PREVENTION, PROHIBITION AND REDRESSAL OF

COMPLAINTS ON SEXUAL HARASSMENT AT

WORKPLACE (POSH)

DEFINITIONS
Sexual harassment is. Anything which appears to be sexual, unpleasant
and inappropriate can be termed as sexual harassment as: Physical
contact or advances, Demanding or requesting sexual favors, Making
sexually colored remarks, Showing pornography. Repeatedly asking to
socialize during off-duty hours or continued expressions of sexual interest
against a person’s wishes. Giving gifts or leaving objects that are sexually
suggestive. Eve teasing and taunts.

SCOPE
This policy applies to all employees (full-time, part-time, trainees and those
on contractual assignments) of the Company including all subsidiaries and
affiliated companies at their workplace or at client sites. The Company will
not tolerate sexual harassment, if engaged in by clients or by suppliers or
any other business associates.

RESPONDENT: means a person against whom the aggrieved women

have made a complaint.
AGGRIEVED: in relation to workplace means a woman, of any age
whether employed or not, who alleges to have been subjected to any act of
sexual harassment by the Respondent and includes contractual,
temporary, visitors.

WORKPLACE: In addition to the place of work [Head office / Branch

offices, Factories] where aggrieved woman is working and the place where
she has gone for work.

Redressal Mechanism – Formal Intervention In compliance with the

Act, any complaint under this policy shall be followed by a formal redressal
mechanism as described in this Policy.
 Internal Complaints Committee to prevent instances of sexual harassment
and to receive and effectively deal with complaints pertaining to the same,
Internal Complaints Committees (IC) have been appointed for all
administrative units / offices of the company. The detail of the committee is
notified to all covered persons at the location (workplace). The committee
at each location comprises of:

Company has constituted a committee also known as Internal Complaints

Committee as per the provision of Section 4 of the Act to hear and address
Complaints of sexual harassment.
.
 Committee shall comprise of minimum 04 persons provided one half
of the total members are women.
 Presiding Officer (shall be a senior woman employed at workplace)
 Not less than 2 members from employees (social, legal, social
science Background)
 1 member from NGO

RESPONSIBILITIES REGARDING SEXUAL

HARASSMENT:
It is the responsibility of all to respect the rights of others and to never
encourage harassment. It can be done by:

 Refusing to participate in any activity which constitutes harassment

 Supporting the person to reject unwelcome behavior

 Acting as a witness if the person being harassed decides to lodge a

complaint.

Complaint period/Complaint Mechanism

1) Online complaint through SHE-BOX.

She-Box online complaint Management System for women working in both

public and private organizations to lodge complaints of sexual harassment
at workplace. The She-Box was launched on 24 Nov 2017 to ensure the
effective implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at
Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (the SH Act), 2013.

Once complaint is submitted to SHE-BOX.it will be directly sent ot internal

committee of the concern Department. She-Box provides opportunity to
both the complainant and nodal administration authority to monitor the
progress of inquiry conducted by the ICCs.

The SHE-BOX portal can be accessed at the link -

http://www.shebox.nic.in .

2) Direct complaint made to internal complaints committee.

 The complaint can be filed within three months after the offence was
committed. In case you have not been able to lodge the complaint,
the ICC and the local committee can extend the time period for
another 3 (three)months.
 Where the sexual harassment complaint is against the Employer itself
i.e. higher management the complaint shall be forward to local
Complaint
 Committee constituted by District Officer under the Act.
 The complainant needs to submit a detailed complaint, along with any
documentary evidence available or names of witnesses, to any of the
Committee members at the workplace.
 If the aggrieved woman is unable to lodge the complaint in account of
her incapacity, the following may do so on her behalf, with her written
consent.
- Legal heir, relative or friend
- Co-worker
- Any person having the knowledge of the incident.

PROCEDURES FOR RESOLUTION, SETTLEMENT OR PROSECUTION

OF ACTS OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT:
The Company is committed to providing a supportive environment to
resolve concerns of sexual harassment as under:
Complaints:
. The complaint shall have to be in writing and can be in form of a letter,
submitted within 3 months from the date of the incident and in case of a
series of incidents, within a period of 3 months from the date of the last
incident. The Complaints Committee can extend the timeline for filing the
complaint, for reasons to be recorded in writing, by a period of 3 months.
Alternately, the employee can send complaint through an email.

