Have you constituted Internal Committee in Compliance with POSH?

Every employer of workplaces  that have 10 employees or more are required to constitute an Internal  Committee (“IC”), as per the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH) to hear and redress grievances pertaining to sexual harassment. Further, if the offices or administrative units of the workplace are located at different places or divisional or sub-divisional level, the IC shall have to be constituted at all administrative units or offices.

If a workplace has less than 10 employees, then it need not form an IC.  All complaints in those cases will go to the local complaints committee (LCC) set up as per POSH by district officers of each district. Also, in a case where a complaint has to be filed against the employer himself, the local complaints committee has to be approached.

Members of the Internal Committee: The Committee shall consist of the following:

1.    A presiding officer – who will have to be a woman at a senior level in the office

2.    Two members from the amongst employees preferably committed to the cause of women or who has experience in social work or have legal knowledge

3.    One member from an NGO or association committed to the cause of women or person familiar with issues relating to sexual harassment.

Not less than half of the IC Members shall be women.

Powers of the Internal Committee: The POSH provides that while inquiring into a complaint of workplace sexual harassment, the IC have the same powers as vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 when trying a suit in respect of:

1.    summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath;

2.    requiring the discovery and production of documents; and

3.    any other matter which may be prescribed.