Prevention through culture: Tackling sexual harassment before it happens

An interactive morning workshop on proactivity in sexual harassment prevention. The law has changed. The Employment Rights Act 2025 has introduced a proactive duty to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace, placing greater emphasis on employers taking active steps before it occurs instead of reacting once it does. But what does “proactive” mean in this context? How do you know if you’re doing too much, or not enough? Join us for an interactive two-hour morning session where we will explore this in practice, led and facilitated by the superb Helen Iles of Helen Iles Ltd, a local, well-respected expert on supporting organisations in topics such as this. Using real-life case studies and employment tribunal scenarios, we will be examining key lessons, common themes and what practical steps you can take in your organisations to identify and address risks at an early stage. Designed to be highly participative and discussion-led, this session will equip attendees with the knowledge, confidence and practical tools needed to support a respectful workplace culture and meet evolving legal expectations. As always, teas, coffees and light bites will be provided. Session Objectives: By attending this session, you will: • Understand the proactive legal duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment and the implications of the Employment Rights Act 2025 for workplace culture and practice • Improve your understanding of where sexual harassment could possibly occur in and around the workplace • Identify at least one improvement in preventative practice in your own workplaces • Feel more confident in next steps in complying with the new legislation. Speakers bio: Helen Iles is a dual-qualified Solicitor and Trainer, who delivers cross-sector training to a range of organisations in both the public and private sectors. With 24 years' experience and expertise covering the broad topics of employment law, people management, and risk and regulation, Helen's approach to learning and development is to create a blend of the legal and the practical, so that delegates understand standards of expected behaviour, and have the skillset to hit those standards on a day-to-day basis. Joining instructions Guest speakers Some events may include external speakers. Any views or opinions expressed are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views of the CIPD. Joining instructions You'll receive your joining instructions again before the event, along with a reminder shortly before the session starts. Recording Some sessions may be recorded so that they can be shared with members who are unable to attend live. If a session is being recorded, we'll let you know at the start of the event. Accessibility and reasonable adjustments If you require any reasonable adjustments to support your participation, please contact us and we'll do our best to accommodate your needs.