POSH Compliance in Lucknow
Creating a safe workplace requires more than adopting an anti-harassment policy. Employers must understand their responsibilities, establish the required complaint mechanism, train employees, maintain records, and follow the prescribed procedure when a complaint is received.
My Legal Route provides assistance with POSH Compliance in Lucknow for companies, startups, institutions, NGOs, offices, and other workplaces. Support may include compliance review, Internal Committee constitution, POSH documentation, employee awareness, IC orientation, SHe-Box requirements, and annual reporting.
What Is POSH Compliance?
POSH compliance refers to workplace obligations under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and the related Rules.
The Act provides a framework for preventing and addressing sexual harassment of women at the workplace. Its definition of workplace is broad and includes private organisations, institutions, hospitals, NGOs, offices, service providers, and places visited in the course of employment.
Sexual harassment may include unwelcome physical contact or advances, requests for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography, or other unwelcome physical, verbal, or non-verbal conduct of a sexual nature.
Which Organisations Need POSH Compliance?
POSH obligations apply across a broad range of workplaces. Organisations with 10 or more employees must also constitute an Internal Committee under the Act.
The definition of employee is broad and may include regular, temporary, ad hoc, daily-wage, contract, probationary, trainee, apprentice, and voluntary workers, depending on the employment arrangement.
Organisations that should review their POSH requirements include:
- Private companies and startups
- LLPs and partnership firms
- Schools and educational institutions
- Hospitals and healthcare organisations
- NGOs and charitable organisations
- Retail and service businesses
- Factories and industrial establishments
- Professional and corporate offices
Where offices or administrative units are located at different places, the Act requires Internal Committees at the applicable administrative units or offices.
For establishments with fewer than 10 workers, and where a complaint is made against the employer, the district-level Local Committee provides the complaint mechanism prescribed under the Act.
What Does POSH Compliance Require From Employers?
Employers have responsibilities relating to prevention, awareness, complaint redressal, and reporting.
Key requirements include:
- Providing a safe working environment
- Constituting an Internal Committee where required
- Displaying information about the consequences of sexual harassment and IC constitution
- Conducting employee awareness programmes
- Providing orientation to IC members
- Supporting the Committee during an inquiry
- Making relevant information available to the Committee
- Treating sexual harassment as misconduct where applicable
- Monitoring timely submission of IC reports
- Assisting an aggrieved woman where she chooses to pursue other legal remedies
The Act specifically places these duties on employers. A clear POSH policy can also help employees understand prohibited conduct, reporting channels, confidentiality, and the organisation’s internal process.
How Is an Internal Committee Constituted?
An Internal Committee receives and examines workplace sexual-harassment complaints where the statutory requirement applies.
Presiding Officer
The Presiding Officer should ordinarily be a senior woman employee. The Act provides alternatives where an appropriate senior woman employee is unavailable at that workplace.
At Least Two Employee Members
At least two members should be nominated from among employees, preferably those committed to the cause of women, experienced in social work, or having legal knowledge.
External Member
The IC must include one external member from an NGO or association committed to the cause of women, or another person familiar with issues relating to sexual harassment.
At Least Half the Committee Must Be Women
Women must constitute at least half of the total membership of the Internal Committee. The Presiding Officer and members may hold office for a period specified by the employer, up to a maximum of three years.
How Does the POSH Complaint and Inquiry Process Work?
A functioning IC should follow the prescribed procedure rather than dealing with complaints informally.
Filing the Complaint
An aggrieved woman may generally make a written complaint within three months of the incident. For a series of incidents, the period runs from the last incident.
The Committee may extend this by up to a further three months where sufficient circumstances prevented timely filing, and the reasons are recorded.
Conciliation, Where Requested
Before an inquiry begins, the Committee may attempt conciliation if requested by the aggrieved woman. A monetary settlement cannot form the basis of conciliation.
Formal Inquiry
If the matter is not resolved through conciliation, the Committee may conduct an inquiry under the applicable procedure. The inquiry should ordinarily be completed within 90 days.
Legal practitioners are not permitted to represent either party during proceedings before the Internal Committee or Local Committee. My Legal Route may assist with understanding legal requirements, documentation, policies, and related advice outside the Committee proceedings.
Inquiry Report
The Committee must provide its findings to the employer or District Officer within 10 days of completing the inquiry. The findings are also made available to the concerned parties as provided under the Act.
Action on Recommendations
The employer or District Officer is required to act on the Committee's recommendations within 60 days of receiving them. Complaint details, inquiry proceedings, recommendations, and identifying information are subject to confidentiality requirements.
POSH Training and Employee Awareness
Constituting an Internal Committee alone does not complete POSH compliance. Employers are required to organise employee-awareness programmes and provide orientation to IC members at regular intervals.
