PALAKKAD CHAPTER

Prevention of Sexual
Harassment of Women at
Workplace (PoSH)
Women Work Participation

39.9% in Rural Areas;

25.8% in Urban Areas
How Common is Sexual Harassment
at Workplace?

52% Women experience Sexual

Harassment at Workplace;
25% touched without invitation;
20% experienced sexual advances;
TUC
Survey
What is Sexual Harassment?

ANY UNWELCOME
SEXUAL
ADVANCES
 Sexual Harassment includes

• Physical contact • Stalking

• Abusive Sounds
• vulgar/indecent jokes,
• Making sexually phone calls, text
colored remarks massages, e-mails,

• Using sexually abusive • Physical confinement or

language or signs in touches against the will
the presence of woman and likely to intrude
employee; upon one’s privacy; or
• Showing pornography
or the likes; • Demand or request for
sexual favours;
Sexual Harassment includes

 Implied or explicit promise of PREFERENTIAL

TREATMENT in her employment; or
 Implied or explicit THREATENING TREATMENT in her
employment; or
 Implied or explicit THREAT ABOUT PRESENT AND
FUTURE EMPLOYMENT STATUS; or
 HOSTILE WORK ENVIRONMENT
 Interference with her work
 Humiliating treatment likely to affect her health or
safety.
 Physical Touch

Creating Hurdles

Any unwelcome
act
 What is at stake?
• Brand value – Negative Publicity;
• Decreased Morale and decreased efficiency of
employees;
• Loss of money for non-compliance of
provisions of law – Madras High Court awarded
Rs. 1.68 Crores in damages to an employee for Non-
Constitution of ICC.
 Laws Governing Sexual
Harassment

 The Sexual Harassment of women at workplace

(Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013
and Rules made thereunder.

 Indian Penal Code (Section 209, 354, 376 and 509),

1860; and

 Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946

 Prevent Sexual
Harassment

No women employee shall be

subjected to sexual harassment at
workplace
Section 3(1) of the Act
Employees Responsibility

Understand
Observe
Examine
Confront
Resolve
Support
 Who is Employee?
Employee means a person employed by Company for any
work and includes:-

 Employed on regular, temporary, ad hoc or daily wage

basis;

 Either directly or through an agent, with or without the

knowledge of the principal employer ;

 Whether for remuneration or not or working on a

voluntary basis or otherwise;

 Whether the terms of employment are express or implied

; and
Contractor, coworker, a contract worker, probationer,
apprentice or called by any other such name .
 What is Workplace?
Workplace includes:-

 All premises including Corporate Office, head office,

branch offices and all other premises, locations,
establishments, institutions, units, sites controlled
directly or indirectly but he Company and/or where from
business of the Company is conducted;

 All other premises where employees of the Company

visit arising out of or during the course of their
employment including official events; and

 Includes the transportation and accommodation, if any,

provided by the Company for employees arising out of or
during the course of employment for commutation or
residence purposes.
 How to prevent?
Following are the responsibilities of the employer under the
Act:-

 Constitution of Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) to

handle the complaints of sexual harassment;

 Display on the notice board of the premises giving full

details of members of ICC;

 Display at conspicuous places at workplace, penalties &

consequences of sexual harassment ;

 Providing training to sensitize the employees on the

issues and implications of sexual harassment at
workplace and organizing orientation programme(s) for
members of ICC.
 Internal Complaint
Committee
Every Employer needs to constitute ICC as per the provisions
of the Act to take care of following matters:-

To conduct enquiry into the complaints of sexual

harassment;

To make recommendations to the Board of Directors of your

Company in the matters of sexual harassment after
conclusion of enquiry;

To file annual report as per the provisions of the Act

LOCAL COMPLAINT COMMITTEE
• Every District Officer shall constitute in the district
concerned, a committee to be known as the Local
Committee to receive complaints of sexual harassment
from establishments where the Internal Committee has not
been constituted due to having less than ten workers or if
the complaint is against the employer himself.
• The District Officer shall designate one nodal officer in
every block, taluka and tehsil in rural or tribal area and
ward or municipality in the urban area, to receive
complaints and forward the same to the concerned Local
Committee within a period of seven days.
• The jurisdiction of the 2 Local Committee shall extend to
the areas of the district where it is constituted.
 What to do?
 Don’t ignore it. In the
hope that it will go away.

 Don’t blame yourself and

don’t delay.

 Be sure to say ‘No’ clearly

and firmly.

 Speak Out. Speaking out

about sexual harassment
is an effective tool in
combating it.
What are the
remedies?
 Any aggrieved woman
employee may file a
compliant with ICC for
Redressal of her grievances.

 It is the responsibility of ICC

to send notice to
Respondents (against whom
a complaint of sexual
harassment has been made)
within 7 (seven) working
days.

