Ungender’s POSH Guide: Understand And Comply With India’s Anti-Sexual Harassment Law

Written by: Rajkanya Mahapatra

Editor’s Note: As we approach the end of 2020 and take stock of the unprecedented nature of the last 10 months, we’re revisiting some of the conversations we’ve had on understanding, applying and complying with POSH, on maternity benefits, trans rights, on rights of persons with disabilities and how we should be envisioning a workplace that is fair, safe and inclusive.

In line with that thought, here are 14 essential reads on POSH that Ungender published in 2020. Read it as a refresher, save it as your go-to list of resources on POSH or write to the Ungender Insights editor at rajkanya@ungender.in on what more on sexual harassment at work and the law in India would you like to read.

Understanding POSH

PoSH Act: Beginner’s Guide To India’s Anti-Sexual Harassment Law

If you’re new to POSH, let this article be your guiding light. In under 6 minutes, understand the basics of POSH – what is the law about, what does it say about sexual harassment, who does it apply to, in what capacity do companies have to comply with the law, what are the repercussions of not complying with the law, and more.

Read the article, here. 

Sexual Harassment At Work: Does Intent Matter More Than Perception?

When does a compliment become harassment? At what point, asking to go out for coffee crosses the line? When sexual harassment occurs at the workplace, does intent matter more or perception? Understand the fine lines on how sexual harassment can occur at the workplace through this article.

Read the article, here. 

5 Times TV Shows Made Sexual Harassment At Work Look Funny

Popular culture brings generations together through iconic stories, memorable characters and funky music but they often do that at the expense of the marginalised when they punch down, by presenting caricatures or trivialising important issues. One such issue is sexual harassment at work. Read this piece to understand exactly why it wasn’t funny when Chandler (from F.R.I.E.N.D.S, of course) was spanked by his boss.

Read the article, here. 

POSH Roundtable Highlights: Need For Aware Leaders, Accessible HR Mechanisms, And More

Of the many crucial discussions Ungender has had with key stakeholders this year, the first POSH Roundtable has a lot of practical suggestions on how companies should go about applying and complying with POSH.

On this panel were industry experts like, Kanishka Mallick, General Manager, HR, Times Internet, Asha Pillai, Chairperson CII Indian Women Network – Gujarat and Jyothsana Vasudevan, Head – Employee and Industrial Relations, Shell (India).

Read the article, here. 

POSH Investigations

10 Best Practices For Conducting Sexual Harassment Investigations

Before the ICC starts a POSH investigation, it would help immensely if they had a set of structures in place to ensure the smooth functioning of both, the committee and all investigations.

From preparing a master-sheet, assigning each member a responsibility to preparing templates for communications-related tasks – there’s quite a bit to do. Use this article as a checklist to prepare these basic structures and processes for the ICC in your company.

Read the article, here. 

10 Guiding Pointers For ICC Members During A POSH Investigation

If you’re a member of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) in your company, this article (and section) is for you. As an ICC member, working by a set of ground rules can help navigate a subjective, and rather unexpected terrain of POSH investigations in a well-prepared manner.

Some of these guiding pointers include having all the documentation in place before an investigation, maintaining confidentiality of all proceedings, balanced and empathetic communication, and more.

Read the article, here. 

What NOT To Do When You’re Looking Into A Sexual Harassment Complaint

Okay, so far, we’ve understood the many things we should do to ensure that the ICC is functioning properly and the necessary structures and processes are in place for investigations to be done effectively but what about things you shouldn’t be doing during a POSH investigation?

This list tells you 11 things that you must absolutely NOT do while conducting a POSH investigation. Do not force conciliation, don’t take timelines lightly, don’t rely on memory – for anything, are some of the things you shouldn’t do.

Read the article, here. 

How To Prepare A POSH Investigation Report

In this POSH guide, find 7 detailed steps on how to draft a POSH investigation report. From the title page to stating reasons and providing recommendations – this list will help you get an understanding of how best to draft a report at the end of an investigation. If you want to know more, you can always reach out to Ungender, here!

Read the article, here. 

POSH Compliance

Why Indian Companies Must Review Their Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy

How long has it been since your company had a second look at the anti-sexual harassment policy? The Covid-19 pandemic has caused major disruption in how we understand the workspace and the basic rules of workplace conduct. It would be useful to revisit and make some changes to the POSH policy and adapt it to the current situation. This article shares some essential pointers that your company should keep in mind while you draft/revise your anti-sexual harassment policy.

Read the article, here. 

Why Your Company Must Conduct Anti Sexual Harassment Trainings

Here’s a five part pitch on why your company or any organisation for that matter needs to get anti-sexual harassment trainings done on priority. In this article, find both arguments and details on why it’s important for your workforce to know about their POSH rights but also how to draw boundaries at the workplace in terms of their conduct. This article is also a good place to start if you want to understand the repercussions of sexual harassment occuring at your workplace.

Read the article, here. 

The Six Elements Of Effective POSH Training

Between 2014 and 2017, sexual harassment cases increased by 54 percent, according to the data made available by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. It is also well-known that women often do not report workplace sexual harassment. Now that you’re convinced that you must conduct anti-sexual harassment trainings, allow this article to share six elements that make such trainings effective. Feel free to reach out to Ungender, here, for more guidance on such trainings.

Read the article, here. 

Do These 8 Things To Get Your Annual Report Right

All the hard work you’ve been doing throughout the year to ensure that your workforce feels safe and that you’re complying with the POSH law will all go to waste if your annual report doesn’t reflect all the efforts you’ve made in that calendar year. Read this concise article to understand all that your annual report must have to be a complete, foolproof document.

Read the article, here. 

POSH At Work

Understanding The POSH Act In Retail Spaces

The POSH Law applies differently depending on the type of workplace. The retail sector is an especially tricky space because the workforce is quite heterogeneous in its composition – you could have regular or temporary employees, there could be ad-hoc or daily wage workers or there could be employees who work with a third-party vendor.

Now, how do you go about ensuring that each one of these employees feel safe and know what to do in case of sexual harassment at the workplace – you start by reading this article. Find the basics, information on workers’ rights in retail spaces and also a super helpful cheat sheet for POSH compliance. You’re welcome!

Read the article, here. 

Can ‘Culture’ At A Company Prevent Sexual Harassment?

Is it enough to get details of POSH on notice boards or conduct anti-sexual harassment trainings periodically to prevent sexual harassment at work? Probably, not. The two activities mentioned might help you check a few boxes on the compliance list but that maybe all they do.

The work culture of a company has a lot to do with how employees perform, the extent to which employees experience physical, psychological, mental safety, and more. It’s important to build a culture that safeguards against harassment. This article gives you eight pointers on how to build a healthy work culture where sexual harassment is not likely to occur.

Read the article, here. 
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Image credit: Josh Envin/Flickr

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.