Employee awareness may cover:
- Conduct that may constitute sexual harassment
- How and where complaints can be made
- Role of the Internal Committee
- Confidentiality requirements
- Workplace conduct and reporting channels
- Rights and responsibilities during the process
Employee sessions generally focus on workplace conduct, awareness, and reporting mechanisms. IC orientation should go further by covering complaint handling, procedural fairness, confidentiality, documentation, statutory timelines, and reporting responsibilities.
POSH Annual Reporting and SHe-Box Compliance
The Internal Committee must prepare an annual report for each calendar year and submit it to the employer and District Officer.
The annual report should include:
- Number of complaints received during the year
- Number of complaints disposed of
- Cases pending for more than 90 days
- Number of awareness programmes or workshops conducted
- Nature of action taken by the employer or District Officer
These reporting particulars are prescribed by the POSH Rules. The Ministry of Women and Child Development’s SHe-Box portal provides a central platform for workplace sexual-harassment complaints. Current official guidance states that workplaces, including private entities, must onboard the portal.
Organisations should keep their workplace and Internal Committee information current on the portal in accordance with applicable government requirements.
Documents Needed for POSH Compliance
A POSH compliance review may include:
- POSH or workplace sexual-harassment policy
- Internal Committee constitution order
- IC member and external-member details
- Employee handbook or service rules
- Employee-awareness and IC-training records
- Complaint and inquiry records, where applicable
- Annual POSH reports
- SHe-Box registration or workplace details
- Relevant workplace notices and displays
Complaint-related records should be stored and handled in accordance with statutory confidentiality requirements.
Penalty for Non-Compliance With the POSH Act
An employer that fails to constitute an Internal Committee, take required action, or comply with other provisions of the POSH Act may face a fine of up to ₹50,000.
Repeated violations can result in enhanced consequences, including higher penalties and possible cancellation, withdrawal, or non-renewal of licences or registrations required for carrying on the organisation’s activity.
Regular compliance reviews can help organisations identify gaps in committee constitution, documentation, training, and reporting before they lead to statutory or procedural issues.
POSH Compliance Fees in Lucknow
There is no fixed professional fee for every POSH compliance assignment. Cost may depend on:
- Number of employees and workplace locations
- Existing level of compliance
- Policy drafting or review required
- IC constitution or reconstitution
- Employee-awareness or IC-orientation requirements
- SHe-Box and annual-reporting support
- Additional documentation or advisory work
Services relating to an individual complaint, external-member engagement, specialised training, or ongoing compliance support may be quoted separately. My Legal Route explains the proposed scope of work and professional charges after reviewing the organisation’s requirements.
POSH Compliance Assistance in Lucknow
My Legal Route helps organisations review and organise their POSH compliance requirements based on their workforce, workplace structure, and existing policies and records.
Compliance Review
We review the organisation’s existing POSH framework to identify gaps in policies, Internal Committee constitution, employee awareness, recordkeeping, and reporting. This helps determine which compliance requirements need attention.
Internal Committee Support
We assist with reviewing IC composition, member eligibility, constitution documentation, and tenure requirements. Organisations can also seek guidance on the responsibilities and procedural role of committee members.
Policy and Documentation Assistance
We help organisations prepare or review POSH policies, workplace notices, committee records, and supporting compliance documents. The aim is to keep internal documentation consistent with the organisation’s actual POSH framework.
Employee Awareness and IC Orientation
Support is available for employee-awareness programmes and IC orientation. Employee sessions focus on conduct and reporting channels, while committee orientation addresses complaint handling, confidentiality, inquiry procedures, documentation, and statutory timelines.
SHe-Box and Annual Reporting Support
We help organisations understand SHe-Box onboarding requirements and maintain the information needed for annual POSH reporting. We can also review existing workplace and IC details for consistency before submission.
Clear Scope and Professional Fees
We identify the required compliance work after reviewing the organisation’s current position. My Legal Route explains the proposed scope of assistance, professional charges, and any separate services before proceeding.
Get Assistance With POSH Compliance in Lucknow
If your organisation needs to constitute or update its Internal Committee, review its POSH policy, organise employee awareness, complete SHe-Box requirements, or assess annual compliance, a structured review can help identify the necessary next steps.
Visit My Legal Route at 2/152, Vivek Khand-2, Gomti Nagar, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh–226010, India, or call 97167 78456 for assistance with POSH Compliance in Lucknow.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is an Internal Committee mandatory for a workplace with 10 employees?
Yes. Workplaces with 10 or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee under the POSH Act. Where the workplace has fewer than 10 workers, complaints are handled through the Local Committee mechanism.
Can a lawyer represent an employee during an Internal Committee inquiry?
No. The POSH Rules state that parties cannot bring a legal practitioner to represent them during proceedings before the Internal Committee or Local Committee. Legal advice may still be obtained outside those proceedings.
Is POSH training mandatory?
Employers must organise employee-awareness programmes at regular intervals and orientation programmes for Internal Committee members. The law does not prescribe one universal annual training frequency for every organisation.