Workplace behaviour Training for Leaders

Workplace behaviour legislation has changed significantly with the Work Health and Safety Act 2020 (WA), related Codes of Practice, and the Respect at Work Act 2022 (Cth):

The Australian Human Rights Commission can now audit any workplace in Australia for compliance even if no complaints have been received.

EEO Specialists offer a range of in-person workshops to help leaders address unlawful workplace behaviours. We also offer online courses via our sister company Online Compliance Training (OCT).

We’ve successfully trained over 42,000 managers and employees from over 100 organisations. We would be happy to do the same for you and your organisation.

Secondary Liability: A leader’s accountability

Unlawful workplace behaviours not only affect employees, but also place leaders at risk of secondary liability, and employers of vicarious liability.

Secondary liability arises when anyone in a position of authority aids, assists, allows, permits or authorises a person to do something unlawful, then they are treated as if they did that behaviour themself.

This form of liability holds anyone in a position of authority accountable even if they did not directly commit the unlawful act but did not address it. Some scenarios where secondary liability may arise include:

A manager sees an argument between two staff and doesn’t do anything about it because they feel, “that’s just what those two are like!”.
An employee reports an incident where they saw one person make a sexual gesture to another person during a meeting. The manager ignores it as people just having a bit of fun.
An employee makes a sexual joke in the staff kitchen and their supervisor is present and laughs.

Vicarious Liability: The organisation’s responsibility

Vicarious liability holds organisations and their directors and officers accountable for the actions of their employees, provided these actions occur within the scope of employment. This means that even if the leadership did not directly engage in the unlawful behaviour, they could still be liable if it is determined that they did not take all reasonable steps to prevent such behaviour.

For example, if an employee harasses a colleague during work hours and the organisation had insufficient preventative measures in place, then they are at risk of vicarious liability.

Workshops for Leaders

Legislative Overview for the Leadership Team
Managing Workplace Behaviours
Under Performance Management
Productive Relationships
Psychosocial Safety
Corporate Theatre

“I have attended a number of similar sessions in the past and this one was by far and away the best! Quite often at these types of sessions you are bombarded with higher level information/concepts that can be quite ‘dry’ and therefore go out of your head pretty quickly. The information at this session and the way it was presented, ensure it was engaging, practically useful and could be retained.”

– Kylie Greenslade, Customer Experience Manager, DEMIRS

As a Board Director, CEO, Executive, Supervisor, Team Leader, HR or L&D Manager, we know you are keen to maintain a safe and respectful working environment. We are here to support you with our expertise and experience.

If you don’t have the time to attend workshops, we offer a range of legally sound and engaging online courses via our sister company Online Compliance Training (OCT). We have created an online course specifically for boards, CEOs, directors, and other executive leaders.

If you would like to have a confidential discussion about workplace behaviour training and compliance, Please call Alysha Hooper on 0433 376 541 or email info@equalopportunitytraining.com.au

“Working with EEO Specialists to deliver our Respect at Work training throughout 2024 has been an incredibly valuable partnership. Their expertise in addressing sexual harassment, bullying, and discrimination ensured that our staff received comprehensive, engaging, and relevant training. The sessions were tailored to meet the specific needs of our workplace, fostering an inclusive environment where everyone feels respected and empowered. Their professional approach and commitment to creating a safe and respectful culture made a lasting impact, equipping our team with the knowledge and tools to address these critical issues confidently. We are grateful for their support in helping us prioritize workplace respect and safety.”

Lauren Holliday

L&D Partner – Development WA

"I know everyone thoroughly enjoyed the contact officer workshop. The content was really interesting and informative, the delivery was wonderful and made us all feel very comfortable. It is so nice and refreshing to see a trainer who is passionate about their subject and is so engaging with their audience. Thank you."

Roz Dawson

Safety Officer - Tronox Holdings

"Franca from EEO Specialists is a fantastic facilitator, very engaging and knowledgeable. It was a great session and targeted areas that we felt required attention amongst the team."

Jeremy Nipps

Partner in Charge – Cor Cordis

"We engaged EEO Specialists to provide an interactive learning experience for all of our staff. They worked with us to customise an interactive play specifically for our environment around themes of workplace harassment, discrimination and bullying. We had some excellent feedback from our staff that the play was enjoyable and created some interesting conversation around the topics. Importantly I believe that the unique format was a powerful way to get our staff engaged in the subject matter."

