This policy is required by legislation that stands apart from the consolidated labour codes and continues to apply in its own terms. Where an establishment employs ten or more persons, constituting an Internal Committee is mandatory, and a committee that exists on paper but has never met, never been trained and has no external member does not satisfy the requirement.
Policy on Prevention of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace
[COMPANY NAME]
This policy is required by legislation that stands apart from the consolidated labour codes and continues to apply in its own terms. Where an establishment employs ten or more persons, constituting an Internal Committee is mandatory, and a committee that exists on paper but has never met, never been trained and has no external member does not satisfy the requirement.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Approved by | The Board of Directors on [DATE] |
| Effective from | [DATE] |
| Version | [NUMBER] |
| Policy owner | [DESIGNATION] |
| Applies to | All workplaces of the Company, and all persons described in Clause 2 |
| Review | Annually, and on any change in law |
| Displayed at | [LOCATIONS], and available at [LINK] |
1. Statement of Commitment
1.1The Company is committed to providing a workplace free from sexual harassment, in which every person is treated with dignity and respect. Sexual harassment is a serious form of misconduct. It will not be tolerated, whoever the person responsible and whatever that person’s seniority.
1.2The Company will take all reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment, will provide a mechanism for complaints to be made and inquired into fairly and confidentially, will take action where a complaint is upheld, and will protect any person who makes a complaint or assists an inquiry from retaliation.
1.3Nothing in this policy limits any right a person has to pursue a remedy in law, including making a complaint to the police.
2. Scope
2.1This policy applies to every workplace of the Company, which includes its offices, any premises visited by an employee in the course of employment, transport provided by the Company, and any place where work is carried on, including a residence or other location where an employee works remotely.
2.2This policy protects every woman at the workplace, whether or not employed by the Company, including permanent, temporary, contractual, probationary and fixed-term employees, apprentices, trainees, interns, employees of contractors, consultants, volunteers, employees on secondment, and visitors and clients present at the workplace.
2.3This policy applies to conduct by any person at the workplace, including employees at every level, contractors and their personnel, consultants, clients, customers, suppliers, visitors and any third party.
2.4This policy also applies to conduct occurring outside the physical workplace, including at work-related travel, offsites, client meetings, business meals, and on electronic communication channels used for work, where the conduct arises out of or in the course of employment.
2.5The Company does not tolerate harassment of any person on any ground. Where a complaint is made by a person to whom the legislation does not extend, or concerns conduct not amounting to sexual harassment, it will be dealt with under the Company’s code of conduct and disciplinary procedure with equivalent seriousness, and the person will be told which process is being applied and why.
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The obligations to constitute an Internal Committee, to inquire within the statutory timelines and to file an annual report arise under separate legislation which continues to apply in its own terms. Do not assume that a general grievance procedure adopted under a code or a standing order satisfies it. The composition, the timelines and the reporting are all specific.
The most common failure is a Committee constituted once, never trained, without an external member, that has never met. The external member is mandatory, is paid the prescribed fees, and is the element most often omitted because it requires going outside the organisation. Appoint one, record the appointment, and refresh it when the term ends.
The Presiding Officer must be a woman employed at a senior level at that workplace. Not less than half the members must be women. An external member is required. Where a workplace does not have a woman at a senior level, the legislation provides for how the position is filled — take advice rather than appointing someone who does not meet the description.
The requirement applies workplace by workplace, not company-wide. An organisation with offices in several cities generally needs a Committee at each, and Annexure A is drafted to be completed per workplace. A single central committee is a common and incorrect shortcut.
A complaint must be made within three months of the incident or the last in a series, extendable by a further three months where the Committee records reasons in writing. The extension is not automatic and the reasons must be recorded at the time. Committees that extend informally, without a recorded reason, create a defect in the inquiry.
Conciliation cannot be initiated by the Committee or the employer, and no monetary settlement may form its basis. Pressuring a complainant towards conciliation is itself a serious failure and undermines any settlement reached. Clause 6.1 states the constraint expressly for that reason.
The inquiry must be completed within ninety days of the complaint, the report submitted within ten days of completion, and action taken within sixty days of the report. Annexure C is designed to be used as a live tracker. Missing these timelines is the most frequently identified defect and the easiest to avoid.
Clause 3.3 is the point that most needs explaining in training. The test is whether the conduct was unwelcome to the person experiencing it. Intention is not the measure, and an explanation that something was meant as a joke does not answer a complaint. Committees that apply an intention test reach the wrong conclusions.
Clause 8.6 separates the two deliberately. Action for a malicious complaint requires malice to be separately established through an inquiry; failure to substantiate an allegation is not evidence of malice. Committees that treat the two as the same deter genuine complaints, which is the outcome the legislation exists to prevent.
Neither party may be represented by a legal practitioner in the proceedings before the Committee. Parties may of course take advice outside. Committees are frequently pressed on this by a senior respondent; the position is clear.
The identities, the contents, the proceedings and the outcome may not be published or made known to the public, press or media. The employer may disseminate information about the justice secured without identifying particulars. Breach carries a penalty. This includes internal circulation beyond those who need to know.
The protection extends to persons working at the workplace who are not employed by the Company, including contractor personnel, interns, trainees and volunteers. Clause 10.4 requires the obligation to be passed down in contracts. An organisation that applies the policy only to its own payroll has not covered the population the legislation protects.
The number of complaints received, disposed of and pending beyond ninety days must be disclosed in the Board’s report, and the Committee must file an annual report with the designated officer. Both are routinely missed, and the Board’s report disclosure has to come from records maintained during the year.
Reflects Indian law current as of {{DATE OF USE}}. Committee composition requirements, timelines, prescribed forms, penalties and reporting obligations change — have this policy and the Committee’s constitution reviewed by an employment adviser, and train the Committee before the first complaint rather than after it.
This is a ready-to-use template provided for convenience. Laws and requirements change, and every situation is different — please have it reviewed by a qualified professional (a lawyer, company secretary, or chartered accountant as relevant) before you rely on it.