From legislation and compliance guidance to case studies, FAQs, and expert commentary, discover the resources you need to effectively implement and strengthen POSH compliance across your organisation.
The Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act, 2013 is an Indian law designed to prevent, prohibit and redress sexual harassment of women at the workplace. It applies to all workplaces and places specific obligations on employers to ensure a safe and respectful working environment.
Yes. All employers in India are required to comply with the POSH Act. Organizations with 10 or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee (IC) and all employers must take steps to prevent sexual harassment and create awareness among employees.
An Internal Committee is a body constituted by an employer to receive and address complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace. It ensures a fair, timely and confidential inquiry process as required under the POSH Act.
Yes. Every organization should have a clear POSH policy that defines sexual harassment, explains the complaint process, outlines the role of the Internal Committee and communicates the rights and responsibilities of employees and the employer.
Employers are required to create awareness and organize orientation programmes for IC members. Regular POSH training for employees and specialized training for IC members are considered essential to demonstrate compliance and build a safe workplace culture.
Yes. The Act has a broad definition of "workplace" and "employee." It can cover interns, trainees, contractual workers, consultants, temporary employees and employees working from home or in virtual work environments, provided the conduct is connected to the workplace.
No. The Internal Committee must be properly constituted at all times. If the Presiding Officer resigns, leaves the organization or is unable to act, the employer should reconstitute the IC and appoint an eligible senior woman employee as the Presiding Officer at the earliest to ensure the validity of future proceedings.
Yes. The POSH Act adopts a broad concept of "workplace." Incidents occurring during office travel, off-site meetings, conferences, client visits, training programs, office parties, work-related WhatsApp messages, emails or virtual meetings may fall within the scope of the Act if there is a nexus with employment.
Yes, in certain situations. The Act requires that a complaint ordinarily be made within three months from the date of the incident or the last incident in a series of incidents. The Internal Committee may extend this period by up to an additional three months if it is satisfied that circumstances prevented the complainant from filing the complaint earlier. An employee who has resigned may still file a complaint within these timelines.
