Active bystander training: a free bullying and harassment pack for managers and employees
A staff session on being an active bystander, a manager briefing on handling reports, a quiz with a training record, and a rollout guide, built on the Equality Act 2010 and EHRC guidance for employers in England, Scotland and Wales, and free by email. Or have us tailor it and run it for you, on a branded company site, £24.99 per employee.
The law treats harassment by your staff at work as done by you, and your defence is to show you took all reasonable steps to prevent it. The EHRC’s guidance expects you to train every worker, with more for managers.
Take the free pack and run it yourself, or have us tailor it and run it for you: a branded company site with your training content, every member of staff invited and reminded by email, and a certificate for every completion, £24.99 per employee.
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Is training required? | No law names it. The EHRC’s guidance expects it, and it helps show you took all reasonable steps. |
| Who needs it? | Every worker, and more for managers, who handle reports and complaints. |
| What should it cover? | How to recognise harassment, what to do if you experience or witness it, and how managers handle a complaint. |
| How often? | At regular intervals. The law sets no fixed interval. |
| What to keep | A record of who completed the training, and when. |
What the law expects of your training
Under the Equality Act 2010, harassment is unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic (age, disability, gender reassignment, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation), or of a sexual nature, that violates someone’s dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. Bullying itself isn’t against the law, and bullying related to one of those characteristics can be harassment.
For you as an employer:
- You’re liable for your staff. The law treats harassment by an employee in the course of their work as done by you, whether or not you knew about it or approved it.
- Your defence is the steps you took. To defend a claim, you must show you took all reasonable steps to prevent the harassment.
The EHRC’s guidance on harassment at work sets out what training should do:
- Fit your organisation, the people taking it and your policy.
- Teach every worker, including people with no management duties, what acceptable behaviour looks like, how to recognise harassment, and what to do if they experience or witness it.
- Give managers more on receiving a report or complaint, investigating it, taking disciplinary action and supporting the people involved.
- Keep records of who completed the training, and refresh it at regular intervals.
Two duties have guides of their own. From 30 October 2026, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and all reasonable steps to prevent customers, clients and other third parties harassing their staff. Our sexual harassment training guide and third-party harassment guide cover them, each with its own free pack. The Equality Act covers England, Scotland and Wales.
What you’ll get
Run the free pack yourself, or have us tailor it to your organisation and run it for you.
| Free pack | Tailored and run for you, £24.99 per employee | |
|---|---|---|
| The content | Complete the general training template | Tailored to your organisation for you |
| How staff complete it | Staff and manager slides with speaker notes, a quiz and a rollout guide, to deliver however suits you | A branded company site with your training content loaded for all staff to complete |
| Getting it to staff | You organise it | Every member of staff emailed for you |
| Reminders and chases | No automation included | Reminders and chases automated for you |
| Certificate of completion | Not included | A dated certificate for every person who completes it |
| Format | PowerPoint slides and Word documents | Audio and video, or a format to upload into your own learning or training hub |
| Managers and employees | A staff session and a manager briefing | Distinct manager and employee training |
| Cost | Free | £24.99 per employee |
The free pack, file by file
- Staff session. PowerPoint, with speaker notes: spotting bullying and harassment, and how to step in as an active bystander.
- Manager briefing. PowerPoint, with speaker notes, for managers who receive reports and complaints.
- Quiz and training record. Word: questions with an answer sheet for the presenter, and a training record for everyone to sign.
- Rollout guide. Word: how to tailor, deliver, record, refresh and check the training.
You fill in the gaps for your organisation, present the sessions and keep your own records. It doesn’t include a certificate of completion.
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The tailored training, part by part
- Tailored to your organisation. We tailor the training content to your organisation, its processes and likely scenarios, with distinct manager and employee training.
- A branded company site, or your own learning hub. Your training content in audio and video, with an understanding check, ready for all your staff to complete; or in a format to upload into your own learning or training hub.
