Better Banter eLearning to help teams gel, engage with each other respectfully, to build respectful, positive culture and support colleagues.
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Better Banter training: Humour vs harassment
“It was just a bit of banter”… is used too often as an excuse for inappropriate behaviour. While humour can help teams connect and create a positive working environment, it can quickly cross the line and expose your organisation to serious legal risk.
Since the introduction of the Worker Protection Act, tribunals have made it clear that intent doesn’t excuse impact: even harmless-seeming jokes can lead to claims of harassment or discrimination.
This session – created by our employment law and digital learning experts – helps managers and employees understand where the line is drawn, what the law protects, and how to raise concerns confidently. By providing clear guidance, it reduces risk and ensures your people can build a culture that is both engaging and safe.
Banter in the workplace training course overview
Provide teams with practical tools to enjoy light-hearted, positive interactions while helping individuals recognise when humour crosses into inappropriate behaviour or harassment.
Demonstrate clear approaches for speaking up and addressing concerns in the moment, using real-world examples to show how to handle issues both formally and informally
Build confidence to support colleagues safely and appropriately, while strengthening a respectful, positive culture and protecting the organisation from unnecessary risk.
Book a workplace banter training demo
Book a 30 minute demo with our eLearning experts to discuss how our course helps you protect your organisation from legal risk by understanding where the line is drawn between humour and harassment.
Speak to an expert about the course
Essential employment law courses
Preventing Sexual Harassment at Work
This training is designed to help organisations meet the new legal duty to proactively prevent sexual harassment. Completing the course helps organisations to prove and document they have taken “reasonable steps” to prevent workplace misconduct, reducing the risk of employment tribunal claims and associated financial penalties.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion eLearning
This training session clearly explains equality, diversity, and inclusion, highlighting legal protections and practical ways to communicate confidently and address inappropriate behaviour. It explores the benefits of EDI to organisations, including how inclusive interactions improve collaboration, unlocking new creative opportunities and enhancing productivity.
Frequently asked questions
Is workplace banter a legal issue?
Yes. Even seemingly harmless banter can amount to harassment if it creates a hostile, intimidating, or offensive environment. Under the Equality Act 2010, harassment related to protected characteristics (e.g., sex, race, disability) is unlawful, regardless of intent.
Will this course prevent legal claims?
While no training can guarantee zero claims, Better Banter at Work reduces risk by helping employees recognise boundaries, respond appropriately and create a respectful culture.
This can help demonstrate to an employment tribunal, especially under the Employment Rights Act, that your organisation is taking all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work.
By embedding best practices and giving your people a complete understanding of where the line is drawn, your organisation can avoid other types of discrimination employment tribunals, such as race, gender and religion.
How often should anti-harassment, EDI, and banter training be delivered?
Regularly, annually at a minimum, to reinforce your policies, remind employees of expected standards, and provide evidence to a tribunal that you’ve taken reasonable steps to prevent harassment.
The case of Allay (UK) Ltd v Mr S Gehlen demonstrated that providing one-off or infrequent training is insufficient. In this instance, the tribunal rejected the employer’s defence against a racial harassment claim because the anti-harassment training was deemed “stale” and ineffective, having “faded from people’s memories.”
To rely on the defence of taking “all reasonable steps” to prevent harassment, employers must be able to show that their training and policies are current, effective, and regularly refreshed. Training should be treated as an ongoing process, not a one-off, “tick-box exercise.”
