The POSH Act- Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) 2013 was enacted to protect women from sexual harassment and provide a safe and secure work environment.

Under the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, every employer, having more than ten employees, is duty bound to create a workplace free of sexual harassment, which shall include safety of and from persons coming into the workplace.

Act has laid down the following as the responsibility of employers toward prevention and prohibition of instances of sexual harassment at the workplace:

1: Formulating a separate Sexual Harassment Policy and circulating the same to all its employees

2: Amend its service rules

3: Constitute an Internal Committee (IC)

4: Display the Policy

5: Conduct regular awareness sessions

6: Equipping the IC

7: Facilitating a fair enquiry

8: Act upon IC’s recommendations

9: Prepare and submit annual reports

Non-compliance with POSH can cost an employer a monetary penalty of INR 50,000. An employer can be subjected to a penalty of up to INR 50,000 for:

1. Failure to constitute Internal Complaints Committee

2. Failure to act upon recommendations of the Complaints Committee

3. Failure to file an annual report with the District Officer where required

4. Contravening or attempting to contravene or abetting contravention of the Act or Rule

Where an employer repeats a breach under the Act, they shall be subject to:

1. Twice the punishment or higher punishment if prescribed under any other law for the same offence

2. Cancellation/Withdrawal/Non-renewal of registration/license required for carrying on business or activities.

We help you do the following things to make your organization comply with POSH Act.

Draft and disseminate an organizational policy against sexual harassment of women in the workplace.

Formulate an Internal Committee if the organization has ten or more employees

Organize awareness programs for the ICC as well as employees about the provisions of the POSH Act.

Organize all your complaints at one place and provide necessory advice regarding legal procedures.

1: Physical contact and advances.

2: A demand or request for sexual favours.

3: Making sexually coloured remarks.

4: Showing pornography

5: Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.” constitutes sexual harassment.

Section 3 of the Act widens the scope of Sexual Harassment by stating that any of the following circumstances, related to sexual harassment, may also amount to Sexual Harassment. They are:

1: Implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in the victim’s employment

2: Implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in the victim’s employment

3: Implied or explicit threat about the victim’s present or future employment status

4: Interferes with the victim’s work or creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work environment for her and

5: Humiliating treatment likely to affect the victim’s health or safety.

Creating awareness among the employees about prevention of sexual harassment of women is mandated by the POSH act. That makes POSH training mandatory.

ICC- Internal complaints committee (Now referred to as Internal Committee/IC) was introduced as a feature by POSH Act 2013. Every organization should have an IC, which registers the complaint and investigates it with fairness and justice.

Harassment can be in any form. An example of sexual harassment is, when a person in the managerial position offers job benefits to a female employee in exchange for sexual favors.

POSH training is important to create awareness among the employees at workplace. It helps in creating a safe and secure work environment for the women at workplace.

The POSH Law 2013 is the first legislation passed in India to specifically protect the women at workplace from sexual harassment.

The POSH awareness course explains about the POSH Act 2013 and explains what constitutes sexual harassment. It promotes the awareness to prevent harassment of women at workplace.

A law to protect and prevent harassment of women at workplace and also redressal of the registered complaints.

The POSH Act- Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) 2013 was enacted to protect women from sexual harassment and provide a safe and secure work environment.

The harassment based on race, age, sex, religion, national origin, disability, pregnancy, or marital status is considered as illegal.

Harassment comprises of behaviour that is offensive, and has the potential to cause or causes adverse impact on one’s emotional and physical well-being, productivity and/or relationships, which could result in creating a toxic environment at the workplace.

POSH Act is important to protect women from sexual harassment at workplace. It creates a safe and secure work environment and acts as a savior of women at workplace.

A person may be offended by a photograph, joke, email, a lewd comment or any other picture sexual in nature, although it was not intended towards the victim. In such cases, it is considered as indirect harassment.

According to the POSH Act, any woman who is working in or visiting a workplace for the purpose of employment can file a complaint. She can be working as a permanent, temporary or adhoc employee or on daily-wages, voluntary or contract basis. A visitor, probationer, trainee, apprentice and intern are also entitled to file a complaint.

Within three months of the harassing incident, a complaint must be filed. If the IC believes the individual had a good basis for making the complaint later, it can be examined even after the three-month time has passed.