All You Need to Know About the POSH Act, 2013

 

All You Need to Know About the POSH Act, 2013

 

The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 is India’s first law against prevention, prohibition, and redressal of sexual harassment for women at the workplace. When The Companies Act 2013 superseded the Companies Act 1956, there came a change in the much-needed sphere of sexual harassment at the workplace.

The Act, along with its rules, is collectively called the POSH law. The act came into being because of a tragedy. The subsequent POSH Act of 2013 builds upon the Vishaka guidelines laid out in 1997 by the Supreme Court of India.

Following up on Vishaka, the Supreme Court of India ruled that physical contact was not essential to be considered an act of sexual harassment. The act applies to women working in the private, government, and informal sectors.

The POSH Act states that any organisation that has ten or more employees should mandatorily constitute an Internal Committee (IC) to handle sexual harassment complaints.

Here are the duties of employers in enforcing the Vishaka guidelines:

Provide a safe working environment.

Display the penal consequences of workplace sexual harassment.

Employees should undergo POSH training at least once a year.

Conduct orientation programmes for the IC.

Assist in any manner required to enable the aggrieved woman to receive justice according to the law.

At least one half of the IC should be women.

POSH Act defines the workplace as “any place visited by the employee arising out of or during the course of employment, including transportation provided by the employer for the purpose of commuting to and from the place of employment”.

Here are a few things that women should know about the POSH Act:

Even if the harassment happens outside the office premises, if it will interfere with the victim’s work or create a less-than-desirable workplace environment, then the IC can initiate an inquiry.

When employees work out of their homes, they are doing the company’s work and having work-related interactions. Based on the POSH Act, in this case, even the ‘home’ becomes a workplace. The POSH Act applies to remote workplaces as well.

The POSH Act says that the complaint can be filed with the IC within three months of the incident (or the last incident). The IC can further extend this time by another three months after which the IC will not have the power to investigate it.

The virtual world of WhatsApp, Facebook, SMSes, etc. also falls under the definition of the workplace.

If the incident happened through verbal communication, then CCTV evidence or circumstantial evidence in the form of witness statements will hold water.

Any act or behaviour that is considered as “unwelcome” by the woman is considered as sexual harassment.

The POSH Act has provided a way of redressal for workplace harassment, for both men and women. It has simplified the definition of what constitutes sexual harassment and has made it a criminal offence.