Protection from sexual harassment at the work place
Protection from sexual harassment at the work place
It is the responsibility of the employer to ensure that his/her employees, especially female employees, are protected while at work. All incidents of sexual harassment – regardless of how big or small they are or who is involved – require employers or managers to respond quickly and appropriately. Just because someone does not object to inappropriate behaviour in the workplace, it does not mean that they are consenting to the behaviour.
An aggrieved woman can seek remedy under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Sexual harassment is punishable under the Indian Penal Code
The law mandates employers to formulate a policy which prohibits sexual harassment. The policy should be a part of the company’s service regulations to provide a healthy working environment. The company’s policy must clearly define what exactly constitutes a sexual harassment and enumerate penalties, online grievance redressal procedures as well as additional resources like a list of individuals to be contacted for consultation, etc. The policy should also ensure impartiality in investigation.
The law outlines the structure of an internal complaint committee for organisations with ten or more employees and instructs the formation of a district level local complaint committees for other organisations.
All offices, hospitals, institutions and other establishments should set up an internal complaint committee. The employer should nominate the committee members and constitute the committee. The committee should also include a senior woman as a member, two other employees as members and a non-governmental member.
At the district level, the District Officer (normally the Collector), an officer as authorized under the act, should constitute a Local Complaints Committee.
A Nodal Officer will also be nominated by the District Officer for each block, municipality or tribal area to receive complaints and to forward them to the respective local complaint committee within seven days.
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