Sexual harassment at work: how to use the POSH Act
What counts as sexual harassment at work, how to complain to the Internal or Local Committee, the 3-month limit, interim relief, SHe-Box and employer duties.
In short
- Any unwelcome sexual behaviour at work, physical, verbal or online, is sexual harassment, including "jokes", messages and promises or threats linked to sexual favours.
- Complain in writing to your office's Internal Committee (IC) within 3 months of the last incident Sec 9 POSH Act. Fewer than 10 staff, or the accused is the employer? Go to the district Local Committee Sec 6.
- You can ask for a transfer or up to 3 months' paid leave while the inquiry runs Sec 12. The inquiry must finish in 90 days Sec 11.
- You can file online at shebox.wcd.gov.in, and separately report a crime to the police under Sec 75 BNS. Helplines: 181, 112, 15100.
Many women stay silent about a boss who makes lewd remarks or a colleague who sends late-night messages, fearing they will lose the job or be blamed. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, called the POSH Act, puts the burden on the employer, not on you. It grew out of Vishaka v State of Rajasthan (1997), where the Supreme Court held that harassment at work violates Art 14, Art 15, Art 19(1)(g) and Art 21.
What counts as sexual harassment
Sec 2(n) POSH Act covers any unwelcome act of a sexual nature, direct or implied: physical contact or advances; a demand or request for sexual favours; sexually coloured remarks; showing pornography; and any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal sexual conduct. Sec 3 adds the surrounding pressure: a promise of preferential treatment, a threat of harm to your job, a hostile or intimidating work environment, or humiliating treatment that affects your health or safety.
"Unwelcome" is judged from your point of view. You need not prove he intended harm or that you objected loudly at the time. One serious incident is enough.
Who is covered
Every woman at a workplace, whatever her status: permanent, contract, temporary, trainee, intern, volunteer, daily wager, or a visitor who comes for work. "Workplace" includes companies, government offices, hospitals, schools and colleges, shops, NGOs, homes where domestic workers are employed, and any place you go because of work, including employer-provided transport Sec 2(o). Work-related harassment over WhatsApp, email or video calls counts too. The Act protects women only; men and transgender employees can use the employer's misconduct policy and the criminal law.
Who hears the complaint
- Internal Committee (IC): every workplace with 10 or more employees must have one Sec 4. A senior woman employee heads it; it has at least two more employees and one external member from an NGO or with relevant expertise, and at least half its members must be women. Its contact details must be displayed in the office.
- Local Committee (LC): set up by the District Officer (usually the Collector) in every district Sec 6. Use it if your workplace has fewer than 10 employees, has no IC, if the complaint is against the employer himself, or if you are a domestic worker.
Step by step
- Write it down now. Note each incident with date, time, place, words used and who was nearby. Save messages and screenshots where the employer cannot reach them, such as personal email.
- File the complaint within 3 months of the incident, or of the last incident in a series Sec 9, with supporting documents and witness names. The committee can extend the limit by 3 more months for a recorded reason. If you cannot write, the IC must help you; a relative, friend or co-worker can file if you are unable to.
- Ask for interim relief in the same letter Sec 12: transfer of the respondent or yourself, paid leave of up to 3 months in addition to your normal leave, or an order that the respondent not assess your work.
- Conciliation only if you ask Sec 10, and never for money. If he breaks the settlement, the inquiry resumes.
- The inquiry Sec 11: both sides are heard, you can bring witnesses, and the committee can summon people and documents like a civil court. It must finish within 90 days.
- Report and action Sec 13: the report goes to the employer within 10 days of the inquiry ending. If harassment is proved, the employer must act within 60 days: warning, withholding promotion or increment, termination, or deduction from his salary as compensation to you.
- Appeal within 90 days if you are unhappy with the finding or the action Sec 18.
Your identity, the respondent's identity and the proceedings must be kept confidential Sec 16.
