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Bullying and Harassment Awareness eLearning
Online bullying and harassment training for managers and staff: telling firm management from bullying, recognising harassment under the Equality Act, and handling a complaint properly.
Who it is for
Who this bullying and harassment awareness course is for
Most bullying complaints are not about obvious aggression. They are about patterns: exclusion, undermining, unreasonable criticism. That each look small in isolation. Managers need to recognise them, and to know that robust management done properly is not bullying.
- Line managers and supervisors
- HR teams handling complaints
- All staff, as part of induction or refresher training
- Team leaders and project managers
- Trade union and employee representatives
- Anyone who has received or witnessed a complaint
Course content
What the bullying and harassment awareness course covers
Eight short modules separating bullying from harassment, covering the legal position on each, and setting out what to do when a complaint arrives.
Bullying and harassment defined
The difference between the two, and why the distinction has legal consequences.
Harassment and protected characteristics
Where harassment becomes unlawful under the Equality Act 2010.
Recognising patterns
Behaviours that look minor individually but form a pattern over time.
Firm management or bullying
Setting standards, managing performance and giving criticism without crossing the line.
The effect on people and teams
Health, performance, attendance and the wider cost to a team.
If it happens to you
Informal and formal routes, keeping records, and support available.
Handling a complaint
Listening, not dismissing, confidentiality and what a manager must do next.
Prevention
Culture, policy and the behaviours leaders model
Outcomes
What you will be able to do afterwards
- Explain the difference between bullying and harassment
- Recognise where harassment becomes unlawful under the Equality Act
- Identify patterns of behaviour rather than isolated incidents
- Manage performance robustly without bullying
- Respond appropriately when someone raises a concern
- Explain the informal and formal routes available
- Understand what victimisation is and why it matters after a complaint
Your legal duty
The law behind bullying and harassment awareness training
There is no free-standing law against bullying at work. Harassment, however, is defined in the Equality Act 2010 where it relates to a protected characteristic: unwanted conduct that violates dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment.
That distinction matters practically. A bullying complaint is generally handled through internal policy and can raise constructive dismissal risk; a harassment complaint related to a protected characteristic engages discrimination law directly. HSE is not the primary authority for either - Acas is the usual reference point.
- Equality Act 2010 - harassment related to a protected characteristic
- No free-standing statutory offence of workplace bullying
- Victimisation protections apply after a complaint is raised
- HSE is not the primary authority; Acas is the usual reference point
Practicalities
How the course works
For employers
Bullying and Harassment Awareness training for a team
Complaints are handled inconsistently when only HR has been trained. Managers are where most complaints land first.
- One invoice instead of a card payment per person
- Licences allocated as people join, so induction is covered
- Completion and expiry reporting for your records
- Renewal reminders before certificates lapse
- Bespoke versions built around your own procedures
Protected characteristics and discrimination are covered more fully there. See the Equality and Diversity course →
Bullying and Harassment Awareness eLearning: common questions
There is no free-standing law against bullying at work. Harassment related to a protected characteristic is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010, and bullying can give rise to other claims. That's why the distinction matters.
No, and the course is clear about it. Setting standards, managing performance and giving critical feedback are legitimate. It becomes bullying through how it is done and whether it forms a pattern.
Listen, take it seriously, keep it confidential as far as possible and follow your policy. The course covers what not to do, which is usually where things go wrong.
Treating someone badly because they raised a complaint or supported someone else's. It is unlawful under the Equality Act and it is where organisations often compound an original problem.
Aggression from the public is covered by the Conflict Management course. This one is about behaviour within the workplace.
About 30 minutes, with no time limit: start it, pause it, and come back whenever suits. The certificate is issued the moment you finish.
Yes. It runs in a browser on any modern phone, tablet or computer, with nothing to install.
Yes. Open a business account and we invoice you for the licences, which you allocate as people need them, with completion reporting included.
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