The Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act or the PoSH Act 2013 requires all employers with ten or more employees to set up an Internal Committee or IC.
But what does the Committee do? What are the expectations from IC members?
In this article, we go beyond just quoting the law to break down what the IC is, what it does and how you can work towards creating a safe workplace as an IC member.
What is an Internal Committee under the PoSH Act?
The IC is formed under Section 9 of the PoSH Act to receive and redress complaints of sexual harassment at the organisation.
The IC shall have the following members:
- Presiding Officer, a senior female employee
- At least two internal members
- An external member
The IC composition shall have not less than 50% women members.
What are the duties of the IC?
The responsibility of the Internal Committee under the law can be broken down into two parts: redressal and compliance.
First, the IC shall ensure that complaints of sexual harassment received are redressed. The IC is responsible for following the processes established under the PoSH Act 2013 in redressing complaints.
Second, the IC plays a role in maintaining the organisation’s compliance with the PoSH Act. Certain compliances such as attending the annual IC training and ensuring submission of the annual report.
To learn more about PoSH compliance, read here
What are the responsibilities of the IC members?
Each individual member of the Internal Committee has the responsibility of upholding and enacting the legal duties assigned to the IC under the law. Hence, the responsibility that each person needs to undertake is:
In the IC’s role in redressal, the role of the IC members is also to ensure that:
- The rights of complainants and rights of respondents are protected
- The 90-day timeline to redress a complaint under the act is followed in redressal
- A fair decision is arrived at, with an understanding of the principles of natural justice
Learn more about how to ensure a legally compliant inquiry here
In the IC’s role in compliance, IC members are required to:
- Attend the IC training every calendar year
- Ensure the accuracy and submission of the Annual report
How to prepare for your role as an IC member?
As an IC member, you play an important role as a custodian of company culture. Your role is essential from a compliance perspective but beyond, the purpose of creating a safe workplace is important to ensure that the IC is not just in existence on paper but actually plays a role in transforming the workplace.
- Read your company’s PoSH policy and ensure you understand the nuances of the processes in place
- Ensure you attend your mandatory IC training for compliance and to build competence
- Build a nuanced understanding of sexual harassment beyond only explicit or overt forms
- Understand biases surrounding sexual harassment that may arise in your role and work towards overcoming them
- Look beyond the PoSH policy to understand attitudes towards sexual harassment and reporting, to enable you to be an empathetic IC member.
At Serein, we help organisations create safe and inclusive workplaces while ensuring full compliance with the PoSH Act, 2013. To know more, write to us at hello@serein.in.