POSH 101: 8 Duties The Employer Must Perform To Prevent Sexual Harassment At Work

Written by: Sheena Verma

The POSH Act came into effect eight years ago and has since provided a framework that public and private organisations must comply with to prevent and address sexual harassment at the workplace. In this article, you will find the answers to when POSH compliance kicks in for a company, what are the employer’s duties, who the POSH law protects, and more.

When Does POSH Compliance Kick In For A Company

Every employer needs to have an anti-sexual harassment policy in place irrespective of the number of employees they have. Once a company has 10 or more employees, the POSH Act requires them to set up an Internal Complaints Committee.

8 Duties The Employer Must Perform Acc. To The POSH Act

Apart from constituting an ICC, the Act (1) provides a list of the following duties every employer is obligated to fulfill:

1) Safe Environment: Provide a safe working environment, including safety from people visiting the workplace.

2) Awareness: Spread awareness about the penal consequences of sexual harassment, and the order by which the ICC has been constituted by displaying the said information in the office compound.

3) Sensitization and Orientation Drives: Hold workshops to sensitize the employees with the Act and orientation drives for the ICC members.

4) Facilitating the ICC: Facilitate the functioning of the ICC by providing assistance, for example, (a) in making sure that the respondent and witnesses in question attend the proceedings, and (b) ensuring that the ICC has all the required information regarding the complaint.

5) Assist the Aggrieved Woman: Help the aggrieved woman if she wants to file a complaint about the incident of sexual harassment under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (IPC).

6) Initiate Action under the IPC: Take action against the perpetrator under the provisions of the IPC. If the perpetrator is not an employee at the same workplace, the employer shall, considering the will of the aggrieved woman, cause to initiate action in the workplace where the incident of sexual harassment took place.

7) Initiate Action under the Service Rules: Take action against the perpetrator for misconduct under the service rules.

8) Monitor ICC’s Report: Ensure that the ICC submits its report in time.

Who Does The POSH Law Protect?

The Act protects working women all over the country. In the context of a company, an aggrieved woman has been defined as a woman of any age who alleges to have been a victim of any act of sexual harassment by the respondent. It is immaterial or unimportant whether the woman was employed at that workplace or not.

Basic Rules On Filing A Complaint

The Act also provides (2) that any aggrieved woman may file a sexual harassment complaint to the ICC within a period of three months from the date of the incident. In case, the aggrieved woman alleges more than one incident of sexual harassment, the complaint should be filed within three months from the date of the last incident.

This period may further be extended by the ICC if it is satisfied that circumstances prevented the woman from filing a complaint within the specified period. Such an extension cannot exceed three months.

The complaint has to be filed in writing. However, where it cannot be filed in writing, the Presiding Officer or any member of the ICC is mandated to provide all reasonable assistance to the aggrieved woman for filing a written complaint.

Incapacity to File Complaint: Where, by reason of physical/mental incapacity or death or otherwise, the aggrieved woman cannot file a complaint, her legal heir is entitled to do so under Section 9(2). Refer to the following article on Ungender, for more details.

What Happens After A Complaint Is Filed?

While the inquiry is pending, the ICC may recommend the employer to take any of the following steps to ensure comfort for the complainant:

1) Transfer the complainant or respondent to a different workplace.

2) Grant leave to the complainant up to a period of three months. Such leave shall be separate from the leave the complainant is otherwise entitled to.

3) Grant such other relief as may be prescribed.

These are simple answers to five important questions we’re often asked about the POSH Act. Following are the links to more answers.

About the author: Sheena Verma is a third-year student at National Law School, Punjab with an interest in gender laws and competition law.

References: 

(1) Duties of the employer have been listed in Section 19 of the POSH Act. 
(2) Rules on filing a complaint have been listed in Section 9 of the POSH Act. 

Ungender Insights is the product of our learning from advisory work at Ungender. Our team specializes in advising workplaces on workplace diversity and inclusion. Write to us at contact@ungender.in to understand how we can partner with your organization to build a more inclusive workplace.