Think Piece on Duties of Employers, Section-19 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (P, P & R) Act 2013
Every employer of every workplace in India is legally duty-bound to:
i) Provide protection to women from sexual harassment at the workplace and
ii) Prevent, prohibit, and redress complaints of sexual harassment and matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
There is no exemption or immunity whatsoever to any employer/management.
Duties of Employers under Section-19 of SHWW (P, P & R) Act 2013
Duties prescribed under Section-19 of the SHWW (P, P & R) Act 2013 include, inter alia, the following legally enforceable duties:
1. Provide a safe working environment at the workplace.
2. Display conspicuously the employer's policy towards the prevention and prohibition of sexual harassment of women of any age at the workplace.
3. Display conspicuously the penal consequences of committing acts of sexual harassment.
4. Display conspicuously the order constituting the Internal Committee.
5. Organize at regular intervals:
a) Mandatory orientation programs to educate the Internal Committee members about their 25 duties, and
b) Mandatory capacity and skills building programs for the Internal Committee members to make them capable and competent, and train them on how to discharge their 25 legal duties/tasks.
6. Organize, at regular intervals, awareness programs for employees to sensitize them about the provisions of the said Act of 2013.
7. Provide all reasonable assistance to the aggrieved woman complainant if she opts/chooses to file her sexual harassment complaint with the nearest police station under the IPC (Indian Penal Code) or any other law in force.
8. Amend the works standing orders or the service rules, as the case may be, to incorporate sexual harassment as an act of misconduct and take disciplinary action.
9. Monitor the timely submission of reports, namely:
i) Inquiry reports with conclusive and definite findings, and
ii) Filing mandatory annual reports under Rule 14 in respect of the preceding calendar year before the District Officer under the signature of the Presiding Officer of the respective Internal Committees.
Without expert guidance, assistance, and training, neither the employer nor the management team nor the IC members, who are ordinarily employees without any legal training, are able to or capable of or competent to discharge their above-mentioned duties/the specialized functions. That is why these programs are mandatory to be held/conducted by special educators.
Role of Special Educators
We, as special educators, educate/train the Internal Committee members in performing/discharging their 25 duties, such as:
i. How to conduct conciliation proceedings.
ii. How to conduct inquiry proceedings in accordance with the principles of natural justice and the procedure laid down for such internal inquiries.
iii. How to record the testimony and evidence during inquiry proceedings in the presence of the complainant and the respondent.
iv. How to conduct "examination" and/or "cross-examination" during inquiry.
v. How to write inquiry reports with conclusive and definite findings.
vi. How to write recommendations to the employer.
vii. How to effectively deal with "ticklish situations" which crop up during inquiry, etc.
For other services like serving as a member (external) on the IC and actively participating in IC inquiry proceedings, writing inquiry reports, drafting PoSH policy, designing preventive mechanisms, and workplace sanitization schemes, the fees payable can be shared on request.
Harsh K Sharan,
Spl Educator PoSH Programs, Serving IC Member (External),
Kritarth Consulting Pvt Ltd,
Bengaluru Service Center,
19.4.18
**Location**: Delhi, India
posh policy, City-India-Delhi, awareness programs, legal training, disciplinary action, natural justice, sexual harassment, Country-India,
From India, Delhi
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206Every employer of every workplace in India is legally duty-bound to:
i) Provide protection to women from sexual harassment at the workplace and
ii) Prevent, prohibit, and redress complaints of sexual harassment and matters connected therewith and incidental thereto.
There is no exemption or immunity whatsoever to any employer/management.
Duties of Employers under Section-19 of SHWW (P, P & R) Act 2013
Duties prescribed under Section-19 of the SHWW (P, P & R) Act 2013 include, inter alia, the following legally enforceable duties:
1. Provide a safe working environment at the workplace.
2. Display conspicuously the employer's policy towards the prevention and prohibition of sexual harassment of women of any age at the workplace.
3. Display conspicuously the penal consequences of committing acts of sexual harassment.
4. Display conspicuously the order constituting the Internal Committee.
5. Organize at regular intervals:
a) Mandatory orientation programs to educate the Internal Committee members about their 25 duties, and
b) Mandatory capacity and skills building programs for the Internal Committee members to make them capable and competent, and train them on how to discharge their 25 legal duties/tasks.
6. Organize, at regular intervals, awareness programs for employees to sensitize them about the provisions of the said Act of 2013.
7. Provide all reasonable assistance to the aggrieved woman complainant if she opts/chooses to file her sexual harassment complaint with the nearest police station under the IPC (Indian Penal Code) or any other law in force.
8. Amend the works standing orders or the service rules, as the case may be, to incorporate sexual harassment as an act of misconduct and take disciplinary action.
9. Monitor the timely submission of reports, namely:
i) Inquiry reports with conclusive and definite findings, and
ii) Filing mandatory annual reports under Rule 14 in respect of the preceding calendar year before the District Officer under the signature of the Presiding Officer of the respective Internal Committees.
Without expert guidance, assistance, and training, neither the employer nor the management team nor the IC members, who are ordinarily employees without any legal training, are able to or capable of or competent to discharge their above-mentioned duties/the specialized functions. That is why these programs are mandatory to be held/conducted by special educators.
Role of Special Educators
We, as special educators, educate/train the Internal Committee members in performing/discharging their 25 duties, such as:
i. How to conduct conciliation proceedings.
ii. How to conduct inquiry proceedings in accordance with the principles of natural justice and the procedure laid down for such internal inquiries.
iii. How to record the testimony and evidence during inquiry proceedings in the presence of the complainant and the respondent.
iv. How to conduct "examination" and/or "cross-examination" during inquiry.
v. How to write inquiry reports with conclusive and definite findings.
vi. How to write recommendations to the employer.
vii. How to effectively deal with "ticklish situations" which crop up during inquiry, etc.
For other services like serving as a member (external) on the IC and actively participating in IC inquiry proceedings, writing inquiry reports, drafting PoSH policy, designing preventive mechanisms, and workplace sanitization schemes, the fees payable can be shared on request.
Harsh K Sharan,
Spl Educator PoSH Programs, Serving IC Member (External),
Kritarth Consulting Pvt Ltd,
Bengaluru Service Center,
19.4.18
**Location**: Delhi, India
posh policy, City-India-Delhi, awareness programs, legal training, disciplinary action, natural justice, sexual harassment, Country-India,
From India, Delhi
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Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act 2013.pdf