Annual Compliance Report under Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013

According to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013, the Internal Complaints Committees and the Local Complaints Committees, must, prepare a yearly annual report in the form and time prescribed, and submit it to the employer or the District Officer, as may be the case. A brief report of the annual reports is then to be forwarded by the District Officer to the State Government. The preparation of the annual report is a task that must be fulfilled by the ICCs and the LCCs and is to be submitted every calendar year.

The employer is tasked with including the following elements in the report of the organisation:

1. The number of cases that have been filed, if any
2. Disposal of such cases under the Act

In the event that the employer does not require to prepare the annual report of the organisation, he/she has the responsibility of communicating to the District Officer, the number of such cases.

The annual reports are to be filed by the Internal Complaints Committees as well as the Local Complaint Committee located in the district. These reports are to be filed with the District Officer. While the data received from the ICCs includes the number of cases faced by the organisation, the data from the LCC contains information received from a number of organisations from within the district. Thus, employers have a duty to inform the District Officer of the number of cases arising in his/her organisation:

1. In the event that the organisation has an ICC constituted, the information regarding the number of cases is to be submitted in the form of a report, prepared by the ICC.
2. In the event that the organisation has no ICC and the report is submitted by the LCC, the employer still has the duty of informing the District Officer regarding the number of cases which arose in his/her organisation during that period.

According to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013, the appropriate government has the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of the Act, in furtherance of which, they are to maintain data on the number of cases filed and disposed of, in relation to complaints of sexual harassment.

These reports play a massive role in the monitoring of the implementation of the Act. The data regarding the number of cases that have been filed and disposed helps one in understanding the current scenario in the country. This data would also enable those concerned to ascertain whether there has been any reduction in such incidents following the implementation of the Act. Finally, it could also help the concerned authorities understand the impact that the implementation of the Act has had on workplaces. In order to obtain the data for the same, it is important that it be collected

from the best possible source, which in these cases is the employer.

Apart from the obvious benefits to the implementation of the Act, the submitting of the report also affects the compliance of the organisation with the provisions of the Act. Every organisation strives to comply with the provisions and requirements laid down by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act. In doing so, the Company would have to compulsorily file the annual report.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 is a piece of legislation whose impact depends largely on the implementation of its provisions. One such activity is the filing of the annual report by employers. By doing so they would enable the authorities concerned to have a better view and understand of the reality of the state of sexual harassment at the workplace.

Submitting the details of the number of cases in the organisation is a duty of the employer regardless of the number of employees of the organisation. A common error committed by workplaces is that they believe they do not require to provide any information if there is no ICC in their organisation. While it is true that their data is included in the report filed by the LCC, the employers are still required to intimate the District Officer regarding the number of cases filed and their disposal under the Act.

Every workplace desires to be compliant with the requirements of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act. Filing the annual reports are a part of their duty. Only by doing so, can they be fully compliant with the legislation. This is of particular importance to the Human Resources departments of the organisation.

Complying with the requirement for the filing of reports in the proper manner is beneficial to the government as well as to the individual organisation. Receiving the information assists the government in better implementation and data maintenance concerning sexual harassment. On the other hand, filing the reports or intimating the District Officer regarding the number of cases under the Act also helps organisations in fulfilling their responsibilities and being fully compliant under the Act.