Rukhsar, an accounts executive at a 40-person logistics firm, is messaged repeatedly by her manager after hours and asked to "come for a drink to discuss your increment". She screenshots the messages with dates, emails a two-page complaint to the IC presiding officer within a month, and asks under Sec 12 that her appraisal be moved to another manager. The IC grants that the same week, examines two colleagues who heard his comments, and finds him guilty within 90 days. The employer issues a final warning, cuts his increment and transfers him.
Keep these ready
- A dated written account of each incident, prepared as soon as possible.
- Screenshots of messages, emails, call logs; keep the original device data too.
- Names of colleagues who saw or heard anything, or whom you told soon after.
- Your appointment letter, and any sudden adverse appraisal or transfer that followed your refusal.
When it is also a crime
A POSH complaint and a police complaint are independent. Sexual harassment is a cognizable offence (one where police can arrest without a warrant) under Sec 75 BNS (earlier Sec 354A IPC): up to three years' rigorous imprisonment for physical advances, demands for sexual favours or showing pornography, and up to one year for sexually coloured remarks. Stalking (Sec 78 BNS), voyeurism (Sec 77) and assault to outrage modesty (Sec 74) are separate offences. You can file an FIR at any police station, and the IC must help you do so if you ask Sec 19(g) POSH Act.
What the employer must do, and what happens if it does not
Under Sec 19 the employer must constitute the IC, display the penalties and the IC's details, hold awareness workshops, and treat harassment as misconduct under service rules. An employer who does not set up an IC or ignores the Act can be fined up to ₹50,000; a repeat failure can double the fine and cost the business its licence Sec 26. In Aureliano Fernandes v State of Goa (2023) the Supreme Court found many organisations had no functioning committee, directed governments to audit compliance, and insisted that inquiries be fair to both sides.
Do not resign under pressure before complaining; it makes it look as though you left voluntarily and complicates interim relief. Do not wait for "one more incident" to prove a pattern: a single incident is enough and the 3-month clock runs from the last one. If you are punished for complaining (bad appraisal, sudden transfer), tell the committee in writing.
Where to go
- Internal Committee of your workplace (details should be on the notice board or HR portal); then the Local Committee through the District Officer / Collector.
- SHe-Box, the Ministry of Women and Child Development's portal: shebox.wcd.gov.in. It forwards the complaint to the right IC or LC and lets you track it.
- Police: any station or the women's police station, for an FIR under Sec 75 BNS; emergency 112; Women Helpline 181.
- National Commission for Women (ncw.gov.in) if employers or committees are not acting.
- Free lawyer: 15100 or the District Legal Services Authority (nalsa.gov.in); mental health support Tele-MANAS 14416.
Common questions
Can I complain if the harassment happened on WhatsApp or after office hours?
Yes. The Act covers any place you are because of work, and work-related digital communication is treated the same way. Sexual, unwelcome messages or calls from a colleague or senior fall within Sec 2(n). Save screenshots with dates and the sender's number before you block anyone.
My office has only 6 employees and no committee. Where do I go?
To the Local Committee of your district, set up under Sec 6 by the District Officer, usually the Collector. Domestic workers also go to the LC. You can file through SHe-Box or by writing to the District Officer's office. The LC follows the same 90-day inquiry and can recommend action and compensation.
Is there a time limit, and what if I missed it?
File within 3 months of the incident, or of the last incident if there were several (Sec 9). The committee can extend this by up to 3 more months if you explain the delay in writing, for example fear of losing your job or illness. Beyond that you can still go to the police, since the criminal law allows more time.
Will the accused find out who complained?
He will know, because he must get a copy of your complaint to respond to. But the Act bars everyone, including the employer and committee members, from making your identity, his identity or the proceedings public (Sec 16), and breaching this attracts a penalty. Nobody else in the office should learn the details from the committee.
This article is general information for awareness, not legal advice. For your situation, consult an advocate or call free legal aid at 15100.
