The POSH Act requires every workplace with ten or more employees to have an Internal Committee, a policy, and training. Most companies have the certificate. Far fewer have a working system — a committee that knows what to do when a complaint lands. We build the system, not just the file.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013 mandates: an Internal Committee (Presiding Officer who is a senior woman employee, at least half women members, one external NGO/legal member), a written policy communicated to all employees, awareness training, and an annual report to the District Officer.
The law's real demand isn't the committee's existence — it's its competence. When a complaint arrives, the IC has 90 days to conduct an inquiry following principles of natural justice, with powers of a civil court for evidence. A committee that has never been trained cannot do this fairly — to either party. That failure is where liability lives.
Every employer with ten or more employees — offices, factories, startups, NGOs, educational institutions. The threshold counts all employees including contract staff, and the obligation applies whether or not a complaint has ever been filed. "Nothing has happened" is not compliance.
Companies that constituted an IC years ago and never trained it — the most common situation we find. The committee exists on paper; its members couldn't run an inquiry if one landed tomorrow. And multi-location companies, where each office/branch needs its own IC.
Boards and HR heads who understand that POSH is also a workplace-culture instrument — handled well, it builds trust; handled as a checkbox, it builds cynicism.
Properly constituted ICs for each location — Presiding Officer, member balance, external member from an NGO or legal background with real expertise. Not names on a letterhead: people who understand the role they're accepting.
A POSH policy written for your workplace — clear definitions, the complaint process, interim relief, confidentiality obligations, and consequences. In language employees actually understand, not legalese.
IC members trained on inquiry procedure, evidence, natural justice, and report-writing. All employees given awareness training — what constitutes harassment, how to complain, what happens next. Training is where the system becomes real.
When a complaint is filed: procedural guidance to the IC through the inquiry, documentation standards, timeline management, and report review. We don't replace the committee — we make sure it functions fairly and lawfully.
Annual reports to the District Officer, compliance audits, and the documentation file that evidences the whole system. The paper trail that proves the system exists.
Setup (IC, policy, initial training) is a fixed-fee engagement, typically completed in 3–4 weeks. Annual retainers cover refresher training, reporting, and inquiry support — because the system needs maintenance, not just installation.
Multi-location setups are scoped per location. The cost of a proper system is a fraction of the cost of a mishandled complaint.
IC constituted, never trained, members unaware they're on it. When a complaint arrives, this committee cannot conduct a fair inquiry — and an unfair inquiry creates liability for the company beyond the original complaint. Training isn't optional; it's the point.
Complaints handled informally by HR without IC involvement, "to keep it quiet." The Act gives the IC exclusive jurisdiction over inquiries; bypassing it is non-compliance that vitiates whatever outcome HR reached.
The report to the District Officer is mandatory and frequently skipped. It's also the simplest evidence of a working system — filing it is pure upside.
Current state: headcount, locations, existing IC/policy/training. Gap report.
ICs formed properly, policy drafted and communicated.
IC members trained on procedure; employees given awareness sessions.
Annual training refreshers, reporting, and on-call inquiry support.
Yes — ten or more employees, regardless of company age or size. Startups hit the threshold fast and usually have nothing in place.
The IC requirement doesn't trigger, but the Local Committee mechanism covers such workplaces. A basic policy is still wise.
Someone from an NGO or with legal/social-work expertise in women's issues. We help identify genuinely qualified externals, not names for the file.
The IC conducts an inquiry within 90 days, following natural justice, and submits findings with recommendations. We guide the committee through the procedure.
Yes, at the complainant's request before inquiry begins — but monetary settlement can't be the basis. The law is specific here.
Fines, escalating for repeat violations, and potential licence cancellation proceedings. Beyond penalties: a mishandled complaint is a reputational and legal crisis.
Annual awareness sessions are the norm — a one-time policy without ongoing training is paper compliance. Regulators and courts look for the training record.
The Act covers women complainants; men have remedies under service rules and other laws. The Internal Committee's jurisdiction is defined by the statute.
The process runs the same — which is exactly why the external member and documented procedure matter. Power doesn't pause the inquiry.
Yes — the employer reports to the District Officer on complaints received and disposed. Most companies don't know this filing exists.
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