The Government of India has made it mandatory for all Indian organisations with more than 10 employees to implement and comply with The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, popularly known as the PoSH Act, 2013.
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Yellow Spark provides end–to–end PoSH Compliance Services to organisations. We work in the interest of our clients and provide complete guidance to build ethical and a compliant workplaces.
Yellow Spark interventions include:
- Drafting of PoSH policy, review and roll out support
- Support during an ongoing case as an external committee member,
- Customized training for employees and IC members
If you opt for our PoSH audit services, we will assist per The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. To:
- Inspect the company’s Sexual Harassment policy and how it is represented in various company documents.
- Offer recommendations and assistance based on a careful assessment of your company’s current PoSH compliance systems.
- Analyse the company’s Internal Committee composition, the documentation, and various complaint resolutions affected.
- Look into the employee awareness and support initiatives taken by the company regarding any PoSH cases, and whether it is compliant and adequate under PoSH Law.
A PoSH Policy is a document used to create awareness among the employees and other personnel of an organisation about the PoSH Act, 2013. The purpose of this Policy is to provide a safe, secure and enabling environment, free from sexual harassment to every employee. Yellow Spark designs, drafts and vets the policy as well as helps customise the policy to merge the internal as well as law-related requirements in the policy & the complaints redressal process.
This is a new subject and corporate employees are not trained in Law or how to handle a legal proceedings. It is imperative to train the IC in various aspects related to the PoSH Act well in advance, before them having to handle even one complaint of sexual harassment. We conduct two types of IC training:
- Advanced version – for those ICs who have already undergone basic training and are ready to move on to advanced discussions about the PoSh Act and the various integrities of their role as an IC member, such as how to conduct an inquiry, how to draft a report, How to conduct an interview?
- Additional Support for IC: ICs can conduct awareness programmes in the organisation and we help train the ICs to train their organisation. We help employers draft the handbook for IC members. We also assist in drafting the IC Annual Report.
PoSH training helps employees identify and differentiate between appropriate and inappropriate behaviour in the workplace. It also educates participants on the legal aspect of the PoSH Act.
PoSH training is necessary to foster a respectful and safe working environment for employees. Our training is conducted keeping in mind:
- Knowledge about the culture of the company.
- Getting insights on employee demographics.
- Understanding the challenges a company is facing as far as employees behaviour is concerned.
- Seeking clarity on business, workflow, kinds of customers, vendors and suppliers.
- Thorough knowledge about the company’s sexual harassment-related policy.
- Understanding from the management the message they want to convey at the end
Based on the above inputs, we conduct two types of employee PoSH training:
- Basic version – it helps the employees understand the Law, key definitions, and the overall procedure should they want to file a complaint
- Advanced version – for those employees who have already undergone basic training and are ready to discuss advanced aspects of the PoSh Act, such as my role in keeping the workplace safe. How do I behave as a bystander? What if I witness sexual harassment around me? Etc.
Power dynamics can often creep into case investigations by the Internal Committee (IC). The Law is sensitive to such situations and thus requires the nomination of an external member for IC within an organisation. An external member of PoSH serves as a knowledgeable, neutral, and unbiased party to not let the management influence the decisions of the IC Committee. The co-founders of Yellow Spark sit on various committees as external members and appointing us will bring much-needed experience to the table.
It is not enough to have a PoSH policy and add it to the employee handbook. A PoSH rollout requires the organisation to onboard employees, display various Notices, formulate the Internal Committee (IC), the appointment of an External Committee member, equip the IC to conduct inquiries concerning sexual harassment, and learn the ropes about PoSH annual report filing. At Yellow Spark, we have the right skills and experience to ensure yours is fully compliant with government norms.