Dear Seniors,
My senior, who is male and my reporting authority, is giving me a lot of work beyond my capacity and asking me to complete the tasks by staying late. He frequently uses abusive language in front of everyone, which is causing mental harassment and affecting my work. He has suggested that I should quit. I believe that he is harassing me because I am a woman. Can I file a complaint against him under the provisions of the Sexual Harassment Act?
Please guide.
From India, Dombivali
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6My senior, who is male and my reporting authority, is giving me a lot of work beyond my capacity and asking me to complete the tasks by staying late. He frequently uses abusive language in front of everyone, which is causing mental harassment and affecting my work. He has suggested that I should quit. I believe that he is harassing me because I am a woman. Can I file a complaint against him under the provisions of the Sexual Harassment Act?
Please guide.
From India, Dombivali
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Asking you to work more can be deemed as harassment, but certainly not sexual harassment. Before complaining, make sure you are able to prove your allegations. Details of abusive language also have to be considered.
However, you can easily complain about working late or beyond your duty hours, and there is a law to protect you. It is advisable to contact a lawyer and provide him with all the factual details for better suggestions.
From India, Kolkata
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However, you can easily complain about working late or beyond your duty hours, and there is a law to protect you. It is advisable to contact a lawyer and provide him with all the factual details for better suggestions.
From India, Kolkata
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It's a clear case of workplace bullying and harassment. We need to address this as a strong case of bullying as your boss is using foul language, raising his voice, and insulting you with the clear intention of making you either quit or continue being bullied by him. Please raise your complaint in writing to HR or management, stating the behavioral issues and other challenges you are facing. It is essential to raise your voice; running away from the person will encourage him to demonstrate unethical behavior more often.
For more assistance, please feel free to write to me at [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons].
Regards, amarpreet
From India, New Delhi
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For more assistance, please feel free to write to me at [Email Removed For Privacy Reasons].
Regards, amarpreet
From India, New Delhi
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Handling Workplace Harassment and Overtime Issues
You can demand advance or imprest cash if you have to travel on short notice and attend to emergencies. Be polite, gentle, and amiable. Record incidents of threat, abuse, and coercion; you may need them. You can demand overtime if you have been made to work beyond your duty hours. You should have records and evidence to prove it. Many companies designate employees as executives/managers to deny overtime, but the labor act shall decide.
You cannot be compelled to work on Sundays, government, or gazetted holidays. The company can be punished and will have to pay you double wages. Elders in your family, experienced and competent persons known to the family, and a lawyer can help you claim overtime and held-up money.
The reporting authority of your boss has not helped you find relief and has also asked you to resign. You can escalate to your appointing authority, MD, Head-HR, or Company Secretary. They may have a grievance redressal mechanism; you can escalate to them as well. You should be able to defend yourself in case of an inquiry. You can complain to labor authorities, which should solve your problem.
Kindly think logically with a cool mind to diffuse the situation. Show your documents and take help from elders in the family or your lawyer/law firm.
Examples of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace
1. Making sexually suggestive remarks or innuendos.
2. Serious or repeated offensive remarks, such as teasing related to a person’s body or appearance.
3. Offensive comments or jokes.
4. Inappropriate questions, suggestions, or remarks about a person’s sex life.
5. Displaying sexist or other offensive pictures, posters, MMS, SMS, WhatsApp, or emails.
6. Intimidation, threats, or blackmail around sexual favors.
7. Threats, intimidation, or retaliation against an employee who speaks up about unwelcome behavior with sexual overtones.
8. Unwelcome social invitations with sexual overtones commonly understood as flirting.
9. Unwelcome sexual advances, which may or may not be accompanied by promises or threats, explicit or implicit.
10. Physical contact such as touching or pinching.
11. Caressing, kissing, or fondling someone against her will (could be considered assault).
12. Invasion of personal space (getting too close for no reason, brushing against, or cornering someone).
13. Persistently asking someone out despite being turned down.
14. Stalking an individual.
15. Abuse of authority or power to threaten a person’s job or undermine her performance against sexual favors.
16. Falsely accusing and undermining a person behind closed doors for sexual favors.
17. Controlling a person’s reputation by rumor-mongering about her private life.
Examples of Behavior Indicating Workplace Harassment
1. Criticizing, insulting, blaming, reprimanding, or condemning an employee in public.
2. Exclusion from group activities or assignments without a valid reason.
3. Statements damaging a person’s reputation or career.
4. Removing areas of responsibility unjustifiably.
5. Inappropriately giving too little or too much work.
6. Constantly overruling authority without just cause.
7. Unjustifiably monitoring everything that is done.
8. Blaming an individual constantly for errors without just cause.
9. Repeatedly singling out an employee by assigning her demeaning and belittling jobs that are not part of her regular duties.
10. Insults or humiliations, repeated attempts to exclude or isolate a person.
11. Systematically interfering with normal work conditions, sabotaging places or instruments of work.
12. Humiliating a person in front of colleagues, engaging in smear campaigns.
13. Arbitrarily taking disciplinary action against an employee.
14. Controlling the person by withholding resources (time, budget, autonomy, and training) necessary to succeed.
Behaviors That May Not Constitute Sexual Harassment
1. Following up on work absences.
2. Requiring performance to job standards.
3. The normal exercise of management rights.
4. Work-related stress, e.g., meeting deadlines or quality standards.
5. Conditions of work.
6. Constructive feedback about the work mistake and not the person.
Please read and correlate with your workplace situation.
From India, Surat
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You can demand advance or imprest cash if you have to travel on short notice and attend to emergencies. Be polite, gentle, and amiable. Record incidents of threat, abuse, and coercion; you may need them. You can demand overtime if you have been made to work beyond your duty hours. You should have records and evidence to prove it. Many companies designate employees as executives/managers to deny overtime, but the labor act shall decide.
