Anti-Sexual Harassment (Act 838) and Workplace Anti-Bullying
A one-day programme for HR, line managers and the people who end up receiving a complaint. The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022 gave complainants a tribunal to go to, and the Employment Act 1955 gives employers a duty to inquire into any complaint they receive plus a duty to display an awareness notice. Most Malaysian organisations have a policy in a handbook and almost no muscle memory for what to actually do in the first hour after someone speaks up.
This is a practical session rather than a legal lecture. The morning settles what the law actually says, where the line sits between banter and harassment, and how the tribunal route changes an employer's exposure. The afternoon is procedure: taking the complaint, protecting the complainant, running an inquiry that holds up, weighing evidence when there are no witnesses, and closing out with a decision you can defend. Workplace bullying is covered alongside, because in practice the two arrive through the same door and most organisations handle them with the same committee.
HRD Corp SBL-Khas Claimable
Programme Agenda
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Welcome and Programme Overview
Introduction to the session, objectives, and housekeeping.
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
What the Law Now Requires
The Anti-Sexual Harassment Act 2022 and the Tribunal for Anti-Sexual Harassment: who can bring a claim, against whom, and what the tribunal can award. The Employment Act 1955 duty to inquire into every complaint received, the duty to display an awareness notice at the workplace, and what happens when an employer refuses to inquire. How the tribunal route sits alongside the Industrial Court and a police report, and why a complainant now has somewhere to go even when the employer does nothing.
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Break
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Where the Line Actually Sits
The statutory definition, unpacked in plain language: unwanted conduct of a sexual nature, verbal, non-verbal, visual, gestural or physical. Why intention is not the test and impact is. Quid pro quo versus hostile environment. Harassment that happens on WhatsApp, in group chats, at client entertainment, at the annual dinner and on business trips, which is where a large share of Malaysian complaints actually originate. Working through borderline scenarios in small groups and arguing the call.
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Workplace Bullying and the Overlap
Bullying, which Malaysia does not regulate as a standalone offence, and how it reaches the employer anyway through constructive dismissal, mental health obligations and OSH duties. Distinguishing firm management from bullying, which is the distinction supervisors most often get wrong in both directions. Repeated conduct, exclusion, unreasonable work demands and public humiliation. Why the same committee usually handles both, and how to keep the two processes separate on paper.
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Receiving a Complaint
The first conversation and how much of the outcome it determines. Listening without investigating, recording without leading, and never promising confidentiality you cannot deliver. Interim measures to separate the parties without penalising the complainant. Anonymous and third-party reports. Handling a complaint against a senior person, a director, or the person the complaint would normally be reported to. Non-retaliation in practice rather than in the policy document.
2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
Running an Inquiry That Holds Up
Constituting the inquiry, and why the panel composition is the first thing challenged. Natural justice: notice of the allegation, the right to be heard, and an unbiased panel. Interviewing the complainant, the respondent and witnesses. Handling digital evidence including chat logs, images and CCTV. Standard of proof on the balance of probabilities, and how to reason to a finding in a he-said-she-said case where nobody else was in the room.
3:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Break
3:30 PM - 4:15 PM
Outcomes, Records and Data Protection
Deciding proportionate outcomes, from counselling and warnings through to dismissal, and how the finding feeds a domestic inquiry where dismissal is on the table. Communicating the outcome to each party and what the complainant is entitled to be told. Complaint records as sensitive personal data under the PDPA, retention, and who may access the file. Reporting to the board or the audit committee without identifying individuals.
4:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Policy and Notice Workshop
Participants review their own harassment policy and complaint channel against what the session covered, draft or correct the awareness notice required at the workplace, and agree who sits on the panel and who the alternate reporting route is when the complaint concerns the usual recipient.
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Wrap-Up and Q&A
Key takeaways, next steps, and close.
Key Outcomes
- State what Act 838 and the Employment Act require of an employer, including the duty to inquire and the notice
- Apply the statutory definition of sexual harassment to realistic borderline situations
- Distinguish workplace bullying from firm management, and route each correctly
- Receive a complaint in a way that protects the complainant and preserves the evidence
- Run an inquiry that satisfies natural justice and survives challenge at the tribunal or Industrial Court
- Decide proportionate outcomes and hold the records in line with the PDPA
Training Mode Physical / Online / Hybrid / e-learning
HRD Corp SBL-Khas Claimable
Level Awareness level, suitable for HR practitioners, line managers, supervisors, harassment committee members and anyone likely to receive a complaint. No legal background required.
Duration 1 Day (8 Hours) | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Venue In-house at the client's premises, or delivered via the client's preferred platform (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or equivalent)
Assessment A reviewed policy and awareness notice for the participant's own organisation plus a 10 to 15 question knowledge assessment
Certificate Certificate of Completion issued to all participants upon full attendance