Does the Sexual Harassment Act Apply to Small Nonprofits with Fewer Than 20 Employees?

Hello Seniors, My organization is registered as a nonprofit under Section 25 of the Companies Act. With reference to the "Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act," is there a criterion regarding the number of employees an organization should have for the applicability of this act? Since my organization has fewer than 20 employees, would we still be considered a workplace under this Act? Please help. Thanks in advance! :)

Applicability of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act

For the applicability of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013, the number of employees in the establishment is irrelevant. The Act applies to dwelling places or houses where a woman is employed for remuneration. Only a member of the family (of the house) is excluded. Moreover, in a business establishment, the woman need not even be employed. Therefore, the Act applies to all establishments where women are engaged either as employees or otherwise (for example, one who comes to the workplace as a customer, intern, or for doing a project or survey can also raise a complaint if she is subjected to sexual harassment).

Regards,
Madhu.T.K

I agree with Madhu. The Act does not specify the number of employees. Even if there is a single employee, it is applicable.

For detailed information, including a copy of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act and guidelines on how to create a policy, you may refer to the following link: http://speakhr.blogspot.in/2013/06/s...arassment.html

Regards,
Govind

Discussion on the Sexual Harassment Act

We are talking about the Sexual Harassment Act here. One who takes action against this on their Top Management Person becomes jobless. Kindly follow the link for details.

Chennai: An HR Manager, who acted on a complaint of sexual harassment against the company boss, has been sacked and is now jobless.

http://www.ndtv.com/article/cities/c...d-joble-455552

Regards

Though the Act applies to every organization irrespective of the number of employees, the constitution of the Internal Complaints Committee is not mandatory for organizations with less than 10 workers. In such cases, complaints can still be made to the Local Complaints Committee, and the employer must follow other obligations under the Act.

I would like to add here that:

1. The Act is applicable to all establishments, irrespective of whether there are any female (women) workers or not. For example, it's applicable if a lady visitor, client, student, nurse, trainer, or any female (women) who visits the establishment for any purpose whatsoever is sexually harassed.

2. Although it's not mandatory to have an Internal Complaints Committee if the number of employees is less than 10, because in such cases, the victim (survivor) can complain directly to the Local Complaints Committee constituted by the appropriate government. However, it is always prudent to have an Internal Complaints Committee (constituted as per the Act) for obvious reasons because the penalty in case of cases going to the Local Committee could be very high in terms of the reputation and image of the company, apart from the other consequences of punishment to the accused person. Such a loss of reputation is very difficult to rebuild.

Warm regards.

What will happen if we do not follow the said law? My company has more than 20 employees, and they still do not have this committee till now?

Consequences of Non-Compliance with the Sexual Harassment Act

If an employer fails to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee or does not comply with any provisions contained therein, the Sexual Harassment Act prescribes a monetary penalty of up to INR 50,000. A repetition of the same offense could result in the punishment being doubled and/or de-registration of the entity or revocation of any statutory business licenses.

Apart from this, when such instances come to light, you risk losing brand respect and gaining a bad reputation too. Now it's up to you to decide.