UncategorizedANNUAL REPORT SUBMISSION UNDER POSH ACT

The Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act in India and its corresponding Rules require a mandatory annual report to be submitted by the employer to the District Officer and is also part of reporting obligations to the Registrar of Companies.

1. Annual report to the employer and district officer: The annual report is prepared by the Internal Complaints Committee (constituted under the POSH Act) of the organization and submitted to the employer and the District Officer, respectively. This report outlines the actions taken by the organization to prevent and address sexual harassment and the overall company compliance with the POSH Law.
2. Report to the registrar of companies: In 2018, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) introduced an amendment effective as of July 31, 2018, to the Companies (Accounts) Rules 2014. As a result, companies are now obligated to include a statement in the Director’s Report confirming their compliance with the provisions regarding the constitution of the Internal Complaints Committee. This disclosure is made in the Director’s report, which is then filed along with the annual returns to the Registrar of Companies.

The amendment Rule 8 of the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 requires companies to incorporate a statement disclosing their compliance with the provisions relating to constitution of an Internal Complaints Committee under the POSH Act.

Failure to include disclosures mandated under Section 134 of the Companies Act and the rules framed thereunder in the Board of Director’s report is punishable with fine of not less than INR 50,000 (approx. USD 715) which may extend to INR 25,00,000 (approx. USD 35,850).  Additionally, every officer of the company who is in default is punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to 3 years or with fine of not be less than INR 50,000 (approx. USD 715), which may extend to INR 5,00,000 (approx. USD 7,150), or with both.

Organizations must therefore submit an annual report on their compliance with the POSH Act:

1. Draft a POSH policy and circulate it among all employees.
2. Appoint and train a capable IC
3. Notify conspicuously, the details of the IC members along with their contact details
4. Post information about the penal consequences of sexual harassment.
5. Immediately take cognizance of any/ all POSH complaints and conduct investigations
6. Forward a report of the investigation to the management for compliance within 60 days.

Details which need to be mentioned in the ‘Annual Report’ to show that your Company has completed all POSH compliance-related activities at the workplace for 2022-2023 include :

1. Number of sexual harassment complaints filed in the year.
2. Number of complaint(s) disposed of.
3. Number of complaint(s) pending for resolution for more than ninety days.
4. Nature of the action(s) taken by the employer and
5. Number of workshops/awareness programs conducted by the employer to increase awareness about sexual harassment at workplace.
6. Report filing before the District Officer is the last stage in POSH compliance after drafting the Annual Report .
7. This has to be done within the stipulated time frame of 31^st December -31^st January depending on state compliance regulations.

Different social welfare departments have released guidelines for submission of annual reports. Chiefly, the guidelines state as follows:

a) The submission of the annual report is mandatory under section 21 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act and Rules, 2013.

b) The preparation of the report, for each calendar year, is the responsibility of all members of the internal committee (IC) and it should be approved by everyone in it.

(Note) Ideally, it is advisable for all members of the IC committee to sign the annual report. However, there is flexibility in the process. The annual report can also be signed by the Presiding officer of the IC on behalf of all members. In such a case, it’s important to ensure that there is documented confirmation from all the IC members indicating their agreement with the contents of the report. This confirmation can be obtained through written communication or email.

c) Even if there is no complaint filed in the organisation during the year, the report should be submitted with complaints and other related columns reading ‘0’ or ‘nil.’ The IC should be transparent in the activities conducted and action taken, it said.

d) The number of workshops, training programs and people trained can’t be nil as it does not reflect well on the organisation’s ‘preventive’ measures which are also mandatory under the law.

The number of workshops / training programs have to be clearly mentioned in the Annual Report as  well as the date on which they were conducted.  A record of attendance by employees ( including contractual employees) who have attended the training must be maintained by the organization as a supporting proof in case of an inspection. The E-Learning modules which many Companies use especially at the time of onboarding and for the purpose of training can be included in the Annual Report.

e) Policy on POSH, training photos, quarterly meeting photos and display of IC details in the company may be attached to the report.

f) Quarterly meetings of the IC can’t be considered training programmes.

Please complete your POSH trainings and IC capacity building sessions for this year to report statutory compliance. 

Should you require any assistance in conducting the POSH awareness sessions for the employees (in person/ or through an online module) or to train the IC please reach out to me.

My profile can be viewed on www.poshlaws.com and I can be reached on my cell at +91 9891385111.

Regards,

Jyotica Bhasin.