A pioneering workplace scheme set up in the wake of the Kevin Spacey scandal at the Old Vic has been rolled out to 20 arts organisations across the country, with the aim of enabling members of staff to speak out more openly than in the past about sexual harassment and bullying.

The “Guardians” programme, designed to allow employees a confidential outlet to share concerns about behaviour at work, was spearheaded by the London theatre in June as it grappled with the fallout from the allegations against its former artistic director. It is now being taken up by other organisations, including the British Film Institute, Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Opera, the National Portrait Gallery and the Southbank Centre.

Kate Varah, appointed executive director of the Old Vic following the scandal, said the scheme allowed a trained member of staff to “act as an outlet” for concerns in the workplace. “The idea is to fill the gap between a watercooler conversation with a mate, where you say: ‘This happened to me and it doesn’t feel right’, but it doesn’t go anywhere, to the formal conversations you have with HR and management,” she said.

Varah, who worked as an employment lawyer before moving into arts management, has been at the Old Vic since 2009 and overlapped with Spacey’s tenure for about six years. She was, she said, surprised to learn of the multiple sexual harassment and assault claims made against Spacey last October.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Kevin Spacey outside the Old Vic in 2004. Photograph: AP

On Thursday a masseur filed a lawsuit against the actor in the Los Angeles superior court, alleging sexual battery. US authorities recently dropped a 1992 sexual assault claim against Spacey, 59, saying it was outside the statute of limitations. But other alleged offences are still under investigation, including in the UK.

“I think it’s really easy to use the prism of hindsight and conjecture, which are both unhelpful. What is helpful are establishing the facts,” said Varah.

Last October, the Old Vic set up a confidential email for people to report incidents and received 56 responses; 20 of those, all of whom were male, had personal allegations regarding Spacey’s behaviour. Sixteen were former staff members. Lawyers recommended that 14 of the individuals contact the police, three of whom had already done so. The internal investigation was concluded within two weeks and, as a result, the Guardians scheme was established “to champion best practice”.

The concerns around escalation, Varah said, were key in the theatre’s findings. The idea that employees, especially freelance employees, would feel uncomfortable or intimidated about voicing problems at work, she believes, would be circumvented by the Guardians, of which there are six at the Old Vic.

Varah said she was in talks with up to 30 more organisations looking to sign up to the Guardians training programme. “This won’t replace or obviate the place of HR, ideally I’d have everyone go to HR, but in a situation where they don’t feel comfortable doing that, I would rather have some information than none.”

A year on, the Spacey scandal continues to divide and shock the artistic community in London. Last week Judi Dench spoke out in defence of the actor, saying he was a “good friend” and she “[could not] approve” of the way he was removed from the recent Ridley Scott film All the Money in the World.

Varah said: “I don’t have a view about Judi and Kevin’s relationship or the film industry. I can speak about the Old Vic and I can say he was a part of our 200-year-history, that remains the case. And like any history lesson, you take the good and bad from it, you learn from it and use it to improve the future.”