Condition E6 – requirements for staff training

Continuing our series of posts on Condition E6 in preparation for it coming fully into effect on 1 August 2025, we turn to the requirements for staff training. 

Universities will also be aware that the new Worker Protection (Amendment of Equality Act 2010) Act 2023 (the “New Act”) came into force on 26 October 2024 and requires employers to take reasonable steps to prevent the sexual harassment of its employees. Planning to comply with that new duty should therefore be aligned with the requirements of E6 which will follow next year. Indeed, one of the steps in the EHRC Technical Guidance for the New Act is training. Please see our separate blog and podcast on the New Act here.

How has the OfS defined “Staff"?

Importantly, the Condition has a wide definition of ‘staff’: ‘includes but is not limited to employees and contractors’. There is no definition of ‘contractors’ or further clarity in the associated guidance. It would therefore be prudent to interpret this as including all individuals whether self-employed, employed, or worker. This may need to be reviewed soon in the light of Labour’s proposals for a ‘single worker status’. 

Within the definition of ‘staff’, the OfS has defined ‘relevant staff member’ as ‘a member of staff who has direct academic responsibilities, or other direct professional responsibilities, in relation to that student.’ This narrower definition is used for staff in the context of intimate personal relationships with students.

What training does the Condition require staff to undertake?

Condition E6 requires universities to ensure that staff are ‘appropriately trained’. This  means that staff ‘have and maintain’ specific understanding about the content of the single comprehensive source of information and the behaviour which may constitute harassment and sexual misconduct, as well as the required knowledge and skills to support students (complainants and accused) and to undertake investigations and decisions. Although the guidance only gives illustrative non-exhaustive examples as to how a provider may demonstrate that staff are appropriately trained, in our view, this is likely to include five categories:

• Prevention training: To educate staff on behaviour which may constitute harassment and/or sexual misconduct. To ensure staff understand appropriate professional boundaries in their relationships with students (this will vary depending on the approach taken to intimate personal relationships between relevant staff members and students by your university).
• Awareness training: To educate staff on the content of the single comprehensive source of information (including the policies and procedures related to harassment and sexual misconduct and their practical application). To ensure staff understand the specific requirements of Condition E6 and how these have been implemented into your university’s policies, procedures and practices.  
• Response training: To educate staff (who are likely to be involved in receiving disclosures, investigating or making decisions) on how to appropriately support students who wish to make or have made allegations or complaints or have alleged or experienced harassment and/or sexual misconduct. Additionally, such staff must be trained on how to support students who are the actual or alleged perpetrators of such incidents.  This should include guidance on how information is to be collected sensitively and treated with appropriate confidentiality in accordance with data protection legislation.
• Investigation training: To ensure staff can conduct investigations into allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct and make decisions which are credible, fair and otherwise reflect established principles of natural justice in practice. To ensure staff are equipped to handle evidence and maintain confidentiality.
• Freedom of speech: To educate staff on freedom of speech principles set out in the Condition.  

Is the training mandatory for all staff?

The guidance says that the OfS expects training to be mandatory rather than optional but this is in the section regarding training for students rather than staff. 

The condition requires that staff are ‘appropriately trained’. As outlined above, the condition and guidance does not prescribe how this can be demonstrated but gives non-exhaustive examples. Importantly, however, the guidance uses the word ‘mandatory’ in relation to staff in the examples given for freedom of speech training and awareness training (n.b. this is our categorisation, as above). In contrast, the guidance restricts the requirement for mandatory response and investigation training to ‘staff likely to be involved in receiving disclosures about incidents of harassment and /or sexual misconduct, undertaking investigations, and making decisions about disciplinary cases’. The response training category is very wide and is likely to include most staff with a student-facing role. 

Whilst stating training should be mandatory not optional for students, the guidance says that universities should use their judgement in relation to individual students who may have good reasons for not participating, for example, a student who may have experienced harassment or sexual misconduct. Although a similar statement is not made regarding staff, it is considered that a similar approach is likely to be considered reasonable, particularly in relation to prevention and awareness training rather than the categories of training which may be relevant to their role. 

Next steps

There are several aspects to consider to comply with the New Act and Condition E6. We are aware that different universities are at different stages of planning. Our highly experienced higher education and employment specialists can assist. If you wish to discuss the above, please contact your usual Mills & Reeve contact or a member of our education law team or employment education team.