- Home
- Health & Safety
- Sexual Orientation And Discrimination Course
Sexual Orientation And Discrimination Course
Written By Allison
- CPD Accredited | Instant Certificate | Mobile Friendly | Bulk Discounts Available
Trusted by care providers, healthcare organisations, businesses and workplace teams
The Sexual Orientation and Discrimination course explores sexual orientation, its historical context, and discrimination affecting service users and staff. It helps learners recognise prejudice, consider individual needs and communicate respectfully. Suitable for care professionals, managers and wider workplace teams, the training supports fair treatment in everyday situations, from acknowledging a patient’s partner to recognising inappropriate comments about a colleague.
Sexual Orientation And Discrimination Course Summary
Course Name: Sexual Orientation and Discrimination
Duration: 1 hour
Delivery: Online Training Course
Certificate Included: Instant Digital Certificate on successful completion
Accreditation: CPD Accredited
Suitable For: Healthcare and social care staff, managers, HR professionals, education staff and customer-facing teams
Assessment: Online Multiple Choice Test
Access: Instant Access with 12-month course access.
Duration
1 hour
CPD Points
1
Last Updated:
25 Jul 2026
What is Sexual Orientation And Discrimination training?
Sexual Orientation and Discrimination training helps staff recognise how someone’s sexual orientation can affect their experience of care, services and employment.
The course introduces sexual orientation, relevant background and history, and discrimination involving service users and colleagues. It encourages learners to consider how assumptions, language and everyday decisions can exclude people or undermine their dignity.
Practical applications include avoiding assumptions that everyone has an opposite-sex partner, treating same-sex relationships respectfully, and recognising homophobic comments in staff conversations.
The training supports informed workplace behaviour and the application of equality policies. Learners should use the knowledge alongside their organisation’s procedures for inclusive care, fair treatment and reporting concerns.
CPD Accredited
User friendly interactive courses
Instant Access
Enrol Now – Start Instantly
Certify Instantly
Certificate Available Immediately
Learn on Any Device
Train on Phone, Tablet or Computer
Money Back Guarantee
14 Day Money Back Guaratnee
How Would You Like to Access This Course?
Flexible options for individuals, staff teams and organisations
1
Instant Online Purchase
From 1 to 100+ learners • Bulk discounts available • Instant online access and certificates included
- Instant Access - No Quote Required
- CPD Accredited Certificates Included
- 100% Online & Mobile Friendly
- Assign Courses to Staff, Friends or Family
- Track Progress and Completions Online
- 14 Day Money Back Guarantee
£15 + VAT
CPD • Certificate included • Start instantly
2
Need Ongoing Staff Training?
Best value for teams of 8+ learners who need regular mandatory, induction and refresher training.
- Save Money on Staff Training
- Access Our Full 200+ Course Library
- Instant certificates issued
- Track Compliance Across Your Team
- Free Learner Replacements
- Reporting & Certificate Management
- CQC inspection ready
- Lowest price guarantee
- Dedicated Support
Best Price Guarantee • CQC Inspection Ready
When should I choose Caredemy Teams?
Caredemy Teams is ideal for organisations with 8+ learners who need access to multiple courses for mandatory training, induction training, and annual refreshers. Benefit from our best-value pricing, free learner replacements, compliance reporting, and access to our full course library. If you only need a small number of CPD courses, you can buy online instantly.
Access friendly, dedicated expert support whenever you need it, with guidance available throughout your learning journey
All-access individual subscription
Get unlimited access to 200+ CPD-accredited courses. One low monthly price. Learn anytime.
Buy any 5 courses for £47
Mix and max any courses.
CPD accredited - Certificates included.
Who Is This Course For?
This course is suitable for care assistants, support workers, nurses, healthcare assistants, social workers, allied health professionals and staff working in care homes, homecare, hospitals, GP practices and community services.
It is also relevant to registered managers, team leaders, HR staff, recruitment teams and equality leads who influence workplace culture and staff opportunities.
Teachers, education support staff, receptionists and customer-facing employees can benefit where their work involves supporting people from different backgrounds.
The Sexual Orientation and Discrimination course can form part of induction, refresher learning or wider equality and diversity training. It is particularly useful for staff who need to recognise prejudice and provide respectful support without making assumptions about someone’s relationships.
Key Benefits
✓ Recognise sexual orientation discrimination affecting staff and service users.
✓ Avoid assumptions about partners, relationships and family circumstances.
✓ Support fair access to healthcare, social care and workplace services.
✓ Identify homophobic language and exclusionary behaviour.
✓ Communicate respectfully with people of different sexual orientations.
✓ Apply equality principles to everyday care and employment decisions.
Course Modules
- Sexual Orientation And Discrimination – Course Introduction
- Sexual Orientation Defined
- Background and History
- Understanding Sexual Orientation and Discrimination
- Issues Relating to Service User – Sexual Orientation
- Issues Relating to Colleagues and Staff – Sexual Orientation
Ready to start?
Learning Outcomes
| Learner Outcome | Covered |
|---|---|
| Define sexual orientation using appropriate terminology. | ✓ |
| Describe the background and history relevant to sexual orientation discrimination. | ✓ |
| Recognise prejudice linked to a person’s sexual orientation. | ✓ |
| Identify assumptions about relationships that can affect care and support. | ✓ |
| Explain how discriminatory treatment can affect service users. | ✓ |
| Identify barriers to services associated with sexual orientation. | ✓ |
| Explain how to acknowledge a service user’s partner respectfully. | ✓ |
| Recognise inappropriate comments about a colleague’s sexual orientation. | ✓ |
| Identify sexual orientation issues affecting fair treatment of staff. | ✓ |
| Describe ways to support inclusive interactions with colleagues and service users. | ✓ |
Training 8+ Staff Across Multiple Courses?
