Background:

Sexual harassment of a woman in the workplace is a matter of grave concern to humanity overall. It cannot be construed to be in a narrow sense, as it may include sexual advances and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature by virtue of which the victims of sexual harassment face terrible psychological and health issues such as stress, depression, anxiety, shame, and guilt.

In wake of the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Vishaka&Ors. vs. State of Rajasthan &Ors. (1997), the Ministry of Women and Child Development (“Ministry”), after several years, vide a Notification dated December 9, 2013, passed the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“PoSH Act”).Simultaneously, the Ministry also formulated the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 (“PoSH Rules”) effective from the same date in order to strengthen and streamline the provisions under the POSH Act. The PoSH Act has been implemented with an aim to prevent and protect women from sexual harassment at the workplace and thereby ensure a safe working environment for women. The PoSH Act, as mandatary compliance, requires every company having more than 10 (ten) employees to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee (“ICC”) in the prescribed manner in order to receive and address the complaints of any sort of sexual harassment from women in a time-bound and extremely confidential manner.

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 makes it illegal to sexually harass women in the workplace. It talks about the different ways in which someone can be sexually harassed and how they can complain about this kind of behaviour.

1.Policy Implementation:

• Prepare and implement an Internal Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 Policy in the organisation.
• Sexual harassment is specified as misconduct under the employment contract / service rules. Model standing orders are existence presently.

2.Display Notices:

• Display notices informing employees about SHWW & consequences of misconduct under the said Policy.
• All employees / vendors / vendors’ employees must be well informed about the SHWW Policy & members of the ICC & LCC in the organisation.

3. Employee Awareness and Training:

• Periodic workshop must be conducted to sensitize employees about the consequences of misconduct under the said Act.
• Does &Don’t are given in the said Policy and same is apprised at the time of joining and thru notices, displayed on notice board.
• Policy under the said Act, describes about the acts/deeds, which are treated as misconduct & same are made aware to all the employees, so that any grieved member of the organisation can avail the same.
• The organisation has laid down policy to help to the harassed employee, even to make criminal complaint in the police station, if required.

4.Formation of the ICC Members:

• The management must constitute ICC as per the said Act, known as Internal Complaints Committee.
• The organisation must conduct an orientation program for the ICC Members time to time.
• The management shall have provision to provide necessary facilities to the ICC for dealing with sexual harassment proceedings.

Formation of the ICC Members are appended below:

 
5.Compliances with Complaints Committee Recommendations:

• The management must follow the recommendations of the LCC / ICC (AS APPLICABLE) for the interim measures.
• If any action / award by LCC / ICC is treated as final award and implemented.
• The management should monitor functioning and performance of the ICC at a broad level.

6.Return/Reports:

The management submit the Annual Report / Return as per the requirement of the Section 21 (1) of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

It is the duty of the ICC to submit an annual report, which includes the number of cases filed/disposed of every calendar year to the Employer and District Officer (District Magistrate/Additional District Magistrate/ Collector/ Deputy Collector as a District Officer at the local level).

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs, through a Notification dated July 31, 2018, amended the Companies (Accounts) Rules 2014, in accordance with the request made by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare. By this amendment, it is now mandatory to disclose that the company has implemented the provisions of the Sexual Harassment Act.

It is now compulsory for a company to make a statement in the Director’s Report that it has complied with the provisions regarding the constitution of the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC)

7.Penalty for Non-compliance Under PoSH Act:

Failure to comply with this could lead to hefty penalties. Some of the provisions under the PoSH Law include:

• When the employer fails to constitute an Internal Committee or breaches provisions of this Act or any rules made thereunder, they shall be punishable with fine of Fifty Thousand Rupees (INR 50,000).
• If any employer, after having been previously convicted of an offence punishable under this Act, subsequently commits and is convicted of the same offense, he shall be liable to twice the punishment.
• Extended penalties shall be cancellation or withdrawal of his license, non-renewal, or cancellation of the registration.
• Offences under the PoSH Law are not just illegal but can prove fatal as well: Once booked under the law, the image and goodwill of the organization in question gets tarnished beyond repair and adversely affects the growth & reputation of the organization

 8.Stakeholders in Prevention of Sexual Harassment:

Building systems and processes that regulate the anti-sexual harassment guidelines internally convey the picture of a more mature organization. It is the responsibility of the management of every organization, to ensure absolute compliance with this law.