The Presiding Officer of the Complaints Committee will proceed to

determine whether the allegations made in the complaint fall under the
purview of Sexual Harassment, preferably within 30 days from receipt of
the complaint. In the event, the allegation does not fall under the purview of
Sexual Harassment or the allegation does not constitute an offence of
Sexual Harassment, the Presiding Officer will record this finding with
reasons, and communicate the same to the complainant.

Where such conduct, on the part of the accused, amounts to a specific

offence under the law, the Company shall initiate appropriate action in
accordance with law by making a complaint with the appropriate authority.

The Complaints Committee shall conduct such investigations in a timely

manner and shall submit a written report containing the findings and
recommendations on action to be taken to the “Whistle Officer” appointed
by the Company as soon as practically possible and in any case, not later
than 90 days from the date of receipt of the complaint. The Whistle Officer,
Head Personnel & Administration and the President of the Company
will jointly take decision on the corrective action based on the
recommendations of the Complaints Committee and keep the complainant
informed of the same.

Resolution procedure through formal inquiry

The committee will initiate inquiry in the following cases:

• No conciliation is requested by aggrieved woman

• Conciliation has not resulted in any settlement

• Complainant informs the committee that any term or condition of the

settlement arrived through conciliation, has not been complied with by
respondent
Manner and Procedure of inquiry into complaint:
• Complainant should submit the complaint along with supporting
documents and the names of the witnesses, if any.
• The Committee will hold a meeting with the Complainant within seven
days of receipt of the complaint, but no later than a week in any case.
• At the first meeting, the Committee members shall hear the Complainant
and record her allegations. The Complainant can also submit any
corroborative material with a documentary proof, oral or written material,
etc., to substantiate her complaint.
• The Committee shall proceed with the enquiry and communicate the
same to the Complainant and Respondent.
• Upon receipt of the complaint, the committee will send 1 copy of the
complaint to Respondent within 7 working days of receiving the complaint.
• Respondent shall reply with all supporting documents within 10 working
days of receiving the copy of the complaint.
• Thereafter, the Respondent may be called for a deposition before the
Committee and an opportunity will be given to him to give an explanation,
where after, an inquiry shall be conducted and concluded.
• The Complainant shall be provided with a copy of the written explanation
submitted by the Respondent.
• If the Complainant or the respondent desires any witness/es to be called,
they shall communicate in writing to the Committee the names of
witness/es that they propose to call.
• The Committee shall call upon all witnesses mentioned by both the
parties.
• The Committee shall provide every reasonable opportunity to the
Complainant and the Respondent for putting forward and defending their
respective case.
• If either party desires to tender any documents by way of evidence before
the Committee, the same is to be supplied as original copies of such
documents. Signatures should be affixed on the respective documents to
certify these to be original copies.
• No legal practitioner can represent any party at any stage of the inquiry
procedure
• The Complaints Committee is to make inquiry into the complaint in
accordance with the principles of natural justic
• In conducting the inquiry, a minimum of three committee members
including the Presiding Officer are to be present.
• The employer shall provide all necessary assistance for the purpose of
ensuring full, effective and speedy implementation of this policy.
• Where sexual harassment occurs as a result of an act or omission by any
third party or outsider, the company shall take all steps necessary and
reasonable to assist the affected person in terms of
support and preventive action.
• In the event, the complaint does not fall under the purview of Sexual
Harassment or the complaint does not mean an offence of Sexual
Harassment, the same would be dropped after recording the reasons
thereof.

INTERIM RELIEF
During pendency of the inquiry, on a written request made by the
complainant, the committee may recommend to the employer to -
• Transfer the complainant or the respondent to any other workplace
• Grant leave to the aggrieved woman of maximum 3 months, in addition to
the leave she would be otherwise entitled
• Prevent the respondent from assessing complainant’s work performance
• Grant such other relief as may be appropriate

CONFIDENTIALITY:
The Company understands that it is difficult for the victim to come forward
with a complaint of sexual harassment and recognizes the victim’s interest
in keeping the matter confidential. To protect the interests of the victim, the
accused person and others who may report incidents of sexual
harassment, confidentiality will be maintained throughout the investigatory
process to the extent practicable and appropriate under the circumstances.

ACCESS TO REPORTS AND DOCUMENTS:

All records of complaints, including contents of meetings, results of
investigations and other relevant material will be kept confidential by the
Company except where disclosure is required under disciplinary or other
remedial processes.

PROTECTION TO COMPLAINANT / VICTIM:

The Company will ensure that the victim or witnesses are not victimized or
discriminated against while dealing with Complaints of sexual harassment.
However, anyone who abuses the procedure (for example, by maliciously
putting an allegation knowing it to be untrue) will be subject to disciplinary
action.