One of the first commitments of the newly elected Labor Federal government was to implement some of the recommendations of the 2020 Respect @ Work report put together by the Australian Human Rights Commission focusing on Sexual Harassment in the workplace.  Today we are going to focus in on recommendation 17 from the report covering employers training obligations.

This will see employers being subject to a positive obligation to provide training regarding workplace sexual harassment to all employees.  In other words there may be consequences if an employer does not provide training in this space if there is a workplace sexual harassment complaint.

There are many options available for employers when it comes to providing this type of training and for On Demand HR members we have created an online training module to meet with your positive obligations in this space.  We have intentionally opted for this style of training against the live training sessions as it is far more cost effective when considering new starters at your business.

The other key aspect of our training is it is focused on empowering employees to identify not only what is workplace sexual harassment but also what does not constitute workplace sexual harassment.  Most other training products we saw in the marketplace did not cover what is not considered sexual harassment and in our view would lead to an increase in unsubstantiated claims.  

Our training also provides clear steps for employees to take should a genuine concern arise in the workplace including self-action wherever appropriate.

Does your business have the resources required to meet with an incoming positive obligation to provide training regarding workplace sexual harassment?  In our view, a simple workplace policy in this space is not going to be sufficient to meet with these obligations.  You can check out more about our online training for employees and line managers included as part of our membership by visiting our website at www.ondemandhr.com.au.