Sexual Harassment Prevention Training for Employers

Every employer in New Zealand has a legal duty to provide a safe workplace. That doesn’t just mean fixing broken stairs or supplying safety gear. It means stopping sexual harassment before it starts. Yet too many businesses treat sexual harassment prevention training as a checkbox - something to tick off during onboarding and forget until a complaint lands on the desk. That’s not just risky. It’s outdated.

Why This Training Isn’t Optional

Under the Human Rights Act 1993 and the Employment Relations Act 2000, employers in New Zealand are legally responsible for preventing sexual harassment in the workplace. That means if an employee is harassed by a coworker, client, or even a contractor, and the employer didn’t take reasonable steps to stop it, the company can be held liable. Courts don’t care if you didn’t know it was happening. They care if you could have done something.

It’s not just about avoiding lawsuits. It’s about keeping people in their jobs. A 2024 survey by the Human Rights Commission found that 32% of women in New Zealand workplaces have experienced sexual harassment - and nearly half of them didn’t report it because they feared retaliation or didn’t believe anything would change. That’s not just a human cost. It’s a productivity cost. Turnover, absenteeism, and low morale all spike when people don’t feel safe.

What Makes Training Effective

Most training programs fail because they’re boring, generic, and disconnected from real life. Watching a 20-minute video about inappropriate jokes isn’t enough. Employees tune out. Managers roll their eyes. HR files it away.

Effective training does three things:

1. It uses real scenarios from your workplace
2. It gives people clear language to use
3. It shows leaders how to respond - not just what not to do

For example, instead of saying “Don’t make sexual comments,” train people to say: “I’m not comfortable with that kind of remark. Let’s keep the conversation professional.” Give them scripts. Role-play them. Let them practice saying no, asking for help, or reporting without fear.

And don’t just train the staff. Train the managers. They’re the ones who hear the whispers, see the changes in behavior, or get the offhand comment at the team lunch. They need to know how to respond without minimizing, blaming, or delaying. A manager who says, “It’s probably just a joke,” is part of the problem.

What the Law Actually Requires

The law doesn’t spell out a perfect training program. But it does say you must take “reasonable steps” to prevent harassment. That means:

• Having a clear, written policy that defines harassment and explains how to report it
• Training all employees - including contractors and interns - at least once a year
• Ensuring managers know how to handle complaints without retaliation
• Keeping records of training sessions and complaints
• Reviewing and updating policies regularly

It’s not about perfection. It’s about proof. If you’re ever investigated, you need to show you tried. A signed attendance sheet from a PowerPoint slide deck won’t cut it. You need evidence that people understood, engaged, and changed their behavior.

Common Mistakes Employers Make

Most employers aren’t trying to be negligent. They just don’t know what good looks like. Here are the mistakes we see over and over:

• Using online modules with no follow-up - people click through and forget
• Only training new hires - existing staff never get refreshed
• Letting leadership skip training - if the boss makes off-color jokes, why should anyone else care?
• Ignoring third parties - clients, delivery drivers, or subcontractors who interact with staff
• Not linking training to consequences - if no one is held accountable, the policy is just words on paper

One Auckland retail chain started requiring all managers to complete a 90-minute interactive workshop every 12 months. They included real complaints (anonymized) and asked managers to role-play responses. Within 18 months, reported incidents dropped by 47%. Not because harassment disappeared - but because people trusted the system enough to speak up.

Building a Culture, Not Just a Policy

Training alone won’t fix a toxic culture. But it’s the first step. Real change happens when leaders model respectful behavior, when employees feel safe speaking up, and when reports are handled fairly and quickly.

Start by asking your team: “What would make you feel safe to report something?” You might hear things like: “I need to know who I can talk to without my manager finding out.” Or: “I need to know what happens after I report it.” Listen. Then act.

Some companies now have anonymous reporting channels. Others assign trained peer supporters. A few even let employees choose who investigates their complaint - a manager they trust, or someone from HR. These aren’t fancy solutions. They’re human ones.

How to Start Today

You don’t need a big budget or a fancy consultant. Here’s how to begin:

1. Review your current policy. Does it clearly define sexual harassment? Does it list multiple ways to report? If not, rewrite it.
2. Choose one training method: a live workshop, a facilitated Zoom session, or a mix. Avoid passive videos.
3. Include real examples from your workplace - even if they’re small. A comment about someone’s clothes? A repeated request for dates after being told no? These count.
4. Train everyone - including owners, managers, and contractors. No exceptions.
5. Record attendance and feedback. Save it.
6. Schedule the next session for 12 months from now. Set a calendar reminder.

And then - this is critical - follow up. Six months after training, ask your team: “Did the training help you understand what to do?” Don’t just send a survey. Talk to people. Have coffee with someone new. Listen more than you speak.

What Happens When You Don’t Act

In 2023, a Wellington hospitality business was ordered to pay $85,000 in damages after a kitchen worker was repeatedly subjected to unwanted touching and comments. The company had a policy. They’d done a one-hour online training three years earlier. But they never updated it. No one had been trained since. The court didn’t just punish them for the harassment. They punished them for ignoring their duty to prevent it.

That’s the reality. Ignorance isn’t a defense. Inaction is a choice.

Resources You Can Use

The Human Rights Commission offers free templates for workplace policies and training materials. WorkSafe NZ has guidance on psychological safety. You don’t need to start from scratch. Use what’s already out there - then make it real for your team.

Training isn’t about fear. It’s about respect. It’s about making sure the person next to you at the desk, in the warehouse, or on the phone feels safe - not just legally protected, but genuinely respected. That’s not just the law. It’s what good employers do.