Purchasing multiple licences for this Fire Extinguisher Training course? Simply adjust the quantity and buy online today.
If you need ongoing training for 10+ employees across multiple subjects, our Team Training platform provides access to 200+ CPD accredited courses, compliance reporting, learner management and bulk enrolment tools.
- Access 200+ CPD Accredited Courses
- Manage All Learners In One Place
- Compliance & Audit Reporting
- Bulk Enrolment & Certificate Tracking
- Dedicated Account Support
Team Training Solutions
Why Choose Caredemy?
- Instant Certificate
- CPD-accredited courses
- Money Back Guarantee
- Expert-designed training
- 120,000 learners trained
- Flexible online learning
- Compliance-focused
- Dedicated support
What Our Learners Say?
“Useful examples of how assumptions about partners can affect conversations with residents.”
Hannah Clarke
Senior Care Assistant
“Clear explanations that helped me recognise inappropriate comments and think about fair treatment within our team.”
Daniel Brooks
Team Leader
“Relevant to patient-facing work, especially acknowledging relationships respectfully without making assumptions.”
Priya Shah
Practice Nurse

4.95/5 from 114+ learners
Why Is Sexual Orientation And Discrimination training important?
Prejudice can make people feel unsafe, excluded or reluctant to raise concerns. In healthcare and social care, assumptions about relationships may undermine trust or leave a person’s chosen partner overlooked.
For colleagues, homophobic remarks, exclusion and unfair decisions can damage wellbeing and working relationships. Recognising these issues helps staff maintain professional standards and respond through appropriate workplace procedures.
Sexual Orientation and Discrimination training encourages respectful communication, individualised support and fair treatment. It helps learners consider the impact of their behaviour on patients, service users, colleagues and customers.
For employers, the course can support a wider approach to preventing discrimination. Effective practice also requires clear policies, accessible reporting routes and consistent action when concerns arise.
Is Sexual Orientation And Discrimination training a legal requirement in the UK?
There is no general UK legal requirement to complete this specific named course.
In England, Scotland and Wales, the Equality Act 2010 protects sexual orientation in employment and service provision. Employers must comply with applicable discrimination law; training can help staff recognise unlawful treatment and apply workplace policies. Acas
Northern Ireland has a separate equality framework, with protections against sexual orientation discrimination at work. Organisations must follow the legislation applicable to their location. nidirect
Employers should identify appropriate learning for each role, explain reporting procedures and address discriminatory behaviour. Completing the Sexual Orientation and Discrimination course can contribute to this approach, but a certificate alone does not demonstrate that an organisation has met every legal responsibility.
Trusted by 120,000+ learners
Trusted by care providers, healthcare organisations, businesses and workplace teams across the UK for high-quality online training
Office & Commercial
Health & Social Care
Industrial, Warehousing & Facilities
Hospitality, Retail & Public Services
Sexual Orientation And Discrimination training FAQ?
What is sexual orientation discrimination?
Sexual orientation discrimination means unlawful treatment connected to someone’s sexual orientation. At work, it can include direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation. Examples include homophobic comments or unfair employment decisions. Protection can also apply when someone is treated unfairly because of a perceived sexual orientation.
Who needs Sexual Orientation and Discrimination training?
The training is relevant to staff whose behaviour or decisions affect colleagues, patients, service users or customers. This includes care workers, healthcare professionals, managers, HR teams and reception staff. Employers should consider it within induction and equality training, particularly where employees need to recognise prejudice and communicate respectfully about relationships.
How long does the Sexual Orientation and Discrimination course take?
The course takes approximately one hour, although completion time depends on your reading pace and how long you spend reviewing the material. Learning is online, allowing you to work through the content at your own pace. The course concludes with an online assessment to check your knowledge.
Is Sexual Orientation and Discrimination training a legal requirement?
This specific course is not generally required by UK law. However, organisations have legal responsibilities concerning discrimination, and employers may require relevant equality training through their own policies. Training should support practical measures such as fair decision-making, clear reporting routes and appropriate responses to concerns.
How often should staff refresh sexual orientation discrimination training?
There is no universal statutory refresher interval for this specific course. Employers should set review periods according to staff responsibilities, organisational policies and learning needs. Additional training may be appropriate following a complaint, an incident, a change in guidance or evidence that staff are applying equality principles inconsistently.
How does this course help healthcare and social care staff?
The course helps staff consider sexual orientation when communicating with people and providing services. Practical applications include acknowledging a same-sex partner, avoiding assumptions about family relationships and recognising prejudiced remarks. These behaviours support respectful care and help people feel more comfortable discussing their needs, preferences and support arrangements.
Is sexual orientation the same as gender identity?
No. Sexual orientation concerns attraction, while gender identity concerns a person’s sense of their gender. They should not be treated as interchangeable. This course focuses on sexual orientation and related discrimination involving service users and staff. Use people’s own terminology respectfully and avoid assuming one aspect of identity tells you another.
Will I receive a certificate, and can I retake the assessment?
Yes. After successfully completing the end-of-course quiz, you receive a digital CPD-accredited certificate that you can download or print. The course includes unlimited assessment retakes. Employers can retain completion records as part of staff development evidence and discuss how learners will apply the content in their roles.
Need Training for Multiple Employees?
Train your entire workforce through Caredemy Teams with bulk enrolment, compliance reporting and access to 200+ CPD courses.
- CPD-accredited certificate
- Instant Certificate
- Learn of Any Device
- Money-back Guarantee
Related Courses You May Like
UK Regulations And Guidance
£15 + Vat
- CPD Accredited
- Instant Certificate
- Instant Access
- Bulk Discounts Available