Kristy Teo

Director of HR – Guilford Grammar School

“We engaged EEO Specialists to conduct half day workshops with our staff about workplace harassment, discrimination and bullying. As part of these workshops, a team of professional actors presented an interactive play about workplace sexual harassment that both engaged and educated staff. The level of positive feedback from the training was overwhelming with many staff describing it as ‘the best training they have ever attended’. This training will have long term positive effects on our culture and assist in ensuring the City of Albany continues to be a great place to work. I would highly recommend this unique, entertaining and informative training to any organisation aiming for best practice.”

Michael Cole

Executive Director Corporate Services – City of Albany

"We worked with Franca Sala Tenna from EEO Specialists to run Performance Management and EEO training, all of which we found to be really good and relevant. For the manager training, she did some really interesting work around building understanding on how to effectively deliver ‘bad’ news to employees. This was a great way to get everyone on the same page and to help managers understand the process and how to manage it. The other group of training was the half day EEO workshops with all staff which was brilliant. All of the training had actors involved during the sessions, which was really good and made a big difference in helping everyone understand what they needed to do. I also found Franca really engaging and good to work with and the feedback on all of the sessions was really positive."

Leani Simpson

Manager Human Resources – Shire of Serpentine Jarrahdale

"A most refreshing way of delivering dry content so that the sessions are not only informative, but also extremely enjoyable and interactive. Franca’s EEO training provides practical solutions to work issues before they escalate with each participant having the opportunity to get involved without being put in the spotlight. A definite first for me in my 20 years in HR."

Gareth Spence

Manager of Staffing and Human Resources – Scotch College

"The Shire of Mundaring has engaged the services of Franca Sala Tenna of EEO Specialists for a number of assignments. Franca has undertaken grievance investigations, delivered training for Shire grievance officers and contact officers, EEO awareness and workplace bullying training for all Shire employees, and assisted in the development of the Shire's grievance management policy.

Franca is a highly proficient and knowledgeable practitioner. She is a thorough and professional investigator, whose reports have enabled me to competently handle delicate grievance complaints. Her presentation skills are exemplary: she delivers complex subject matter, including the requisite legal implications, with appropriate humour, pragmatism and a keen understanding of her audience. In my opinion her training courses have always resulted in measurable skills improvement and enhanced understanding."

Jonathan Throssell

Chief Executive Officer

"The City engaged Franca to conduct an EEO training program for its employees, which included a management component. The feedback from staff was overwhelmingly positive! Our staff described Franca as being extremely knowledgeable, insightful and an amazing facilitator. The presentations were engaging, informative and entertaining with staff now continually making reference to the program. Franca's professionalism and outstanding service would give me no hesitations in engaging her again."

Sue Wiltshire

Manager Human Resources - City of Kwinana

"I and the rest of the workforce believe the EEO Specialists presentation to be useful and relevant to the Kimberley Port Authority's day to day operations and Franca relates to all levels of the workforce."

Mal Gower

Operations Superintendent - Kimberley Ports Authority

"The EEO Specialists workshop was really well run and very engaging. Techniques and ideas that will be very helpful for the future. Thanks."

Paul Goodley

Community Development Officer - City of Nedlands

"Franca from EEO Specialists did a fantastic job – her enthusiasm, knowledge and overall demeanour turned what could have been a dry, boring topic and made a very interesting day."

Sean Ebert

Secondary School Head of Year - Penrhos College

"Really informative and applicable but also scary, so many don’ts! I am acutely aware now, of how many people are unaware of the implications of that which might be considered funny to some but not so much to others, etc."

Lisl Van Aarde

Project Lead - WA Department of Planning

"Very professional and presented well, very knowledgeable on legislation and combines this practically to real life scenarios."

Daniel Rowen

DVG

"Very good presentation and encouragement to actively involve participants. The EEO Specialists presenter demonstrated real occurrences to reinforce types of behaviours that may seem innocent but are actually not acceptable in a court of law."

Dennis Broad

Senior Electrical Supervisor - Mid West Ports Authority

"Franca from EEO Specialists presented in a relaxed, entertaining and informative manner. Her legal background was useful and I feel comfortable and knowledgeable returning to my workplace as an EEO Contact Officer."

Anna Walter

HR People Services Manager - Methodist Ladies College

"The EEO Specialists workshop was very good, the case studies were useful and recognising bullying/harassment or discrimination in the workplace is important in my role as a supervisor."

Varles Wickens

Supervisor - Shire of Serpentine-Jarrahdale

"The EEO Specialists workshop and training were very in-depth and knowledgeable. Franca was enthusiastic and delivered the material in a fun manner that helped with the understanding of the materials and content."

Stacie Harding

Cable Beach Club Resort and Spa