You cannot be compelled to work on Sundays, government, or gazetted holidays. The company can be punished and will have to pay you double wages. Elders in your family, experienced and competent persons known to the family, and a lawyer can help you claim overtime and held-up money.
The reporting authority of your boss has not helped you find relief and has also asked you to resign. You can escalate to your appointing authority, MD, Head-HR, or Company Secretary. They may have a grievance redressal mechanism; you can escalate to them as well. You should be able to defend yourself in case of an inquiry. You can complain to labor authorities, which should solve your problem.
Kindly think logically with a cool mind to diffuse the situation. Show your documents and take help from elders in the family or your lawyer/law firm.
Examples of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace
1. Making sexually suggestive remarks or innuendos.
2. Serious or repeated offensive remarks, such as teasing related to a person’s body or appearance.
3. Offensive comments or jokes.
4. Inappropriate questions, suggestions, or remarks about a person’s sex life.
5. Displaying sexist or other offensive pictures, posters, MMS, SMS, WhatsApp, or emails.
6. Intimidation, threats, or blackmail around sexual favors.
7. Threats, intimidation, or retaliation against an employee who speaks up about unwelcome behavior with sexual overtones.
8. Unwelcome social invitations with sexual overtones commonly understood as flirting.
9. Unwelcome sexual advances, which may or may not be accompanied by promises or threats, explicit or implicit.
10. Physical contact such as touching or pinching.
11. Caressing, kissing, or fondling someone against her will (could be considered assault).
12. Invasion of personal space (getting too close for no reason, brushing against, or cornering someone).
13. Persistently asking someone out despite being turned down.
14. Stalking an individual.
15. Abuse of authority or power to threaten a person’s job or undermine her performance against sexual favors.
16. Falsely accusing and undermining a person behind closed doors for sexual favors.
17. Controlling a person’s reputation by rumor-mongering about her private life.
Examples of Behavior Indicating Workplace Harassment
1. Criticizing, insulting, blaming, reprimanding, or condemning an employee in public.
2. Exclusion from group activities or assignments without a valid reason.
3. Statements damaging a person’s reputation or career.
4. Removing areas of responsibility unjustifiably.
5. Inappropriately giving too little or too much work.
6. Constantly overruling authority without just cause.
7. Unjustifiably monitoring everything that is done.
8. Blaming an individual constantly for errors without just cause.
9. Repeatedly singling out an employee by assigning her demeaning and belittling jobs that are not part of her regular duties.
10. Insults or humiliations, repeated attempts to exclude or isolate a person.
11. Systematically interfering with normal work conditions, sabotaging places or instruments of work.
12. Humiliating a person in front of colleagues, engaging in smear campaigns.
13. Arbitrarily taking disciplinary action against an employee.
14. Controlling the person by withholding resources (time, budget, autonomy, and training) necessary to succeed.
Behaviors That May Not Constitute Sexual Harassment
1. Following up on work absences.
2. Requiring performance to job standards.
3. The normal exercise of management rights.
4. Work-related stress, e.g., meeting deadlines or quality standards.
5. Conditions of work.
6. Constructive feedback about the work mistake and not the person.
Please read and correlate with your workplace situation.
From India, Surat
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Understanding Sexual Harassment Beyond the Obvious
Sexual harassment does not only involve sex. If a woman is indirectly put under pressure to agree to the terms of a man, it constitutes sexual harassment. In such cases, there are some unanswered questions:
1. Does this happen to you alone or to all your peers?
2. Apart from requesting extra work by working overtime, has the boss directly or indirectly made advances or suggestions?
3. Are there other female staff members, and do they have any complaints similar to yours?
Without answers to these questions, it is challenging to determine whether it qualifies as sexual harassment. Just as no woman should be sexually harassed at the workplace or elsewhere, no woman should misinterpret any situation as sexual harassment.
Regards, Vibhakar Ramtirthkar
From India, Pune
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Sexual harassment does not only involve sex. If a woman is indirectly put under pressure to agree to the terms of a man, it constitutes sexual harassment. In such cases, there are some unanswered questions:
1. Does this happen to you alone or to all your peers?
2. Apart from requesting extra work by working overtime, has the boss directly or indirectly made advances or suggestions?
3. Are there other female staff members, and do they have any complaints similar to yours?
Without answers to these questions, it is challenging to determine whether it qualifies as sexual harassment. Just as no woman should be sexually harassed at the workplace or elsewhere, no woman should misinterpret any situation as sexual harassment.
Regards, Vibhakar Ramtirthkar
From India, Pune
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Case Study: Sexual Harassment Charge
Attaching here a case for your information and clarity.
Sexual harassment charge: An HR manager was ordered to pay Rs 50,000 for 60 months to an ex-employee. Rs 50,000 will be deducted from the accused's salary for 60 months, and the same will be paid to the victim. The victim was drawing a monthly salary of Rs 30,000 when she was relieved of her duties in 2015. Sexual harassment charge: HR manager told to pay Rs 50,000 for 60 months to ex-employee - TOI Mobile | The Times of India Mobile Site
From India, Rudarpur
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Attaching here a case for your information and clarity.
Sexual harassment charge: An HR manager was ordered to pay Rs 50,000 for 60 months to an ex-employee. Rs 50,000 will be deducted from the accused's salary for 60 months, and the same will be paid to the victim. The victim was drawing a monthly salary of Rs 30,000 when she was relieved of her duties in 2015. Sexual harassment charge: HR manager told to pay Rs 50,000 for 60 months to ex-employee - TOI Mobile | The Times of India Mobile Site
From India, Rudarpur
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Handbook on Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace.pdf