Article • 21^st October 2025

HR Leaders Experience ATT’s Sexual Harassment Workshop Firsthand

What Does Taking Action Look Like?

On 30 September 2025, legal firm Thomson Snell & Passmore (TSP) joined forces with Active Training Team (ATT) to host a powerful, live event for HR leaders.

Located at the ATT’s Safety Leadership Centre in Vauxhall, the workshop is designed to show — not just tell— how organisations can use interactive training to help meet new legal obligations around preventing workplace sexual harassment. The session brought together senior leaders, employment lawyers, and decision-makers from across the HR sector.

Nick Hobden, Partner and Head of Employment Law at TSP, and Ashley Matthews, Employment Law Senior Associate, invited a selection of their clients to attend the experiential workshop and see for themselves what meaningful prevention looks like in action. In his LinkedIn post, Nick reflected: “The experience was powerful and immersive. Every workplace that takes its responsibility seriously should consider this kind of training.”

A Legal Duty — Now in Force

The event follows the introduction of the Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act, which came into force on 26 October 2024. This new law places a legal duty on employers to take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.

This shift raises the bar on compliance. It’s no longer enough to simply have a policy in place or run a one-off e-learning module. Employers must now demonstrate ongoing, proactive action — and that’s exactly what ATT’s “Tackling Sexual Harassment Together” workshop is designed to deliver.

Read more on the legislation: GOV.UK – New protections from sexual harassment

Why Experience Matters

ATT’s immersive workshop combines live-action drama, behavioural psychology, and facilitated reflection. It gives participants an opportunity to witness inappropriate behaviour as it plays out in a realistic workplace scenario, then equips them with tools to recognise, challenge, and prevent sexual harassment in real time.

This goes far beyond traditional training formats. As explained on our web page, the session helps to:

Raise awareness of what sexual harassment looks and feels like

Build confidence to intervene, report or respond appropriately

Shift individual mindsets from passive to proactive

Reduce the legal, reputational and financial risk for organisations

“If you’re going to ask your people to take this seriously, you have to show that you do too,” said Adam Christopher, co-founder of ATT and co-host of the event. “Sitting through this workshop makes it personal. It shifts thinking from policy to people.”

Relevance Across All Sectors – Especially High-Risk Industries

While sexual harassment can occur in any workplace, it’s especially critical for high-risk industries like construction, transport, energy, and infrastructure to lead the way. These sectors are often male-dominated, with fast-paced and hierarchical environments that can increase the likelihood of inappropriate behaviour being overlooked, normalised, or unreported.

As outlined in a CIPD guide on preventing sexual harassment, leadership visibility and clear cultural expectations are essential in reducing incidents. ATT’s approach enables exactly that—embedding behaviour change from the top down.

The Considerate Constructors Scheme also points to respect and safety as a core tenet of a responsible site. Culturally safe workplaces lead to more productive teams, reduced staff turnover, and fewer legal or tribunal cases.

Creating Safer Workplaces – One Organisation at a Time

The feedback from the session was overwhelmingly positive, with many participants commenting on the realism, relevance, and emotional impact of the training. The joint effort with TSP demonstrated how legal expertise and practical behavioural training can work hand-in-hand to meet both compliance standards and culture change goals.

If you’re responsible for people, compliance, or workplace culture in your organisation, this is the kind of session that doesn’t just tick a box — it makes a lasting difference.