| 28 October 2026
Skills for Health has launched a new Sexual Harassment Prevention eLearning course to help health and care organisations strengthen workplace cultures, support their legal responsibilities and equip staff to recognise and respond to sexual harassment in practice.
The course combines specialist expertise with realistic healthcare scenarios to explore how sexual harassment develops, how workplace culture can influence behaviour and how staff can respond appropriately. From professional hierarchies and lone working to inappropriate behaviour from patients, relatives and visitors, the learning reflects the complexities of health and care environments.
The launch comes alongside significant changes to workplace harassment legislation. From 30 October 2026, the Employment Rights Act 2025 strengthens employers’ responsibilities in Great Britain, requiring them to take “all reasonable steps” to prevent sexual harassment. It also introduces protections against harassment by third parties, particularly relevant in health and care settings.
These developments reinforce the importance of proactive prevention. But effective sexual harassment training needs to do more than communicate legal responsibilities. It needs to help people recognise how harmful behaviour can develop, understand the complexities of workplace interactions and make informed decisions when concerns arise.
Why does sexual harassment prevention require a different approach in healthcare?
Sexual harassment isn’t always immediately recognisable. It can emerge through seemingly everyday interactions, develop gradually or become normalised through workplace culture.
A comment dismissed as banter, persistent personal attention or an inappropriate digital message may be experienced differently depending on the circumstances. Organisational hierarchies, power imbalances and established relationships can also influence whether someone feels able to challenge behaviour or raise concerns.
Healthcare presents further complexities. Staff may work alone or in situations where patient needs, professional responsibilities and personal boundaries intersect. Inappropriate behaviour from patients, relatives or visitors can create particularly challenging circumstances for those trying to balance compassionate care with their own safety and dignity.
Recognising these complexities is essential to building workplace cultures where harmful behaviour is less likely to be overlooked, excused or normalised.
How does the new sexual harassment prevention training work?
As the UK’s Sector Skills Council for Health, we’ve drawn on our extensive experience in healthcare workforce development to design a course that connects essential knowledge with the practical judgement needed to navigate complex workplace situations.
Rather than simply asking learners to identify prohibited behaviours, the course uses realistic, nuanced scenarios that encourage them to consider context, intent and impact, explore different perspectives and understand how workplace culture can influence behaviour.
Learners examine the spectrum of sexual harassment, from inappropriate comments and boundary-crossing familiarity to digital communication and physical behaviour. They also explore the practical choices available when something feels wrong – including checking in with colleagues, seeking advice, recording concerns factually and using appropriate reporting routes.
The approach recognises that responding appropriately doesn’t always mean confronting someone directly. It means developing the understanding and judgement to recognise risks, consider the circumstances and take proportionate action.
The aim is to help staff apply their learning to situations they may encounter in practice, rather than simply retain information about what the law says.
Shaped by specialist expertise in healthcare workplace harassment
The course has been developed with expert input and review from Bron Biddle, Senior People & Culture Consultant at NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership and National Co-Chair of the Workplace Harassment Workstream.
Bron brings extensive experience supporting healthcare organisations to address workplace harassment, strengthen organisational culture and improve prevention and response. Her expertise has helped shape learning that reflects the complexities of real-world experiences.
Unlike learning materials that focus primarily on information transfer, these e-learning modules engage learners with the complexities of sexual harassment, prompt reflection on different perspectives and guide the application of their understanding in practice.
Bron Biddle, Senior People & Culture Consultant, NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership, and National Co-Chair, Workplace Harassment Workstream
From individual awareness to organisational prevention
While training plays an important role in supporting organisations’ legal responsibilities, preventing sexual harassment requires a wider, proactive approach.
This includes identifying workplace risks, establishing clear policies and reporting routes, providing appropriate support, and ensuring leaders take concerns seriously and act on them.
Training can strengthen these arrangements by developing shared understanding, encouraging earlier recognition of harmful behaviour and supporting staff to make informed choices.
Ultimately, the goal is not simply greater awareness of sexual harassment, but workplace cultures where people understand their responsibilities, feel able to raise concerns and are supported to respond appropriately.
Part of a new Equality, Diversity and Human Rights learning suite
Sexual Harassment Prevention is the first course available in Skills for Health’s refreshed Equality, Diversity and Human Rights (EDHR) eLearning suite, with the complete suite scheduled to launch in mid-November 2026.
The suite will also include:
- Anti-Racism: Developed in response to recommendations from the 2026 Lord Mann review, exploring how racism manifests in health and care, including anti-Black racism, antisemitism and anti-Muslim hostility.
- EDHR: Core Practice: Bringing together essential equality, diversity, inclusion and human rights principles with an understanding of health inequalities and inclusive practice.
Designed around a connected approach to learning, the suite recognises that discrimination, harassment, inequality and workplace culture are often interconnected.
Organisations will be able to choose individual courses to address particular learning needs, or purchase the complete suite to support their wider EDHR training provision.
Explore our new Sexual Harassment Prevention course
Sexual Harassment Prevention is available to purchase now, providing healthcare-specific learning to support organisations and individuals in recognising, preventing and responding to workplace sexual harassment.