The PoSH law was enacted with the objective of making workplaces safer for women by preventing, prohibiting and redressing acts of sexual harassment against them in the workplace. One of the compliances of the law is the creation of the Internal Committee.Â
The Internal Committee (IC) is one of the redressal bodies under the PoSH Act. Any employer of a workplace with 10 or more employees is required to constitute an ICC. The IC is responsible for hearing and redressing any complaints pertaining to sexual harassment in such a workplace.
As reported recently in a statement by The women’s commission of Maharashtra, they will take stringent steps against offices if they are found violating the guidelines laid down for the prevention of sexual harassment at workplaces.
A team from the women’s commission will now pay surprise visits to companies to check this. If an IC has not been formed, a penalty of Rs 50,000 will be levied.Â
The Maharashtra state women’s commission chairperson Rupali Chakankar has written a letter to the secretary of the state on November 10, 2021, regarding the same, and has asked that companies be given directions to have ICCs.
In a recent judgment, (Mrs Arvinder Bagga & Ors. v. Local Complaints Committee, 2017) the Indore Bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has slapped a penalty of Rs. 50,000 on Medanta Hospital, Indore for not having Internal Committee (IC) under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.Â
The court has also directed the hospital to pay a compensation of Rs. 25 Lakhs to the complainant for failing to address her complaint of sexual harassment. The order was passed in concurrence with the report filed by the Local Committee, Indore.
Best practices for companies in order to avoid any penalties:
- Creating an anti sexual harassment policy for the organization
- Constitution of an Internal Committee (IC)
- Annual report sent by the IC to the employer and district officer containing details of the sexual harassment proceedings.
- Sexual harassment must be recognized as a form of misconduct in the organization.
- Display of posters/ notices in prominent places in the premises of the organization informing employees about zero-tolerance towards sexual harassment.
- Share the poster and PoSH policy among all the employees virtually in case of remote working.
- Sensitization workshops and seminars must be organized to inform the employees about their rights.
- Capacity-building programmes for the members of the IC.
- PoSH policy should be made applicable to all the offices including the main branch of the organization.