Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace | Register your query

Workplace Harassment Particularly Sexual Oriented Harassment is a growing menace. It is hurting your business in many ways including your Organization’s Reputation, Output, Employees Motivation& Morale, Productivity and Well-being of stakeholders.

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The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 is a legislative act in India that seeks to protect women from sexual harassment at their place of work. It was passed by the Lok Sabha (the lower house of the Indian Parliament) on 3 September 2012. It was passed by the Rajya Sabha (the upper house of the Indian Parliament) on 26 February 2013. The Bill got the assent of the President on 23 April 2013. The Act came into force on 9 December 2013. This statute superseded the Vishakha Guidelines for the prevention of sexual harassment introduced by the Supreme Court of India.

The Directors of the company are now legally bound to Prevent, Prohibit and Redress Sexual Harassment of women in the Workplace.

All organizations employing 10 or more employees come under the ambit of this Law.

If an organization fails to constitute an IC or does not comply with the requirements prescribed under the Prevention of Workplace Sexual Harassment Act, a monetary penalty of up to INR 50,000 (approx.US$ 900) may be imposed. A repetition of the same offence could result in the punishment being doubled and/or de-registration of the entity or revocation of any statutory business licenses. It is also pertinent to note that all offences under the Prevention of Workplace Sexual Harassment Act are non-cognizable.

Sexual Harassment complaints have the potential to make or break your business. There is potential for significant reputation damage, loss of key talent and worse, litigation!

Introducing Kanchan Khatana & Associates' comprehensive ASH (Anti Sexual Harassment) offering that helps you become compliant with the law :

1. Design the policy and provide the process to set up the IC

We help you write a new policy or revisit the existing ASH policy of the companies and recommend changes as per the 2013 law and the subsequent amendment. Also, set up IC and its process flow per the requirements of the prevailing law.

2. Functioning as an External Member of the Internal Complaints Committee (IC)

We provide you hand-holding support to conduct inquiries related to sexual harassment as and when a complaint is registered in your organization and also provide consultation on routine matters connected with or related to sexual harassment at the workplace.

We further, support the development of a governance model for the implementation of the Policy on Prevention of Sexual Harassment.

3. Annual Training:

We conduct mandatory sessions on the prevention of sexual harassment for your organization at various levels in English and Hindi for IC, Management and Employees at large.

4. Annual filings

We prepare the content on the functioning of the IC in the Annual Report of the organization and also file the same on behalf of the Organization.