How is Employee Sensitization conducted in a Company under Sexual Harassment Law at Workplace

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 lays down the employer’s responsibility in carrying out workshops and awareness programs in order to ensure employee sensitization. While it is an essential task that employers are supposed to comply with, a majority of organisations perform this task merely in order to indicate compliance. However, these practices are often more harmful to the organisation than beneficial. The manner in which this is to take place remains an essential factor in the overall quality of such programs.

What the Law lays down

The law is silent regarding the manner or “how” employee sensitization takes place. This leaves it open to the organisations to conduct such programs in the manner that they see fit or what they believe to be the best way to achieve their objective.

What Companies are doing

While organisations being given a wide berth is beneficial in that it allows them to customise the sessions in accordance with the needs of their workplace, it is also harmful in that organisations are not always aware of the best practices to be followed in such cases. The ambiguity and vagueness regarding this particular issue could turn out to be a boon or a bane. It is at this conjecture that it becomes vital for organisations to be aware of the various modes through which they could conduct these sessions.

Most workplaces, unaware of what to do in the absence of guidelines laid down by law, choose to conduct employee sensitization programs through circular distribution/ office notices or offline sessions at a particular location. While doing so does cover the liability placed on the employer by law, these methods are seldom effective, save in the cases of very specific organisations.

When it comes to circular distribution, most organisations simply cram the legally requisite information into a pamphlet and distribute the same to the employees. In such cases, while the employees are aware of their rights under the law, they are not informed about other vital information. For example, in most organisations, while the employees are aware of the existence of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, they have no knowledge of the existence of an ICC in their organisation or the composition of the ICC or the procedure to approach them. An alternative practice is for the employers to conduct offline sensitization sessions. The effectiveness of this method, however, is dependent on the nature of the organisation. In the case of diverse workplaces which have numerous employees and multiple locations, such sessions are an unnecessary drain on the resources of the organisation. The costs of transportation for the employees would simply add to the financial expenses of the company.

Another practice followed is that organisations choose to circulate notices with the relevant information regarding the law, which are to be signed by the employees. However, as is ordinarily the case, such notices are signed without being fully read or understood. Thus, these current practices cannot be considered as ‘best practices’ from the point of view of the employers.

What Companies could do

At the outset, it is important to realise that manner in which these sessions could take place varies from organisation to organisation. In these cases, the structure of the enterprise as well as their nature of work plays a role in deciding the appropriate mode.

Employee sensitization does not necessarily have to be conducted offline, or in person. While it is usual for organisations which operate out of one location, with the employees physically present, to prefer conducting such sessions in person, this may not always be the best fit for the rest. In certain scenarios, where not all the employees are present at a particular location, such as content writers who work from home, conducting such sessions online may be the more effective choice.

The location for conducting the sessions is another factor, which is closely linked to the medium. This too, is linked to the nature of work done in the organisation. For a majority of enterprises, such as industries, these programs are to be conducted on the premises or any other such location where the employees would ordinarily be present.

There are clear downsides to conducting such sessions through circulars or offline sessions. One glaring shortcoming present in each of these methods is the difficulty that they pose in tracking progress at an individual level. The more efficient alternative in such cases is for organisations to conduct their sensitization activities online. This solves the problem of location for those organisations which have employees in diverse locations. In these cases, the sessions can also be viewed by the employees at their leisure. Further, online sessions present the added advantage, in that they make tracking progress at the individual level much easier. In such cases, employees also have the means to make individual queries heard and get them clarified by the organisation. As this is usually done between the two parties, there are no inhibitions on the part of the employee towards airing his/her concerns.

At the end of the day, the organisations must make sure that their employees are aware of their rights. However, employee sensitization does not end at simply this much. What employers at every workplace ought to ensure is that the employees are also aware of the mechanisms that exist in order to safeguard such rights. It is not enough to inform the employees of the fact that there exists an ICC in their organisation, it is also incumbent upon the employer to make sure that employees are aware of who exactly are members of the ICC as well as the procedure to approach them in order for one’s complaint to be heard.

Conclusion

There are many factors that a company is to keep in mind when it comes to the issue of selecting the manner in which they wish to conduct their employee sensitization programs. In a majority of the cases, companies would choose to opt for an offline session at their office or any other convenient location. What many organisations are unaware of is that they also have the choice to conduct these sessions online. What is to be kept in mind is that the requirement by law is flexible enough to permit workplaces to opt for the manner that would be most conducive to them.

Through conducting such sessions online, organisations would be able to address the issue of sensitization in a much more effective manner. While doing so may not be the current trend followed by organisations, it is without a doubt, among the best practices to be followed when it comes to employee sensitization. Online sessions present the added advantage, where they enable employers and employees to maintain track of each individual employee, as well as facilitate clarification regarding issues which the employees would ordinarily be reluctant in divulging. While offline sessions could potentially fulfil the purpose they are intended for, these are highly dependent on the exact nature of the organisation. On the other hand, online sessions are much easier to mould in order to suit the requirements of a particular organisation.