ANNUAL POSH REPORT

• There is a time for everything under the sun. And the time for organisations to file the annual report on Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) is upon them. In fact, the time is in its last embers.
• The best practice is to file the report by the end of the calendar year or by January end. If the organisation misses the deadline, it could still turn it in late.
• Better late than never — for, submitting an annual compliance report under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013 (“Act”) is not an option, but an inescapable responsibility mandated by law.
• Non-compliance can invite a penalty of ₹50,000. Repeated non-compliance will invite severe penalty and that includes the possibility of suspension or cancellation of the license or registration to work, says Smita Shetty Kapoor, CEO and co-founder, KelpHR. 

The contents

• The annual document must report the number of sexual harassment complaints filed in the year, number of complaints disposed of, complaints pending for resolution for more than 90 days and the nature of the action taken by the employer.
• Smita notes failure to constitute an Internal Complaints Committee and the failure to act upon the recommendations made by such a committee would also invite punishment.
• A checklist that needs to be filled and submitted as part of the annual report would carry the details of the seminars and workshops that were conducted to sensitise employees about the Act.

Greater awareness

• Smita says there is no official data from the Government that show how many organisations are prompt in filing the annual PoSH report, but it has been nudging organisations to comply with the Act.
• Recently, the Women and Child Development Ministry directed all central ministries, departments and PSUs to ensure effective implementation of the Act.
• In a communication, Women and Child Development secretary Ivender Pandey requested all government offices to ensure that internal committees are constituted at workplaces and made functional.
• A directive was also given to the internal committees to conduct a special drive to review the pending cases and take appropriate action before December 9, 2022.
• All secretaries of the Central Ministries were asked to submit the report of this exercise by December 20.
• Smita believes there are lessons from some states and districts that others would do well to imbibe.
• “Gurugram has a practice where notices are sent to companies not filing their annual PoSH report. In Noida and Telangana, an app is offered to institutions to file the report with ease,” says Smita.

SOURCE: THE HINDU, THE ECONOMIC TIMES, PIB