Sexual harassment at work place is governed by a legislation known as Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. According to the said legislation organizations must show committed to providing a work environment that is free from all forms of discrimination and conduct which can be considered harassing, coercive or disruptive including sexual harassment. Actions, words, jokes or comments based on an individual’s sex, race, color, national origin, age, religion, disability or any other legally protected characteristic should not be tolerated. A sexual harassment policy at work place essentially defines sexual harassment within an organization and creates a mechanism for redressal of complaints.
WHAT DEFINES SEXUAL HARASSMENT
Sexual harassment as defined in the Sexual Harassment Act includes any one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behavior (whether directly or by implication): physical contact and advances; a demand or request for sexual favors; making sexually colored remarks; showing pornography; and / or any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature. The above definition also includes any form of offensive behavior including gender-based harassment of a person of the same sex as the harasser. The following is a partial list of sexual harassment examples: unwanted sexual advances; offering employment benefits in exchange for sexual favors; making or threatening reprisals after a negative response to sexual advances; visual conduct that includes leering, making sexual gestures, or displaying of sexually suggestive objects or pictures, cartoons or posters; verbal conduct that includes making or using derogatory comments, epithets, slurs, or jokes; verbal sexual advances or propositions; verbal abuse of a sexual nature, graphic verbal commentaries about an individual’s body, sexually degrading words, or suggestive or obscene letters or invitations; and / or physical conduct that includes touching, assaulting, or impeding or blocking movements.
If a woman employee experiences sexual harassment at the workplace, she may report it immediately in writing to the presiding officer of the company’s internal complaints committee which needs to be set up by the management. The committee role is to carry out proceedings of conciliation and hold an inquiry in a manner prescribed in the Sexual Harassment Act.
CONSTITUTION OF INTERNAL COMPLAINTS COMMITTEE
As per the Sexual Harassment Act it is mandatory for an organization to form what is known as an internal complaints committee with the following members on board the said committee: presiding officer, who shall be a woman, employed at a senior level in the company. If there is no senior woman employee in the company, a senior woman employee from some other organization may be nominated as presiding officer; two or more than two members may be nominated from amongst employees who have a history of commitment towards social causes of women or have adequate legal knowledge; one member to be nominated from amongst a non-governmental organization or association committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues relating to sexual harassment.
The organization must be committed to nominate at least ½ (one-half) of the above mentioned members as women. The presiding officer and every member of the committee shall not hold office for more than 3 (three) years from the date of their nomination and a minimum of 3 (three) members, including the presiding officer, shall be present while the inquiry is being conducted by the committee.
REDRESSAL PROCEDURE
The definition of an aggrieved women, who will get protection as per the Sexual Harassment Act is extremely wide to cover all women, irrespective of her age or employment status. A woman complaining of sexual harassment at workplace shall follow the following procedure to lodge her complaint with the committee:
- Make in writing the complaint of sexual harassment at workplace to the committee within 3 (three) months of the date of incident of harassment. the presiding officer and the members of the committee are to reasonably help the aggrieved woman in making the written complaint.
- The aggrieved women shall submit 6 (six) copies of the complaint to the committee, along with supporting documents and names and addresses of witnesses. on receipt of such complaint, the committee shall send one copy to the respondent i.e. the person on whom the allegations have been alleged within a period of 7 (seven) working days.
- The respondent shall file his reply to the complaint with his supporting documents and names and addresses of witnesses within 10 (ten) working days.
- Before initiating any inquiry, the committee is encouraged to settle the matter through conciliation, albeit, at the request of the aggrieved woman.
- Where a settlement has been reached, the committee shall record the settlement and send it to the management to execute on the committee’s recommendations. the record of settlement shall be made available to both the aggrieved woman and the respondent.
- If no settlement is reached through conciliation, then an inquiry to the complaint shall be conducted by the committee, following principles of natural justice, i.e. both the parties shall be given the opportunity of fair and unbiased hearing. by all means the inquiry shall be completed within a period of 90 (ninety) days.
- The findings of the inquiry shall be made available to both the parties and the parties may give representations before the committee, against those findings. The management shall send back a report of implementation of such recommendations back to the committee.
- Upon completion of the inquiry, the committee shall, within a period of 10 (ten) days from the date of completion of inquiry, provide a report of the findings to the management and the parties involved.
- In conducting the inquiry, a minimum of 3 (three) members of the Committee including the presiding officer or the chairperson, as the case may be, shall be present.
- The parties shall not be allowed to bring any legal practitioner to represent them in their case at any stage of the proceedings before the committee.
FALSE COMPLAINTS
If the committee finds that the allegations leveled by the complainant are malicious in nature or it is proved that the complainant has produced false, forged, or misleading documents during the inquiry, it may recommend the management to take strict action against the complainant including but not limited to termination of employment and filing a civil suit thereof in an appropriate court of law.
SECRECY
Lastly, no person or committee member associated in any manner with the complaint and the inquiry thereof shall publish, disclose or communicate to the public or the press and media the contents of the complaint inter alia, name and address of the aggrieved woman, respondent, witnesses, inquiry proceedings, inquiry findings, committee recommendations and action taken by the management.
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