Need for PoSH Law training in the #MeToo Era! PoSH Law for Employers.

MeToo & PoSH Law Training.

Sexual harassment cases in the #MeToo Era gaining worldwide momentum  -  Importance of PoSH Law training for Companies, Hospitals, Schools, and workplaces.

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From Hollywood to Bollywood, film stars, journalists, writers, politicians, corporate officials, hospitals, religious leaders, many are facing sexual harassment charges on MeToo revelations across the world in the Digital Era, thanks to the Social Media. No industry is immune to sexual harassment these include companies, hospitals, hospitality and many more.

Thanks to the #MeToo campaign against sexual harassment of women, more and more women are blowing the whistle and revealing the identity of the sexual abuses which are decades old on the social media without fear. This is the real power of the Social Media and the Internet. 

Sexual harassment violates the most cardinal fundamental right enshrined in the Constitution of India, namely the right to equality, right to life, and the right to live with dignity. In a male dominant society, such instances of sexual harassment are either regularized or buried and swept under the carpet due to social stigma, abuse of dominant power or position, fear of retaliation, loss of job and poverty that follows subsequent to the harassment leading to non-reporting of such cases. This suppression also leads to post-traumatic stress disorders in victims for many years and can have a negative impact on physical and mental health, morale, and quality of life. 

Types of sexual harassment in workplace:  Sexual harassment at workplaces can be divided into two categories. The first being a quid pro quo which means in return where a boss or a senior demands sexual favours from a female employee in return for a favor like promotion, performance appraisal, positive rating and so on. The next is when someone makes unwanted sexual acts like inappropriate touching, joking, showing pornography, talking with double meaning or an innuendo of a sexually colored topic.  

The PoSH Law: The National Women’s Commission in 2017 estimated that there has been a 45% rise in sexual harassment cases at workplaces. In an attempt to provide a safe working environment for women, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act and the Rules (in short known as PoSH Laws) have been enacted and passed by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare, in 2013. These laws now apply to every workplace, company, organization, shops, restaurants and more.

Legal Requirements under the PoSH Law: Every organisation with more than 10 employees is required to set up an Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) headed by a “female presiding officer”, together with the formulation of an internal PoSH policy for the purposes of prevention and redressal of sexual harassment cases at workplaces. For companies less than 10 employees Local Complaints Committee is the first port of call for seeking redressal.

Training and orientation  programmes are also to be conducted by these establishments. These establishments are also required to file an annual report with the total number of sexual harassment complaints it received during the year, number of complaints disposed off during the year, and the number of cases that are pending for more than a period of 90 days.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs via notification dated July 31st, 2018, amended the Companies Accounts Rules 2014, in accordance with the request made by the Ministry of Women and Child Welfare which makes it mandatory to disclose that the company has implemented the provisions of the Sexual Harassment Act. It is now compulsory for companies to make a statement in the Director’s Report that it has complied with the provisions regarding the constitution and setting up of the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) as per the POSH Laws.

Legal and financial Implications of non-compliance of PoSH laws: Non-compliance of POSH laws or a failure to constitute an ICC can result in a penalty of Rs 50,000, apart from penalties for non-disclosure in the Director’s Report.  Repeat violations can lead to cancellation, non-renewal, withdrawal of registration or license required for carrying out the business. 

Case Law - The Madras High Court in 2016 ordered the Chennai based ISG Novasoft Tech Ltd to pay 1.68 crore rupees as damages due to sexual harassment faced by a female employee. This was a result of the victim moving the courts for compensation.

Other consequences of ignoring PoSH Law:  Non-compliance with PoSH laws can also result in loss of reputation, revenue, negative reviews online on employer websites like Glassdoor where employers are rated for gender equality, equal opportunity, women safety and other factors. Sometimes sexual harassment cases can pop up two decades later as in the case of online #Me Too campaign which can go viral and hurt the firm's reputation. Women employees these days go online review websites/portal to vent out their grievance against their employer with regard to sexual harassment and exploitation.

Sexual harassment affects the employee morale, reputation of the organisation since harassed employees may choose to reveal such acts even decades later on social media platforms and campaigns like #MeToo.

Revenue, business loss & loss of reputation: Sexual harassment at workplace can also have a negative impact on revenue of the companies where sexual harassment takes place and is hushed up. Subsequent to the #Me Too revelations which started in Hollywood, the same has hit the Bollywood with many well known stars have been named by women who were sexually harassed by stars at the movie sets. 

