Anti Sexual Harassment Law Implementation

Dear HR Professionals,

I was just approached by a consultant to implement the Anti-Sexual Harassment Law in my organization. I went through the details to understand that this is a mandatory requirement for all organizations irrespective of size and nature. However, my query is, even though we have a very conducive environment for females, is it still mandatory for us to comply with this law? If it is mandatory, from which date has it been made compulsory? I was not aware of any such laws being implemented in any of my previous organizations.

Is it necessary to hire a consultant for this, or can we handle it internally? If we can manage it ourselves, what are the basic and practical steps to initiate the process? I have already referred to the bare act but would appreciate a better understanding of how to proceed.

Kindly share your insights.

Thanks,
Jyoti

Dear Ms. Jyoti,

There is no exemption for any establishment to not comply with the guidelines of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, Redressal) Act 2013, which has been in place since 9 December 2013.

If your current organization has still not implemented the guidelines of the Act even after 19 months, you may face serious punitive damages. An employer found in violation of the Act during an inspection may be liable for a monetary penalty of up to INR 50,000, and repeated offenses could result in the fine being doubled, de-registration, or revocation of business licenses. The violations may trigger other offenses.

Under Section 19 of the Act, the duties of the employer include all of the following:

- Drafting a policy on the prevention of sexual harassment for your organization in alignment with the Act. (Failing which the employer will be bound by the Rules prescribed by the government)

- Include sexual harassment as misconduct in the organization's service rules.

- Formation of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) Body at your corporate office as well as all regional offices, units, branches, etc., and nominate an NGO or a person familiar with sexual harassment at workplace issues as an External Member (the Act requires the employer to set up a Committee at each of those offices of a company)

- Mandatory Orientation Program for ICC Members, including enquiry procedures, certified by a Special Educator.

- Mandatory Capacity and Skill Building Programs for the ICC Members

- Mandatory Awareness Program for all your employees, including the contractors, certified by a Special Educator

- File an annual return for Year 2013 and Year 2014 mentioning the Action Steps. (The Committee is obliged to prepare an annual report in the prescribed format with details of all the cases that have been filed and disposed of)

As mentioned above, there is no scope for non-compliance with the guidelines of the Act. Thus, an employer may suffer financial consequences if he or she does not comply with the requirements outlined above.

If you need further clarity, please call us on +91-9880299349 or email us at shakti@kritarth.in.

We help companies in setting up the required mechanisms to prevent sexual harassment at the workplace in accordance with the Act.

Visit us at Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Workplace | Kritarth Consulting Private Limited for details.

Jyoti,

The law was passed in 2013 and implemented immediately. Huge publicity was provided to the act, so I am surprised you didn't know. The mechanism is necessary irrespective of whether you have a conducive or adverse environment. In fact, it is necessary to keep the environment conducive. You don't need a consultant if you are willing to put in effort on your own. Form the committee as required by law (read rules, not just the act). One difficult thing is getting an NGO member, but still doable. There are lots of examples of "Process / SOP" for this that you can get on Google. Download and modify so that the procedure fits your organization better. There are other threads in this forum that will give you complete details. Use the "research" button on the top.