POSH Act Lawyers in Chennai | Workplace Complaints
POSH Act, 2013

Workplace sexual harassment: the process, for complainants and for employers

The POSH Act gives every woman a route that does not depend on her employer’s goodwill, and gives employers a compliance obligation most discover only when a complaint arrives.

Quick answer

Every workplace with ten or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee. A complaint must ordinarily be made within three months, extendable by a further three.

The inquiry must be completed within ninety days, and the employer must act on the recommendations within sixty.

For a complainant

The Act covers any woman at a workplace, whether employee, contractor, intern or visitor. Harassment includes unwelcome physical contact, demands for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography, and other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.

Where to complain. To the Internal Committee at the workplace. Where there is none, or the complaint is against the employer, to the Local Committee through the District Officer.Time limit. Three months from the incident, or from the last incident in a series, extendable by a further three months for sufficient reason.Interim relief. Transfer, leave of up to three months, or restraining the respondent from reporting on your work, can be sought while the inquiry runs.Confidentiality. The identity of the parties and the proceedings are confidential, and breach carries a penalty.Criminal remedy. A POSH complaint does not prevent a criminal complaint where the conduct is also an offence.

For an employer

Compliance is not a policy document in a drawer. The obligations are specific, and failure attracts penalties including, on repetition, cancellation of licences or registration.

The Internal Committee must be properly constituted: a senior woman as presiding officer, the prescribed number of members, and an external member from an NGO or with relevant experience. Members need training. An annual report must be filed with the District Officer, and disclosures made in the board’s report where applicable.

A defective Internal Committee is worse than none. Inquiries conducted by an improperly constituted committee are routinely set aside, which leaves the employer exposed and the complainant back at the start.

The inquiry, and why process decides outcomes

The inquiry must follow principles of natural justice: the complaint furnished to the respondent, an opportunity to respond, both parties heard, and a reasoned report. It must be completed within ninety days, and the employer must act on the recommendations within sixty days of receiving the report.

In our experience most challenges to POSH findings succeed on process rather than merits: a committee wrongly constituted, evidence not put to a party, or a report without reasons. Whether we are advising a complainant or an employer, that is where the attention goes.

FAQs

POSH: questions from both sides

Can a man file a complaint under the POSH Act?+

The Act protects women at the workplace. Complaints by men are dealt with under the employer’s internal policy and, where the conduct is an offence, under the criminal law.

What if my workplace has no Internal Committee?+

Complain to the Local Committee through the District Officer. The absence of an Internal Committee is itself a contravention by the employer.

Can I go to the police instead?+

Yes. The POSH process and a criminal complaint are separate remedies and can run in parallel where the conduct amounts to an offence.

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