Bollywood loss exceeds 500 crores: Industry watchers estimate a revenue/business loss in Bollywood alone in the wake of #Me Too campaign to exceed 500 crores of Rupees. Industry watchers feel that production houses catering to biggies like Amazon and Netflix are the worst hit due to actors being shamed on #Me Too for sexual harassment that took place decades ago.  Some big projects with megastars and superstars have been shelved due to the controversy that shook the Hollywood resulting in huge revenue loss.

Conclusion: Get your company/establishment PoSH Compliant today in the #Me Too Era! Speak to our PoSH Lawyer today!

Resources, bibliography and website links:

MeToo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Too_movement        

MeToo India: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Me_Too_movement_(India)

Sexual harassment cases in Hollywood: https://www.elle.com/culture/celebrities/g23847853/metoo-one-year-on-women-in-hollywood-elle/

Times of India #MeToo casualties across bollywood & multiple industries so far: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/metoo-movement-sexual-harassment-allegations-so-far/articleshow/66267346.cms

#MeToo in Kerala film industry: https://www.livemint.com/Consumer/SHUctbALejPzXblfUl8XBO/Malayalam-cinema-battles-misogyny-as-MeToo-gains-ground-in.html

Kerala: Late poet named in MeToo: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/metoo-women-call-out-late-poet/articleshow/66338848.cms

Women in Cinema Collective files writ in High Court to constitute Internal Complaints Committee under PoSH Law: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/wcc-files-writ-petition-grievance-redressal-mechanism-against-sexual-harassment-90108

Hollywood SAG-AFTRA Code of Conduct https://www.sagaftra.org/sag-aftra-releases-sexual-harassment-code-conduct

Hollywood Call to Action link:  https://www.sagaftra.org/files/call_to_action_final.pdf

National Women’s Commission provides email for complaints under PoSH Law. Demands media to set up ICC. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/metoo-ncw-urges-ib-min-to-direct-print-publishing-houses-to-form-internal-probe-panel/articleshow/66307013.cms

Staring at a women for 14 seconds can be annoying and can land you in jail: BBC News  https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-37091948#

MeToo hits Google, 48 employees fired: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/metoo-google-reveals-48-employees-fired-for-sexual-harassment/articleshow/66371668.cms

#MeToo: Tata Sons terminates contract with Suhel Seth: 

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/66409878.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

MeToo: Tamil Nadu academydrops 7 musicians: https://www.thenewsminute.com/article/me-too-allegations-madras-music-academy-drops-7-artistes-margazhi-season-90554

MeToo complaint filed by Sruthi Hariharan against Arjun Sarja:
https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/metoo-in-india-kannada-actress-sruthi-hariharan-files-sexual-harassment-complaint-against-arjun-sarja-5461001.html

#MeToo: 9 of 10 sexual harassment plaints proven to be true:https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/metoo-9-of-10-sexual-harassment-plaints-proven-to-be-true/articleshow/66309462.cms

MeToo Co-working spaces need PoSH Law:  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/metoo-puts-spotlight-on-co-working-spaces/articleshow/66370514.cms

MeToo as a Social Regulation: https://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Citycitybangbang/metoo-as-social-regulation/

MeToo in Google: Google 48 employees fired for sexual harassment https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/technology/google-reveals-48-employees-fired-for-sexual-harassment/2018/10/25/861f8e94-d8ba-11e8-8384-bcc5492fef49_story.html?utm_term=.f11c539c1f56

Google employees accross the world walk out over MeToo sexual harassment in Google:  https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/metoo-google-workers-across-the-world-walk-out-over-treatment-of-women-amid-sexual-misconduct-claims/articleshow/66464567.cms

MeToo has made men more conscious: https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/metoo-controversy-has-made-men-conscious-says-shashi-tharoor-1368193-2018-10-15

Sexual Harassment at Workplace: Ex-employee calls out at Asianet senior: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/thiruvananthapuram/ex-employee-calls-out-seniors-in-tv-channel/articleshow/66643021.cms

Sexual Harassment in All India Radio: Ensure system to address sexual harassment complaints at All India Radio: Maneka Gandhi to Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore: http://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2018/nov/16/ensure-system-to-address-sexual-harassment-complaints-at-all-india-radio-maneka-gandhi-to-rajyavard-1898748.html

MeToo sexual misconduct: Flipkart CEO Binny Bansal Resigns After Probe Into Personal Misconduct. https://www.forbes.com/sites/meghabahree/2018/11/13/flipkart-ceo-binny-bansal-resigns-after-probe-into-personal-misconduct/#19aafef85ac3

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