The POSH Act applies to every workplace in India, public or private, of any size and in any sector (s.2(o)), and it protects every woman at that workplace, whether she is employed there or not (s.2(a)). An employer with 10 or more workers at an office must constitute an Internal Committee there (s.4(1)). Below 10, complaints go to the district's Local Committee (s.6(1)), but the employer's duties under s.19 and POSH Rules rule 13, including awareness programmes and a written policy, still apply.
What POSH stands for
POSH stands for Prevention of Sexual Harassment. It is the common short name for the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013; the Act itself does not use the acronym.
What to do now
- Count the people who work at each office, including contract staff, trainees, apprentices and interns. The Act's definition of "employee" is wide (s.2(f)).
- Where an office has 10 or more, constitute an Internal Committee there by written order (s.4(1)). See Internal Committee formation.
- Where it has fewer, note that complaints go to the district's Local Committee, and keep meeting the s.19 duties.
- Adopt a written policy covering everyone the Act protects (POSH Rules, rule 13(a)). See what a POSH policy must contain.
- Check your contractor and vendor arrangements, so outsourced staff know where to complain. See below.
Which workplaces are covered
"Workplace" in s.2(o) is deliberately broad. It includes:
- government departments, public sector bodies and co-operative societies;
- any private organisation, venture, society, trust, NGO or service provider carrying on commercial, professional, vocational, educational, entertainment, industrial, health or financial activity;
- hospitals and nursing homes, and sports institutes, stadiums and venues;
- "any place visited by the employee arising out of or during the course of employment", including transport provided by the employer; and
- a dwelling place or house.
There is no exemption by sector or company age. A startup with 10 people at one office has the same Internal Committee obligation as a listed company.
Who is protected
The Act protects women. An "aggrieved woman" is a woman "of any age whether employed or not" who alleges sexual harassment at a workplace (s.2(a)), and s.3(1) says "no woman shall be subjected to sexual harassment at any workplace". So it covers employees, but also visitors, clients' staff, candidates at interview and trainees. The person complained against, the respondent, can be anyone (s.2(m)), including someone who doesn't work for you. The employer must also provide safety "from the persons coming into contact at the workplace" (s.19(a)).
Who counts as an employee
Under s.2(f), an employee is anyone employed at a workplace for any work, on a regular, temporary, ad hoc or daily-wage basis, directly or "through an agent, including a contractor, with or without the knowledge of the principal employer", paid or not, including volunteers. It expressly includes co-workers, contract workers, probationers, trainees and apprentices. Interns are not named, but "trainee … or called by any other such name" is wide enough that most employers treat them as covered.
The Act doesn't say exactly how to count the ten. Given how wide s.2(f) is, count everyone who works at the office, not just those on payroll.
Contract and outsourced staff
Two employers can have duties at once. The organisation responsible for "management, supervision and control of the workplace" is an employer (s.2(g)(ii)). So is "the person discharging contractual obligations with respect to his or her employees", such as a staffing contractor (s.2(g)(iii)). In practice:
- make sure contract staff know they can complain to the Internal Committee of the workplace where they work;
- put POSH clauses in vendor and staffing contracts: cooperation with inquiries, confidentiality, acting on recommendations, and awareness training for their staff; and
- include contract staff in awareness sessions (s.19(c)).
Remote and hybrid work
The Act doesn't mention remote work. But "workplace" includes any place visited "arising out of or during the course of employment" and "a dwelling place or a house" (s.2(o)(v), (vi)). Conduct in work video calls, chats and messages can be conduct in the course of employment. The prudent reading is that remote work is covered, and your policy should say so explicitly.
What about men?
The Act's protection and its complaint machinery are for women: s.2(a), s.3, s.9. A complaint by a man, or by a transgender or non-binary person, isn't a complaint under the Act. Many employers adopt a gender-neutral internal policy so that everyone has a route to complain, while keeping the statutory process intact for complaints by women. That's a policy choice for the employer, not a requirement of the Act.
Employers with fewer than 10 workers
You don't constitute an Internal Committee. Complaints from your workplace go to the Local Committee the District Officer constitutes for the district (s.6(1)), which also hears complaints against an employer itself. The employer duties in s.19 still apply to you: a safe workplace, displaying the consequences of sexual harassment, awareness, and cooperation with the Committee.
Where we come in
We work out which of your offices need a Committee, constitute them through Internal Committee formation, draft the policy and vendor clauses, and run POSH training for employees that includes contract staff. We work onsite across Delhi NCR and cities within about 300 km of Noida, anywhere in India as required, and online.
Frequently asked
What is the full form of POSH?
POSH stands for Prevention of Sexual Harassment. It is the common short name for the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.
Does the POSH Act apply to private companies?
Yes. Section 2(o) expressly includes any private sector organisation, venture, society, trust or NGO carrying on commercial, professional, educational, industrial, health or financial activities.
Does the POSH Act apply to startups and small businesses?
Yes. There's no exemption by age or sector. With 10 or more workers at an office, you need an Internal Committee there; below that, complaints go to the district's Local Committee, and the s.19 duties still apply.
Are interns and contract staff covered?
Contract workers, trainees, apprentices and probationers are expressly covered by s.2(f), including those engaged through a contractor. Interns aren't named, but the definition is wide enough that most employers treat them as covered.
Does POSH apply to work from home?
The Act doesn't mention remote work, but "workplace" includes places visited in the course of employment and a dwelling place (s.2(o)). The prudent reading is that remote work is covered, and your policy should say so.
Can men file a complaint under the POSH Act?
No. The Act protects women. Many employers adopt a gender-neutral internal policy so that others have a route to complain, but that's the employer's choice, not a requirement of the Act.