PoSH Compliance

Yes, under the PoSH Act, 2013, all companies in India with 10 or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee (IC) and implement measures to prevent and redress sexual harassment at the workplace. Non-compliance can attract penalties and reputational risks.

Following a Supreme Court directive and Ministry of Women and Child Department circulars, it is now mandatory for all organisations with 10+ employees to appoint a Nodal Officer and register their organisation on the SHe-BOX portal. This officer ensures real-time compliance and complaint tracking on the platform.

The Nodal Officer must be an internal employee, such as an HR or Compliance Manager. They act as a liaison between the IC and the SHe-BOX portal, ensuring regular updates, complaint reporting, and annual submissions.

Yes, to some extent. As PoSH complaints often involve sensitive personal data, employers must ensure that employee data is processed lawfully and securely, in alignment with the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023.

Absolutely. The definition of "workplace" under the POSH Act has been legally interpreted to include any place visited by the employee arising out of or during the course of employment.In 2025, this unequivocally includes an employee's home office, virtual meetings on Zoom or Teams, and all digital communication channels like Slack, Microsoft Teams, and WhatsApp groups used for official work. Any instance of sexual harassment on these platforms is fully covered.

The penalties for non-compliance are significant and strictly enforced.A first-time offence can result in a fine of up to INR 50,000/-. Repeated non-compliance can lead to double the fine and, more critically, the cancellation of your business license or registration.Beyond legal penalties, non-compliance poses a massive risk to your company's reputation and employee morale.

Yes. IC members must undergo regular orientation and capacity-building programmes as per the PoSH Act and recent directives. The SHe-BOX portal now requires mandatory reporting of such IC trainings, including date, venue, resource person, and number of participants. Uploading this data is essential for compliance during inspections or audits.

The Internal Committee (IC) should meet at least once every quarter, even if there are no complaints, to review compliance, training, and awareness activities. With the newly launched SHe-BOX portal, quarterly reporting of IC activities and trainings is encouraged for stronger compliance, and the annual report must still be digitally uploaded by the Nodal Officer to the portal.

No. Section 11(1) of the POSH Rules, 2013, explicitly prohibits legal practitioners (lawyers) from representing either the complainant or the respondent during any stage of the inquiry proceedings before the Internal Committee.

No, a witness generally cannot refuse. The POSH Act gives the Internal Committee the same powers as a Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. This means for the purpose of an inquiry, the IC has the legal authority to summon and enforce the attendance of any person and examine them on oath and require the discovery and production of documents and other material evidence.

If an employee who is summoned as a witness refuses to appear before the IC or provide requested evidence without a valid reason, it can be treated as misconduct under the company's service rules, potentially leading to disciplinary action.