The POSH Act (Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace, 2013) carries the most under-complied mandatory requirement in Indian small business: every workplace with 10 or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee — not 'should', must — with penalties, licence consequences and now director-level scrutiny for skipping it. Beyond the mandate, an employer's handling of one complaint can define its culture and its litigation exposure for years. Here is complete, practical POSH compliance.
Who is covered — wider than you think
- Every workplace with 10+ employees: offices, factories, shops, hospitals, NGOs, educational institutions — sector-agnostic
- 'Employees' counts wide: permanent, temporary, contractual, interns, apprentices — and protection extends to any woman at the workplace (visitors, clients, vendors' staff)
- Under 10 employees: no IC needed, but complaints route to the district Local Committee (LC) — and the policy/awareness duties still apply
- Multi-location businesses: IC at every office/branch with 10+ (or a properly structured common IC with location access)
Constituting the Internal Committee correctly
Composition rules that invalidate inquiries when botched: a Presiding Officer — a senior woman employee (from another office of the org if none exists locally); at least two members from employees, preferably with legal knowledge/social-work credentials or women's-issues commitment; and the external member — from an NGO/association working on women's issues or a person familiar with sexual-harassment law (in practice: an empanelled advocate/consultant, paid the prescribed fees) — the member whose absence is the most common fatal defect; at least half the IC must be women. Terms run maximum three years; reconstitute formally with orders. Display the IC's composition and penal consequences conspicuously at the workplace — the poster is itself a statutory duty inspectors check first.
The Act runs on deadlines: complaint within 3 months of the incident (extendable 3 more), inquiry completed within 90 days, report to employer in 10 days thereafter, employer acts on recommendations within 60 days. An IC that lets timelines drift hands the aggrieved — or the respondent — appeal grounds. Calendar every complaint like litigation, because it can become exactly that.
Running an inquiry that stands up
- Natural justice throughout: written complaint, respondent's written reply, both sides heard, witnesses examined, cross-examination through the IC, no lawyers appearing (the Act's design), reasoned findings
- Interim reliefs available: transfer, leave to the aggrieved, restraining contact — use them; they're protective, not punitive
- Confidentiality is statutory: identities and proceedings protected (Section 16) — breach is separately penalised; keep records sealed-access
- Conciliation: possible at the aggrieved woman's request before inquiry (no monetary settlement as basis) — documented properly
- Malicious complaints: the Act permits action, but only for proven malice — not for unproven complaints; ICs that punish 'failure to prove' chill genuine reporting and invite challenge
The annual duties and the enforcement climate
Beyond complaint-handling: the annual report — IC files yearly with the District Officer (complaints received/disposed — the filing itself is checked); companies must disclose POSH compliance and complaint statistics in board's reports (auditors now ask); policy — a written anti-harassment policy circulated and acknowledged; training — awareness sessions for employees and formal orientation for IC members (documented — training records are the evidence of the 'reasonable steps' defence); and workshops at reasonable intervals. Enforcement has real teeth now: ₹50,000 penalties escalating to licence cancellation for repeat default, court and regulatory attention post-2023 SC directions, and — practically — client onboarding audits (large companies demand vendors' POSH compliance) making the IC a commercial document too.
How Aidwish helps
Aidwish sets up POSH compliance end to end — IC constitution with empanelled external members, policy and poster kits, training sessions with records, annual filings, and inquiry-support when complaints arrive — converting a neglected mandate into a defensible, humane system.