Prevention of Sexual Harassment

POSH Full Form in English, letter by letter

POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) refers to India's 2013 law on sexual harassment of women at the workplace and its complaint system.

POSH Full Form in Indian Languages

Every Indian office with ten or more employees must have a POSH complaint committee. POSH stands for Prevention of Sexual Harassment, the framework under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, 2013. Its name appears below in six Indian languages.

Where POSH comes from

In 1992 Bhanwari Devi, a social worker in a Rajasthan village who had worked against child marriage, was subjected to a brutal sexual assault by men of the community. The trial court acquitted the accused, and women's groups, including one named Vishaka, filed a public interest petition in the Supreme Court.

In 1997 the Court issued the Vishaka Guidelines. It treated sexual harassment at work as a violation of the right to equality and to life, and directed every employer to set up a complaint mechanism. These guidelines worked as law for sixteen years, until Parliament passed the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act in 2013. 'POSH' is the short name people use for this law and for the compliance work around it.

Who and what the Act covers

The Act protects women at the workplace. 'Workplace' is defined widely: offices, factories, hospitals, schools, hotels, sports bodies, and places a woman visits because of her work, including transport provided by the employer. It covers regular, contract, temporary and trainee staff, interns and women visiting an office.

Sexual harassment includes unwelcome physical contact or advances, a demand or request for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing sexually explicit material, and any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature. Circumstances such as a promise of preferential treatment, a threat about her job or a hostile environment are listed as behaviour linked to harassment.

What an employer must put in place

Any workplace with ten or more employees must set up an Internal Committee (often called an Internal Complaints Committee, ICC). It is headed by a senior woman employee. It needs at least two employee members committed to women's causes or with social work or legal experience, and one external member from an NGO or with relevant expertise. At least half the members must be women.

Where an office has fewer than ten employees, or where the complaint is against the employer, the complaint goes to the district's Local Committee. The employer must also display the penalties for harassment and the committee's details, hold awareness programmes, and report the number of complaints in the annual report.

How a complaint moves through the system

A written complaint goes to the committee within three months of the incident, or of the last incident in a series. The committee may extend this by up to three months if it is satisfied that circumstances prevented an earlier filing. The committee must finish its inquiry within 90 days, hear both sides, and send its report to the employer, who acts on it within 60 days.

At the woman's request the committee may try conciliation before starting the inquiry, but no monetary settlement can be the basis of conciliation. While the inquiry runs, interim relief can be given, such as a transfer or leave for the complainant. If the allegation is proved, the committee recommends action as per the company's service rules, which can go up to dismissal.

A complaint that is not proved is not automatically false. Action for a false complaint is allowed only where the committee finds it was made with malicious intent, and the Act says that merely not proving a complaint is not enough for that.

Penalties, common failures and practical steps

An employer who fails to set up a committee or follow the Act can be fined up to Rs 50,000. A repeat offence can attract twice the penalty and cancellation of the licence or registration.

Most failures are practical. The committee is not formed, members do not know the procedure, or the complaint is against a senior person and employees are afraid to approach it. Where the internal route looks unsafe, a woman can go to the Local Committee or the police.

For an employee the checklist is short: find the committee members' names on the notice board, remember the three-month limit, and keep messages, emails and the names of witnesses. For an employer, record the committee's formation, its training and its annual report, since these are the first things a regulator or an auditor asks for.

Writing a POSH policy and training staff

A POSH policy should state what counts as harassment, name the committee members with contact details, describe how to complain, and say clearly that retaliation against a complainant will lead to action. It should be available in the language staff understand, and displayed in the workplace.

Training for staff is best done once a year and when a new person joins. A short session with a real or hypothetical example is more useful than a long lecture. Committee members need separate training on how to take statements, keep records and write a fair report. The HR team should keep a record of every session and who attended.

A company with several offices needs a committee at each office or administrative unit located at a different place. A smaller business can take help from a trained outside person, or an NGO, for the external member.

POSH is a law most working Indians will use or administer at some point. Checking this week that your workplace has a named committee takes five minutes and covers much of what the Act asks.

POSH Full Form: Common Questions