How to implement POSH

1. Prevention of Sexual
Harassment (POSH) @
Workplace

2. Why do we need to Prevent Sexual Harassment at
Workplace?
Unchecked instances of sexual harassment at workplace lead to an unhealthy and unproductive work environment
• Emotional Distress (e.g. fear, anxiety, guilt)
• Loss of Self-esteem
• Embarrassment
• Anger
• Illness (e.g. ulcers, headaches, stress-
related symptoms)
• Exclusion From Groups
• Loss of Income (e.g. Increased
absenteeism)
• Loss of Job
• Disrupts Career
For Employees For Employers
• Poor Morale
• Low Productivity
• Absenteeism
• Staff Turnover
• Retraining
• Litigation
• Damaged Public Image
• Customer/Supplier Relationships
• Company Pride

3. Definition:
Sexual harassment is referred to (whether
directly or by implication) as
• Physical contact and sexual advances
• Demand for sexual favors
• Sexually colored remarks
• Showing pornography
• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or
non-verbal conduct of sexual nature
Objective:
 Prevention – of Sexual Harassment
incidences
 Protection – of victims
 Redressal
Sexual Harassment of
Women at Workplace Act,
2013
Based on the Vishakha Guidelines

4. Vishakha Guidelines
Guidelines laid down by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Vishakha and Others Vs State of
Rajasthan and others
It shall be the duty of the employer or other
responsible persons in the workplace or
institution to:
• Prevent Sexual Harassment
• Provide Mechanisms for the resolution of
the complaints
All women who draw a regular salary, receive
an honorarium, or work in a voluntary
capacity in the government, private sector or
unorganized sector come under the purview
of these guidelines
Objective Guidelines:
• All workplaces should have an appropriate complaints
mechanism with a complaints committee, special
counsellor or other support services
• Gender equality includes protection from sexual
harassment and the right to work with dignity as per our
constitution
• Extra hazard for a working woman compared to her male
colleague is a clear violation of the fundamental rights of
“Gender Equality” & “Right to Life and Liberty”
• Safe working environment is a fundamental right of a
working woman
• In no way should working women be discriminated at the
workplace against male employees.

5. What kind of behaviour constitutes Sexual Harassment?
A spectrum of behavior falls under Sexual Harassment. Some examples have been provided below
 Ogling
 Staring
 Posters
 Magazines
 Flyers
 Calendars
 Sexual Images in
Desktops/Laptops
 Requests For
Dates
 Questions About
Personal Life
 Lewd Comments
 Dirty/Sexual
Jokes
 Whistling
 Love Poems
 Love Letters
 Obscene
Poems
 Obscene
Letters
 Cards
 E-Mail
 Internet
 Violating
Space
 Patting
 Grabbing
 Pinching
 Caressing
 Kissing
VISUAL VERBAL WRITTEN
PHYSICAL POWER
 Using Position
To Request
Dates, Sex, etc.
 Promising
 Threatening
Loss Of Job

6. What kind of behaviour constitutes Sexual Harassment?...cont.
There are mainly 2 kinds of Sexual Harassment - Quid pro quo and/or hostile environment
Quid pro quo (this for that…)
 Implied/explicit promise of preferential
treatment in employment
 Implied/explicit threat of detrimental
treatment in employment
 Implied/explicit threat about present or
future employment status
Hostile Environment
 Interference with work or creating an
intimidating/hostile environment
 Humiliating treatment, likely to affect health
or safety

7. Definitions…….
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 defines an
Employer and an Employee
Employee
Regular, temporary, ad hoc employee
Directly/through an agent/contractor
Express/Implied terms of employment
With or Without remuneration/voluntary
Employer
Management
Supervision
Control
Probationer / Apprentice / Interns
Person discharging contractual obligations with
respect to the employees
Person/Board/Committee responsible for
formulation of policies

8. Definitions…….contd.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 defines
Workplace and introduces the concept of Extended Workplace
Workplace
Government owned/controlled
establishment
Private Sector Organizations
Hospitals and Educational Institutes
Sports institutes, Stadiums and Training
Institutes
Extended Workplace
Team Lunches in Restaurants or other places
Transportation provided by the employer for
journey to the workplace.
Dwelling place in case of Domestic Workers
Office parties / outbound
Official Meetings in client location
Any place visited by the employee arising
out of or during the course of employment

9. Internal Complaints Committee (ICC)…….
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 states that any
establishment with 10 or more female employees must have an ICC.
Internal Complaints
Committee Structure
of Akash Blowers
ICC Committee
(Chairperson – Mrs.
Anita Verma
ICC Committee
Member – (Ms.
Sonali Sharma
ICC Committee
Member – (Mr.
Manish Jain
External ICC
member –
The Act states that -
every employer of a
workplace shall, by an
order in writing,
constitute a committee
known as the “Internal
Complaints
Committee”

