Welcome

Sexual harassment has no place in residential care work. It harms dignity, safety, confidence, teamwork and trust, and can affect anyone regardless of role, gender, seniority or contract. In care homes it may involve colleagues, managers, agency staff, residents, family members, visitors, contractors, or behaviour in digital spaces connected to work.

Learner note: This course includes examples of sexual harassment, sexualised behaviour and safeguarding concerns. You may pause at any time. If this topic affects you personally, use your workplace reporting and support routes.

This course is for care assistants, senior carers, support workers, nurses, team leaders, supervisors and other staff working in residential and nursing homes across the UK. It draws on Great Britain workplace sexual harassment law and EHRC and Acas guidance for practical prevention duties, with signposting to Northern Ireland where equality law differs. It also uses CQC and NICE care-home safeguarding examples where relevant, while recognising that Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own regulation and safeguarding frameworks.

Four-nations workplace and safeguarding note

Why This Course Matters

• Sexual harassment is often minimised: behaviour may be dismissed as banter, friendliness, stress or confusion.
• Power imbalance can make reporting harder: junior staff, night staff, agency workers, apprentices and new starters may feel especially exposed.
• Third-party harassment is common in social care: residents, relatives and visitors can behave in sexualised, intimidating or degrading ways towards staff.
• Care homes have a safeguarding edge: some resident-related behaviour raises staff safety issues and potential resident-to-resident or staff-to-resident abuse concerns.
• Good response protects people and culture: clear action reduces harm, supports retention and shows staff that respect and safety matter.

How This Course Will Help You

On completion you should be better able to recognise sexual harassment in residential care settings, understand workplace and safeguarding boundaries, respond safely when concerns are raised, support colleagues who speak up, and contribute to a culture where harassment is not normalised or ignored.