Essential Training
All employees are required to complete How We Work at Essex on an annual basis or when joining the University. Some roles will also be required to complete role-based Essential Training in addition to this. Find out more about Essential Training for you or your direct reports below.
How We Work at Essex for all employees
This online training serves as an important update and reminder for existing employees and a core element of induction for all new starters, ensuring awareness of key legislation, policy and practice that affects our work here at the University. 
Accessing the training
All employees are automatically enrolled on in Moodle.
Any employee with admin permissions in Moodle (e.g. Library, DITS) must undertake the training in student view for their completion to be recorded.
Completing the training
can be completed on a PC, Laptop and Mac
Timings
You will receive an email for when you will need to complete the training. New starters after 17 September 2025 must complete the training within three months of their first day of employment.
How your training is recorded
You have access to a Tableau dashboard where you can find information on your Essential Training requirements and completions. Please allow 24 hours for the dashboard to update with any recently completed courses.
If you are unable to access Tableau, contact biquery@essex.ac.uk
If you believe your dashboard is incorrect and you have evidence of completion, please send this to Commercial Applications at caquery@essex.ac.uk to update your records.
If you do not have evidence please check your completion by logging into Moodle to review your progress and ensure that you have completed all quizzes, sections and downloaded any relevant certificates. If there is still a discrepancy, get in touch.
Information for line managers
Line managers can see essential training completion records for their direct reports on the .
Heads of Department and Heads of Section are able to see completion rates for their whole team on the .
Annual completion reporting
We also run reports on training completion for assurance purposes, and these are reported to the University Steering Group and Council at least annually. Reporting on the annual How We Work At Essex completion rates is an important way for us to demonstrate that we are legally compliant, communicate our policies to all staff, as well as promote our values and how we expect people to work together.
Essential Training policy
The Essential Training Policy (.pdf) has been created to ensure transparency in the expectations we hold for the completion of Essential Training and signals an ongoing commitment to engage with professional development and continuous learning opportunities. It has been created to ensure transparency in the expectations we hold for the completion of Essential Training and signals an ongoing commitment to engage with professional development and continuous learning opportunities.
Role-based Essential Training
There are many roles which have essential job role training which must be undertaken. You can view the different role-based Essential Training below.
Line Managers
- Managing Health and Safety Essentials. Book a place on this training by searching the or direct queries to safety@essex.ac.uk [120 mins]
Extra role-based support
In addition to the role-based essential training that Line Managers have to complete, there are some extra, non-compulsory resources available to help Managers with their duties hosted on Moodle: .
Student-facing staff
Student code of conduct training should be undertaken by those who are specialist support staff who may be required to respond to reports of sexual violence, harassment and hate crime and those involved with implementing the Code of Student Conduct. Find out more about essential and desirable training. Workshops can be booked via and videos are can be viewed on
Student AdvisorsÂ
Student Advisors are required to complete a as a part of their role-based training.
New education and research roles, including Assistant Lecturers and Graduate Laboratory Assistants
New education and research roles (including Assistant Lecturers and Graduate Laboratory Assistants) are required to attend central induction events. The induction events can be found through searching the learning event catalogue and more information can be found on the Staff Directory.
Committee members
So that decisions made at University committees uphold our commitment to transparency, natural justice in the workplace, and the avoidance of bias, all members of Council, University Steering Group, Audit and Risk Management Committee and Safeguarding Advisory Group are required to complete:
- External members of Council are required to complete the annual and
- Internal members of Council are required to complete and Health and Safety Leadership training (arranged on request by emailing safety@essex.ac.uk)
All members of Council, University Steering Group, Audit and Risk Management Committee and Safeguarding Advisory Group are required to complete Prevent Duty in Higher Education Training which can be accessed on Moodle or by emailing governance@essex.ac.uk
Curriculum update
Curriculum Update is the ºÚÁÏÍø system and process for updating the existing curriculum (course structures, modules, and option groups). Click here for more information, FAQs and to undertake the training: .
