All You Need to Know About PoSH Compliance

1. AllYouNeedto KnowAboutPoSHCompliance Whatarethebasicaspectsof PoSH? Legislation: The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (aka PoSHAct) was enacted to make workplaces saferforwomen.  Policy: The first aspect is to have a policy that informs people inside the organisation, visitors and empanelled third parties that the organisation is legally compliant. As part of the awareness drive, employees must also be made to understand what constitutes sexual harassment as per the law. It is also mandatory for every employee to attend the training everyyear.  Internal committee: The next aspect is setting up an internal committee to handle sexual harassment cases. The committee members have to undergo an annual intensive training programme covering all the legal aspects. Upon completion, they should have the know-howtoconductanenquiryandsuggesttheappropriatedisciplinaryaction. Eventhe companies inco-working spacesneedtohavePoSHcommittees.  Compliance: Last but not least, the government must be informed about the organisation’s compliance status. This can be done by filing an annual report, for the calendaryear, withtheconcerneddistrictofficer.  What constitutessexualharassment aspertheAct? Physical harassment: This refers to anything from an uncomfortable touch to sexualassault.  Verbal harassment: Cracking a joke or saying something in any language, which is sexual innature,isconsideredtobeoffensive. 

2. Non-verbalharassment:In thiscase,anysexualjokeorimagesentorshownvia WhatsApporsocialmedia isconsideredinappropriate.  Quid pro quo: This is a type of power-based harassment where a person in power says, “You give me this, and I’ll give you this”. In other words, it is about sexual favours in theworkplace.  Does theAct protect only femaleemployees fromsexualharassmentinthe workplace? Yes.TheActprotectsfemaleemployeesfromsexualharassmentbymaleemployees.Butsome companies write gender-neutral policies to extend the scope of the Act. In this case, the internal committee members must be trained to understand what constitutes sexual harassmentofothergenders. What is an internalcommittee,and whoareits members? Asofnow, Indiais theonlycountrythat hasaprovisionfor aninternalcommittee. The law specifies that more than 50% of the members must be women. The committee must have three internal committee members, a presiding officer and one external member who usually understands the law and processes. The presiding officer needs to be a woman holding the senior most position in the organisation. Ideally, the committee members should be drawn fromdifferentteamsacrosstheorganisationtoensurediversityandfairness. A new member has to be nominated if an existing member leaves. A member can hold the position for a maximum of 3 years. Post-completion of 3 years, a new IC member has to be nominated. What is therequireddocumentationduringaninvestigationprocess? Duringcaseenquiries,allmeetingshavetoberecorded,transcribedandsignedbyallparties. Additionally, every communication to the complainant, witnesses and respondents has to be documented and filed in a confidential folder. If the case moves to court, this folder will becomea credible referencesourceforthe judge. SourceLink-https://medium.com/@greytHRsoftware/all-you-need-to-know-about-posh-compliance- 3f9b8e122aa9