- Distribution taken care of. Invite all your staff, and each person gets an email to complete the training.
- Reminders and chases, automated. We remind anyone who hasn’t finished until they complete it.
- A certificate for every completion. A dated certificate for each person who completes it, to save for your records.
Our team will be in touch with follow-up questions to tailor the content to your organisation.
Request received
Thanks. Our team will be in touch within one working day with follow-up questions to tailor the training to your organisation.
Could not send that request
Something went wrong on our side. Please try again, or use our contact form and our team will be in touch.
What the training covers
Staff session:
- What bullying and harassment look like at work
- Bullying and harassment: the difference, and what the law says
- Being an active bystander: noticing it and deciding to act
- Safe ways to step in, at the time or afterwards
- Supporting the person it happened to
- Reporting what you saw or experienced
- Victimisation: why no one should suffer for raising a concern
Manager briefing:
- Your part in preventing bullying and harassment in your team
- Warning signs to look out for
- Receiving a report or complaint
- Supporting the people involved
- Investigating complaints fairly
- Taking disciplinary action
- Keeping records, and refreshing the training
After the training
Refresh it at regular intervals. Keep a record of who completed the training and when, and run it again at regular intervals, as the EHRC expects.
Name people who can support a complaint. The EHRC’s guidance asks for trained people, in HR or nominated from your staff, to support anyone through making a complaint.
Prepare the managers who investigate. Our workplace investigation training guide covers how to investigate a complaint fairly.
Check it worked. Ask staff whether they know how to report a concern and how to step in safely, and train again where they don’t.
Our free sexual harassment and third-party harassment training packs work the same way.
Common questions
Is bullying and harassment training a legal requirement?
No law names it. Harassment by your staff at work counts as done by you, and your defence is to show you took all reasonable steps to prevent it. The EHRC's guidance expects you to train every worker, with more for managers.
What is active bystander training?
Training that shows staff how to recognise bullying and harassment when they see it, and safe ways to act: stepping in at the time, supporting the person afterwards and reporting what they saw. The EHRC's guidance says every worker needs to know what to do if they witness harassment.
What's the difference between bullying and harassment?
Harassment is unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic, such as race, sex or disability, or of a sexual nature, that violates someone's dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for them. It's unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. Bullying itself isn't against the law, and bullying related to a protected characteristic can be harassment.
Who needs bullying and harassment training?
Every worker, including people with no management duties. Managers need more: how to receive a report or complaint, investigate it, take disciplinary action and support the people involved.
How often should you refresh the training?
The law sets no interval. The EHRC says employers should keep records of who completed the training and refresh it at regular intervals.
What about sexual harassment and harassment by customers?
Both have duties of their own. From 30 October 2026, employers must take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, and all reasonable steps to prevent customers, clients and other third parties harassing their staff. Our sexual harassment training and third-party harassment guides cover those duties, each with a free pack.
What's in the free bullying and harassment training pack?
Four editable files: a staff session (PowerPoint, with speaker notes), a manager briefing (PowerPoint, with speaker notes), a quiz with answers and a training record to sign (Word), and a rollout guide (Word).
What's the difference between the free pack and the tailored training?
The free pack is the template: four editable files you fill in, present and record yourself, with no certificate of completion. We build the tailored training for your organisation and run it for you: a branded company site with your training content, every member of staff invited by email and reminded until they complete it, and a dated certificate for every completion.
References
- Equality Act 2010, section 26: harassment
- Equality Act 2010, section 109: liability of employers and principals
- Employment Rights Act 2025, section 21: harassment by third parties
- EHRC: Sexual harassment and harassment at work, technical guidance (updated 26 September 2024)
- GOV.UK: Workplace bullying and harassment
- GOV.UK: Plan to Make Work Pay and Employment Rights Act timeline update
General information, not legal advice. It reflects our understanding of the law and official guidance as of October 2026, so check the sources above for the current position.