NCW Advisory on Strengthening POSH Compliance - Key Highlights 

NCW Advisory on Strengthening POSH Compliance – Key Highlights 

 
In a significant move to strengthen workplace safety for women, the National Commission for Women (NCW) has issued a nationwide advisory directing States and Union Territories to ensure stricter implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (POSH Act). The advisory introduces enhanced compliance and monitoring measures aimed at improving institutional accountability, promoting effective grievance redressal, and fostering safer, gender-sensitive workplaces across both the organised and unorganised sectors. 

Key Highlights 

  1. Mandatory Annual POSH Audits: Establishments employing ten or more persons have been advised to conduct annual POSH audits assessing statutory compliance, functioning of Internal Committees (ICs), complaint handling, confidentiality, workplace safety measures, mandatory disclosures, and utilisation of the SHe-Box platform. Failure to conduct such audits may be treated as non-compliance. 
  1. State-Level Monitoring Mechanisms: States and Union Territories have been advised to establish dedicated POSH Monitoring Cells or digital compliance dashboards to monitor implementation, undertake periodic reviews, issue guidance to establishments, and strengthen institutional oversight. 
  1. District-Level Accountability: Every district is expected to designate District Officers as nodal authorities responsible for implementation, monitoring, awareness generation, grievance redressal, and review of compliance under the POSH Act. 
  1. Strengthening Internal and Local Committees: Employers must constitute legally compliant Internal Committees in every eligible establishment, while districts must ensure effective functioning of Local Committees to address complaints from the unorganised sector and establishments with fewer than ten employees. 
  1. Enhanced Transparency and Accessibility: Details of Internal Committees, Local Committees, Nodal Officers, complaint procedures, contact details, and online grievance mechanisms should be prominently displayed to improve awareness and accessibility for employees. 
  1. Capacity Building and Professional Training: The advisory recommends regular awareness programmes, gender sensitisation workshops, and specialised training for members of Internal and Local Committees to ensure fair, legally compliant, and sensitive inquiry processes. 
  1. Protection of Complainants and Promotion of SHe-Box: Employers have been urged to protect complainants, witnesses, and committee members from retaliation while also encouraging widespread use of the Government’s SHe-Box portal for online reporting and monitoring of workplace sexual harassment complaints. 
  1. Focus on Inclusive and Safer Workplaces: The advisory calls for a zero-tolerance approach towards sexual harassment by strengthening workplace infrastructure, conducting awareness campaigns in the unorganised sector, ensuring annual reporting compliance, and enhancing POSH mechanisms in educational and healthcare institutions. 

Written by Adv. K. Sri Hamsa

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