PoSH Guidelines: How To Effectively Handle Sexual Harassment Complaints At Your Organization

The #Metoo movement from the west settled on Indian shores taking down the Bollywood and the media industry. It didn’t take long for the corporate sector to catch up. Amidst the movement, women started speaking up against sexual harassment in their workplaces.

Sexual harassment has been prevalent in corporates for a long time. Unfortunately, organizations had turned a blind eye towards it. But the trail of harassment complaints forced the government to take preventive measures.

The PoSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) law helped make workplaces safer all employees. Companies are now mandated to provide complete disclosure of sexual harassment cases/incidence in their annual report. This resulted in a speedy decline in the numbers. But it still did not assure a safe workplace for both male and female employees.

You have a responsibility to maintain a workplace that is free of sexual harassment. This is your legal obligation, but it also makes good business sense.

But how do you prevent sexual harassment?

Make all your employees aware about inappropriate workplace behavior. Take every complaint seriously and sincerely. Do not let any employee get away with sexual harassment. Investigate all incidents appropriately to prevent future occurrence.

To prevent sexual harassment, it is necessary to encourage employees to report sexual harassment. When every incidence of sexual harassment is taken seriously in the organization, it sends a strong message about the consequences of sexual harassment.

Ideally, for effectively handling complaints in the organization, the presence of a specialist is recommended. Providing a separate committee for handling sexual harassment, assures the employees and the management that the organization is determined towards preventing sexual harassment.

But constituting a committee for handling and investigation complaints isn’t enough to provide a safe working place. You need to do it right!

Who should Investigate Sexual Harassment Complaints?

In most organizations, sexual harassment is handled by Human Resources. But for effectively handling sexual harassment, it is essential to have trained personnel who are well-versed with the PoSH law and are experts in the field.

Also, forming an Internal Committee to handle and investigate workplace sexual harassment is mandatory by the law. (The law mandates that every organization with 10 (or more) employees must have an Internal Committee to handle sexual harassment reports within the organization.)

The law requires the following members to the IC –

A woman presiding officer.
At least two members from amongst the employees (preferably committed to the cause of women or who have had experience in social work or have legal knowledge).
One member from amongst non-governmental organizations or associations committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues relating to sexual harassment.

In an organization with less than 10 employees, the employees can file a complaint to the ‘local complaint committee’ constituted by the state government.

The Scope of Sexual Harassment Investigation

What should you investigate? Is there any witness? Where should you begin?

Investigating a complaint involves similar questions that set the scope of the investigation. For effectively conducting the investigation, it is required to understand the same. Although the scope of the investigation is subjective to every organization’s way of tackling sexual harassment and does not include key points that every organization needs to follow. Although resolving the below-mentioned queries for a better understanding of the sexual harassment case is important.

Nature of the complaint – Before you begin investigating a complaint, analyze every aspect of it. For instance, the circumstances, such as the nature of the sexual advances, and the context in which the alleged incidents occurred. Or whether the harasser was an employee or a client?
To avoid any misunderstanding, get the complaint in writing.
Know what the victim wants – In most cases, the victim wants the misconduct to stop. Knowing what the victim wants to happen at the end of the investigation gives it a head start. Although you as the decision maker have the liberty to do what you think is best. But understanding the victim’s perspective is also important.
Pursuing new incidences – While investigation one complaint of sexual harassment, you might come across new incidences. For instance, you might find out other incidences of sexual harassment. It is important to decide whether you will tackle them on the course of the current investigation or later.

Handle a Sexual Harassment Complaint the Right Way

Every organization has its own way of dealing with complaints. Some organizations prefer conducting low-key investigations as to not disturb other employees during its course, while others involve every employee to get the most information about the incidence.

Every organization’s method is effective in its own way but it is important to follow the law and certain rules while handling sexual harassment.

Confident and confidential – The accuser must have full faith in you. Take every complaint (regardless of its nature) seriously. If the victim wants you to keep the incidence confidential, you can do so unless it does not come in the way of the investigation. Remember that your duty to properly investigate comes first.
Investigate – Investigating a sexual harassment complaint requires one to conduct interviews with everyone involved. It includes the accuser, accused and potential witnesses. Ask very specific questions and make notes as you go. It is important to document details like date, location, time and witnesses.
Keep your workplace stable – Word travels. An ongoing sexual harassment investigation can cause chaos among your employees. It is your duty to maintain stability in the organization. In some cases, you might have to make some changes to help the complainant. This may include maintaining the distance between the harasser and the accuser, changing schedules or teams, etc.
Document everything – Paper trails aren’t just for taxes. Documenting everything will provide you with a backup if someone isn’t happy with your final decision. You will be able to justify why you came to the conclusion and why it is right to do so. Further, insights from sexual harassment cases might be helpful in investigating and handling other incidences in the organization.
Make a decision – Making a decision is the most crucial part of handling a sexual harassment complaint. Take insights from every information a fact that you’ve obtained during the course of the investigation and make a decision based on the same. You are free to take suggestions but ultimately you have to make the right decision on your own.

Tackle False Sexual Harassment Reports

Sexual harassment has been a tragic truth of the corporate world. But every now and then, we witness false sexual harassment reports filed to take down the harasser.

A thorough investigation is required to know whether a complaint is true or false. For this, you need a detailed written document from the complainant and the harasser. You need both perspectives about when the incident took place, what happened, and who was present.

Once done, verify their testimony with the mentioned witnesses. Do not entirely rely on witnesses while investigating the case. There are chances of false witnesses that might change the direction of your investigation.

Verify the document submitted to you from other sources too before you come to a conclusion. These may include complainant and the harasser’s behavior to other employees in the workplace, and their involvement in any other sexual harassment incidents in the past. If you find it difficult to come to a conclusion and need more insights, you could even consult the complainant and the harasser’s previous organization to gather more information about them.

External IC Member Helps in Just Decisions

In order to make the right decisions, hiring an external IC member would be a smart move. External IC members are experts who have been professionally trained for handling and investigating sexual harassment in the workplace. They are well-versed with the PoSH law and have experience solving and preventing sexual harassment.

Further, if the IC only includes members from your own workplace, it might make the complainants hesitant and not forthcoming, about the filing of the complaint. An external IC member helps in an unbiased investigation against every sexual harassment complaint.

The PoSH law also made it mandatory for organizations to hire external IC members for investigating sexual harassment complaints.

Make your Organization safe – Fight Sexual Harassment

Considering the severity and the serious nature of the crime of sexual harassment that women face every day, especially in their workplaces, there is a need to tighten up the loose ends. A well-trained IC is required to efficiently tackle incidences of sexual harassment.

We at Rainmaker are dedicated towards making every organization safe Our training modules include awareness training for employees, employers, managers, and the ICC. We also provide external ICC assistance to organizations.

Our training modules can benefit you in the following ways –

Creating awareness among the employees about their rights, and the law.
Training managers to be gender sensitive in organizations and preventing sexual harassment.
Creating awareness in the employers about the prevention of sexual harassment and non-compliance to the PoSH law.
Conducting sexual harassment investigation and providing a just decision.

Create a safe and secure work environment for your employees today!

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