Policy

The Law provides that employers must formulate a policy against sexual harassment at workplace and disseminate it. It is important to note that a specific policy must be created even if there are no women employees and also in presence of existing global policies in your organization. While the Law is specifically for women, several organizations also choose to incorporate measures to prevent sexual harassment of employees of all genders, thereby creating a POSH Policy for all genders.

Our team can draft, review as well as customize your organization’s Policy against sexual harassment while keeping in mind the legal provisions as well as the practical challenges.

Internal Committee (IC) Members Nomination and Appointment

As per the Law, employers must constitute an IC formally, by an order in writing. The IC comprises of a minimum of 4 members, where at least one half of the total members are women. It has to be reconstituted every 3 years.

We can assist you in nominating IC members or for reconstitution of existing IC. We can also support in non-disclosure undertakings and drafting appointment/removal letters for IC members.

Annual Report and Disclosure

The POSH Act mandates every organization’s IC to prepare and submit an annual report to the employer as well as the District Officer at the end of every calendar year. As per Section 22 of the Act, organizations must also disclose in their annual report of previous financial year, the number of complaints filed and their disposal.

Our team helps you draft a detailed annual compliance report and provides information about the submission to the District Officer.

Notices and Posters

AAs per Section 19(b) of the Law, employers are responsible to display the consequences of sexual harassment and the details of IC in conspicuous places within the workplace which is usually visited by the employees or visitors.

We can help you with the posters to create awareness about the Policy, the redressal mechanism, consequences and details of IC members which can be displayed in the workplace premises to create a safe and respectful work environment.

Employee Awareness Program

Your organization, much like our society, is created by a diverse group of people who have different understanding and perspectives, and hence, employees may have different ideas about which behaviors can be considered as unwelcome and may amount to sexual harassment. This may inadvertently create unfavorable working environment for some people. This interactive awareness session is to educate employees about their rights and duties under the Law by breaking down the topics into simple and easily comprehensible parts.

Training of Human Resources and Managers

Interactive training to educate HR & Managers about the Law, it’s provisions and penalties, and also to empower them to respond to various scenarios, and sensitize their team. Through this training, our aim is for the people managers to understand their roles and responsibilities to address real-time issues of team escalations and identify best practices to ensure compliance with the law while ensuring business continuity.

Employer / Management Training Program

This session is to equip Employer / Management with knowledge of the Law and penalties, their duties under the law in creating healthy work environment, and to discuss their role as leaders and custodians of their organization’s values and goals. This session is recommended for Managing Directors, CEOs, other directors and any other decision makers such as head of HR, Legal heads, etc.

Training and Capacity Building for Internal Committee (IC)

A qualified and well-informed IC is essential and mandated by the law to effectively address complaints and ensure a safe work culture. This interactive session is to educate IC members about their roles and responsibilities under the Law and to equip them with the tools and skills required to effectively handle any case of sexual harassment. Based on the duration of the session, learning of the concepts will be accompanied by mock complaint of sexual harassment & response copy along with conducting mock inquiry meetings.

Train the Trainer Workshop

Equipping you to deliver Sexual Harassment training that highlights nuances of behavior and is easy to administrate.

Through this interactive workshop you can get trained a selected group of employees at your organization such that they can further create awareness amongst other employees. This ensures an empowered set of internal resources who can conduct awareness sessions on a regular basis without the need for external trainers to comply with the law in creating safe and respectful workplace. At the end of the workshop, the trainers will be provided with a short quiz, certificate, and resources to further conduct sessions internally.

Case Management & Inquiries

The external member will guide your IC/HR through handling of any type of complaint of sexual harassment and also handhold the IC through each complaint where investigation has been initiated keeping in mind the due process that needs to followed. The external member will provide expertise to ensure that each complaint is addressed effectively and as per the Law.

Documentation and Drafting of Reports

The external member will assist the IC on proper documentation of each inquiry proceeding, evidence collected, record maintenance and drafting the final closure/inquiry report for each case based on existing practices and learnings from court judgments. The external member will also assist in preparation & filing of the annual report.

Regular Meetings & Mailers

The external member will hold quarterly meetings for all IC members to discuss cases, observations and other relevant updates. Moreover, informative nuggets will be sent via emails to share updates, enhance learning and ensure retention of POSH provisions and practices.

Legal Advice and Assistance

The external member will be a competent POSH expert who can address any query from your IC regarding the understanding or implementation of the Law.