints and tips

Counselling Advice and Support

• Why, what, when, who, where
• Internal and external
• Keeping people informed and assured ongoing

Over-Arching Good Practice

• Respond to workforce, press or public enquiries – adhering to organisational policy
• Preventing future incident – learning points and follow on action
• Record Keeping and defensible documentation – a reminder