Compliance under POSH Act, 2013

The Sexual harassment of women at workplace (prevention, prohibition and redressal) act, 2013, this act is known as POSH act, or workplace harassment law etc. These acts are incorporated to protect women from sexual harassments at workplace. The act came into force from 9th December 2013. It is made mandatory for every employer to provide a mechanism to prevent, protect and redress sexual harassment issues at workplace and enforce the right to gender equality.

Source:MWCD

What is sexual Harassment?

Unwelcome of acts or behaviour whether directly or indirectly or by implication; namely

• Physical contact or advances
• A demand or request for sexual favour
• Making sexually coloured remarks
• Showing pornography
• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal, non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

What is deemed as sexual harassment?

• Unwelcome touching, hugging or kissing
• Staring or leering
• Suggestive comments or jokes
• Unwanted or persistent requests to go out
• Intrusive questions about another person’s private life or body
• Deliberately brushing up against someone
• Insults or taunts of a sexual nature
• Sexually explicit pictures, posters, screen savers, emails, twitters, SMS or instant messages
• Accessing sexually explicit internet sites
• Inappropriate advances on social networking sites
• Behaviour which would also be an offence under the criminal law, such as physical assault indecent exposure sexual assault, stalking or obscene communications.

Two forms of sexual harassment

1. Quid pro quo harassment (Latin term means “this for that” or “something for something”)
2. Hostile work environment - Creation of a hostile, intimidating or an offensive work environment with the purpose of unreasonably interfering with woman’s work performance or subjecting woman to humiliating treatment likely to affect her health and safety.

Aggrieved Women

Aggrieved woman is a woman, who in relation to workplace alleges to have been sexually harassed. 

Applicability

All employers in India irrespective of size, stage, commercial and non commercial, (individual, partnership, Privet, public ltd, companies etc) nature of industry, location, gender ratios.

Scope of workplace

Office of the employee or employer, any place visited by the employee during the course of employment including transportation provided by the employer for the purpose of commuting to and from the place of work is also constituted as workplace. Extended workplaces are those where employee’s office events are taking place in social setting, even non traditional workplace which involve telecommuting get covered as workplace.

Internal Complaint Committee

Every employer is obliged to constitute ICC, having following members;

• Chairperson (internal)
• Internal Members
• External member

If the organisation has workplace located at different locations, than ICC must constitute at every workplace. 

Local Complaint Committee

The district officer will constitute an LCC in every district so as to enable women working in the unorganised sectors or small organisations to work in safe and sexual harassment free environments. LCC will receive complaints from women working in an organisation having less than 10 members, when complaint is against employer himself, and domestic workers.

Roles and responsibilities of an employer (Compliance under the act)

1. Provide safe working environment
2. Formulation of sexual harassment prevention policy (Anti Sexual Harassment policy)  
3. Create awareness at all level
4. Setting up ICCs and display of their contact details.
5. Train ICC members as per the act
6. Display of posters, notices and of a penal consequences of sexual harassment.
7. Assistance to complainer in filing criminal case or FIR in police station.
8. Compliance under the act
9. Reporting number of complaints received, resolve and pending issues in annual report. 

Timeline as per the act

Submission of complaints	Within 3 months of last incidents
Notice to the respondents	Within 7 days of receiving copy of compliant
Completion of inquiry	Within 90 days
Submission of report by ICC/LCC to employer	Within 10 days of enquiry completion
Implementation of recommendation	Within 60 days
Appeal	Within 90 days of recommendations

Penalties for non compliance

• The inquiry process should be confidentiality, if breached to this employer will be panelised of Rs. 5000/- on the person who has breached the law.
• Non compliance with provision of law shall be punishable with a fine of up to Rs. 50,000/-. Repeated violations may leads to higher penalties and cancelation of business licence.

The sexual harassment at workplace is a sensitive issue. The sexual harassment case can risk employer reputation and kick off questions on employer role in providing safe working environment. It is responsibility of an employer or HR professionals to ensure safe working environment for all of its employees, gender sensitisation, comply with the POSH act.

Sources:

• http://www.shebox.nic.in/user/faq
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_Harassment_of_Women_at_Workplace_(Prevention,_Prohibition_and_Redressal)_Act,_2013

Performance Review!!

Are you going for your performance review meeting? But have you prepared for it? Have you listed your accomplishments? Have you listed your value additions or contribution to organisation? Irrespective of your nature of work or department everyone in an organisation are expected to perform and performance are measured. Organisation generally focuses on what is assigned? And what is achieved?

Performance review is an opportunity to demonstrate accomplishments and bring out how you would like to evolve in this position and organisation in future.

How to prepare for performance review?

Review your GSR/objectives/Job responsibilities

Understand and negotiate on your GSR or job requirements from your reporting manager.

What are the expected results? (What)

How frequently GSR or job requirements are reviewed and revised? (When)

What are the result rating parameters? (How)

What steps need to take to reach next level?

How can I support our department priorities and objectives?

Documenting job plans and expectations:

If work not documented is not done!!

Maintain reports and records of your work done on consistently. Maintain your weekly, monthly work status, highlights, status reports or presentations.

Seeking Feedback

It is your duty to deliver best results. So have to do what is required, not what is easy for you.

Meet regularly to reporting manager, ask questions, and seek feedback on your work and get clarity on what is needed to make it better. It is always good to know what is going on in boss mind. Accept criticism; assure your boss that you will overcome those shortfalls. Make sure you do follow-up with manager every month in the beginning.

Prepare list of accomplishments

Your reporting manager may not be able to track and remember the every great stuff you have achieved in last quarter or last year. Getting routine job requirements are not accomplishments, maintaining collaborative working relationship with co-worker, supervisors are not worth bragging. Those are the things suppose to do, not for expecting rewards and promotions. But these are very important factors in overall performance.

Organisations need your value added contribution that makes difference in achieving organisational goals, Return on investment, so you have to focus on the activities that use your time, skills and resources most effectively connect that to company goals. So be very creative in presenting your accomplishments. Collect quantitative, qualitative data to support your results.

Be objective: If you can’t measure it, you can manage it!! Hence use comparable data that show your progress or out performing your set goals or co-workers. Quantify results as much as possible in facts, figures and with specific dates.

Present qualitative data like customer or client testimonial, remarks, feedback from colleagues, good remarks from reporting manager, business heads/HODs, other department etc

Highlight you results with grace, without putting any of your colleagues down with examples and samples.

Describe the impact, value addition it made on the organisation. Also describe your accomplishments initiated by you. Ensure that it has impact on you and organisation too.

Salary increment, rewards, promotions, and career development are depending on your performance review rating more than what you achieved in last quarter or year. Means proving your contributions are valuable to the organisation, communicating and selling your contribution matter more than you achieved your goals. so be prepared to craft your performance results in presentable story.