10. Grievance Redressal Mechanism
ICC is the chief mechanism empowered with authority of a civil court for resolution of complaints, firstly through
conciliation and finally through an inquiry
Incident of Sexual
Harassment
Written Complaint
made to ICC
Settlement
 Non-monetary
 ICC to record
settlement and
forward to
Management and
parties
 No further
inquiry
INQUIRY
Reasons for delay to be
recorded in writing
beyond 3 months
Within 3
months of the
latest incidence
Employee
requests for a
settlement
Employee does
not request for
settlement
Beyond 3
months
Inquiry
follows the
Principles
of Natural
Justice
Inquiry report
submitted to
the Employer
and the
parties
No action to be
taken;
Assessment of
whether charges
are false/
malicious.
• ICC to inquire into
whether the allegations
were made with a
malicious intention.
• Inability to substantiate
the complaint or
provide adequate proof
doesn’t not amount to
malice.
Punishment
as per service
rules; leading
up to
suspension or
termination
Appeal to
court by the
accused
Allegation
not
proved
Allegation proved
[within 60 days]
During the pendency of the enquiry, upon written request by the
aggrieved employee:
• Transfer the aggrieved woman or the respondent to any other
workplace
• Grant leave to the aggrieved woman up to a period of 3 months
Interim Relief for the Victim
• Assurance that no victimisation will result from making a complaint
• Ensuring that the procedure is well documented
• Ensuring the process is confidential, independent, has clear timelines
and follows all Principles of Natural Justice
• All conflicts of interest are managed appropriately
Role of ICC during Inquiry

11. Journey so far …….
Akash Blowers has created a framework and climate that can prevent incidences of Sexual Harassment.
We have set up mechanisms which deal promptly with any instances if and when they occur without any delay.
Policy Design
Written Policy designed
through benchmarking and
consultation with External
Expert
Communication
All employees
communicated on the Policy
through
emails/posters/sessions
Internal Complaints
Committee (ICC)
ICC created. Every member of the
committee has been briefed on
their duties. Statutory Quarterly
meetings of the ICC has to be done
& minutes are kept on record
Regular Awareness
Sessions
Awareness sessions conducted
for all employees
Tracker
All women employees are
provided with an awareness
session within 2 days of their
Date of Joining. A PAN India
Tracker is maintained and
female employees are called
by the Corporate to verify
.
Awareness Quiz
A quiz on Sexual Harassment
has been conducted for all OC
member, HR leads and
Training leads to gauge their
understanding on the subject

12. Some examples…….
Question: A male co-worker from another department
keeps asking one of your female team members out and
keeps bringing her gifts. Your team member is not
interested in dating this co-worker. You come to know of
this. You should ignore this and wait for your employee to
complain
Answer: False. You should step in and put a stop to this before it
turns into a serious complaint. You, as a representative of the
organization, know of the behaviour, and so must act.
Question: Your work area is a back-office operation that’s
pretty hectic, and, you have to admit, a little gross. People
swear at each other, call each other names, and make
catcalls and comments at each other. One of the workers
visits a joke website every morning and shouts out the
gross joke of the day. Most of the workers participate, but
a few women seem uncomfortable.
Answer: You should tone things down. It’s a hostile work
environment in the making
Question: Ravi believes that as long as his intentions were
good - for example, he meant to compliment a woman
colleague on how great she looked - this conduct does not
violate the policy on prevention of the sexual harassment
policy
Answer: False. Commenting on physical appearance, be it a
compliment or an insult, is not appropriate behaviour at
workplace and violates sexual harassment policy.
Even if the intent is harmless, the comment might make her
uncomfortable
Question: Rita is friendly with her boss Shankar. Every
Monday Shankar comes to the office and chats with Rita at
her cubicle for about 30 minutes. Shankar tells Rita about
his dates from the weekend.
Answer: It amounts to creation of Hostile Work Environment.
Hostile Work Environment - Rita might not feel comfortable with
the discussions, however she might be keeping quiet as she
doesnt want to spoil her relation with Shankar

13. Some examples…….
Question: An employee occasionally shares personal
emails with his co-workers. These emails are usually
humorous but occasionally are sexist. If for most people,
the emails are amusing and not offensive, then the one
person who is offended does not have a right to complain
about harassment
Answer: False. Some co-workers may not be bothered by this
material, but it does not belong in the workplace and anyone in
the area could see them and be offended. This would be labelled
as a hostile work environment scenario.
Question: A female employee complains of sexual
harassment by her co-worker at a team dinner in a
restaurant. Is the company legally obligated to take action?
Answers: Yes. The Act of 2013 has introduced and established the
concept of an extended workplace. Extended workplaces basically
consist of any place visited by the employee arising out of or
during the course of employment. This also includes
transportation provided by the employer for undertaking such a
journey to the workplace
Question: A woman employee dresses very provocatively.
If she complains of sexual harassment then her provocative
dressing is not to be taken into consideration when the
complaint is investigated by the complaints committee
Answer: True. A woman's dress sense should not influence the
course of an investigation. Sexual harassment is an act of a male
employee and not how a woman dresses. Dress sense is no
justification for leniency for the accused in the investigation.
Question: Is it mandatory for a complaint to be recorded in
writing before the complaint is investigated.
Answer: True. The Internal Complaints Committee can investigate
complaints only if they have been submitted in writing by the
complainant. However, the company may provide assistance to
the victim if she is unable to articulate her experience in writing. In
such a case besides helping her put it down in writing her
statement needs to also be recorded.

14. Thank You