 The Respondent shall file his

reply to the complaint along
with supporting documents.
 Procedure of filing
Complaint
Any aggrieved woman may make a complaint in writing
with any member of ICC/LCC

 at the prescribed contact details,

 preferable within a period of 3 months of the date of

incident of sexual harassment or in case of series of
incidents, with in a period of 3 months from the date of
last incident.
 The Complainant shall file minimum six copies of the
complaint.

 The complaint shall consists of name of the

Respondent(s), date and details of incident of sexual
harassment, name and details of witness, if any, along
Who is eligible to file a
complaint?
 Aggrieved woman herself;

 Where the Aggrieved Woman is unable to make a

Complaint on account of her physical or mental
incapacity , a Complaint may be filed by any prescribed
person, on her behalf;

 Where the Aggrieved Woman for any other reason is

unable to make a Complaint, a Complaint may be filed by
a person who has knowledge of the incident, with her
written consent;

 Where the Aggrieved Woman is dead, a Complaint may

be filed by any person who has knowledge of the
incident, with the written consent of her legal heir(s).
 Procedure of Enquiry
CONCILIATION –

 The ICC may, before initiating an inquiry, at the request

of the Aggrieved Woman, take steps to settle the matter
between her and the Respondent.

 No monetary settlement shall be made as a basis of

conciliation.

 The settlement terms shall be recorded in writing and

forwarded to the Board of Directors of the Company.
Copies of the same shall be provided to the Aggrieved
Woman and the Respondent.

 Where a settlement has been arrived at, no further

inquiry shall be conducted by the ICC.
 Procedure of Enquiry
ENQUIRY–
 In case, conciliation is not possible, ICC shall investigate the complaint
and provide its report, as promptly as possible, but not later than 90
working days from the date of the Complaint.

 The ICC shall follow principles of natural justice in all its proceedings.

 Complete confidentiality shall be maintained, unless required by law.

 A copy of the Complaint as recorded by ICC shall be given to the

Respondent as well as the Complainant.

 The Respondent shall submit his response to the Complaint as well as

to indicate whether the Respondent wishes the ICC to examine any
witnesses or furnish any evidence.

 The Complainant shall also indicate in writing whether the

Complainant wishes the ICC to examine any witnesses or furnish any
additional evidence.
 Procedure of Enquiry
 Upon receipt of the responses from the Respondent and the
Complainant, the ICC shall conduct a hearing, where both the
Complainant and the Respondent shall be heard in person.

 ICC shall be empowered to call upon such of the Employees

who may have been witness to the incident(s) of Sexual
Harassment and/or connected in any manner thereto.

 All Employees shall extend their fullest co-operation to ICC.

 Upon completion of the hearing, the ICC shall prepare its

complete report, setting out its recommendations on the
disciplinary action(s) to be taken against the Respondent or
Complainant (as the case may be).
 Punishment for Sexual
Harassment
 To take action for sexual harassment as an act of misconduct in
accordance with the rules/regulations of the Company
governing ‘conduct and discipline’ as applicable to the
Respondent; and/or

 To deduct such amounts from the salary or wages of the

Respondent as may be considered appropriate to be paid to the
Complainant as per the Policy of the Company.

 Section 354, 354 A, 354B, 354 C, 354 D and 509 of Indian Penal
Code, 1860 provides for punishment for offences of outraging
the modesty of woman, sexual harassment, disrobe,
voyeurism, stalking and insulting the modesty of woman
respectively and the punishment ranges between rigorous
imprisonment from 1 to 3 years AND fine or both.
 Punishment for Malicious
Compliant or False Evidence
If an Employee is found to have raised a malicious or false
Complaint or given any false evidence, such complainant or such
person making evidence may also be subject to :-

 Appropriate disciplinary action, which may include termination

of employment, engagement or relationship with the Company,
as the case may be.
Absence of complaints of sexual
harassment doesn’t necessarily
means absence of sexual
harassment….....
 Refrain from….
 Behavior that may offend or hurt people at your workplace;

 Behavior that cause harassment to any women employee at your

workplace;

 Behavior that may be interpreted by another as sexual harassment;

 Behavior that may support sexual harassment in any manner;

 Disbelieving a woman when she shares about harassment. Remember

that sexual harassment is ‘Unwelcome Behavior’.

 Involvement in trivializing the matter of sexual harassment;

 Filing or supporting any malicious or false complaint;

 Producing any false evidence of sexual harassment.

 What can you do…...
 Be Professional all the time;

 Set a positive example;

 Think before making personnel comments;

 Be supportive of people who wish to talk about being sexually harassed;

 Direct them to the appropriate persons/authorities;

 Hold the harasser accountable for his actions. Don’t make excuses for him;

 Demand that the harassment be stopped;

 Report sexual harassment to responsible person in the organisation.

 Say ‘No’ to Sexual Harassment

Let’s make this Earth a safe and healthy Workplace

THANK YOU