Let’s Know About POSH Committee External Member

 

Let’s Know About POSH Committee External Member

Who is the external member of PoSH committee?

An external member for an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act is an individual who is not employed by the organization but is appointed to be part of the ICC to ensure impartiality and objectivity in handling complaints related to sexual harassment at workplace.

Need for an external member for PoSH

An external member ensures an informed process and a balanced result. An external member serves as a knowledgeable, neutral, and unbiased party to not let the management influence the decisions of the PoSH Committee.

An effective and good External Member should be able to: Help the organization to be POSH Compliant. Help in creating awareness of the Act among the employees. Answer questions from the employees and IC members about the implementation of the Act at workplace.

Provision for an external member for PoSH

As per Section 4 of the PoSH Act:

  • A senior female employee should head the PoSH Committee,
  • At least half of the PoSH Committee members should be women, and
  • One member should be from an NGO or an association that works for women’s empowerment. They can also be a person who is familiar with issues related to sexual harassment.

As per the PoSH Rules, a “person familiar with issues related to sexual harassment” is an expert in such issues. These include:

  • A social worker with at least 5 years of experience in social work. Such social work should create favorable conditions for women’s empowerment. It should address workplace sexual harassment.
  • A person who is familiar with labor, service, civil, or criminal law.

However, this Rule is applicable only to Section 7 of the PoSH Act, 2013, that talks about the constitution of the Local Committee in every district.

Conclusion


With great powers comes great responsibility. Thus, it is imperative for employers to ensure that Internal Committee is constituted in compliance with the POSH Act in letter and spirit today more than ever. It is important that genuine complaints are dealt with appropriately and expeditiously to inspire confidence in the complainant in particular and to create a safe working environment for women. On the other hand, frivolous, malicious, fictitious and/ or retaliatory complaints lodged in gross abuse and misuse of the process for settling of scores or a personal agenda/ vendetta should be dealt with strictly so as to create the right discipline in the organization and deter unscrupulous complainants from initiating vexatious proceedings against individuals/ employees.

 

 

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