The Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act, 2013 has a vital role in promoting gender equality in the workplace and ensuring a healthy work culture. It’s very important for workplaces to comply with this act so that sexual harassment can be prevented at the workplace and employees would feel safe working at the office. In this post, we will be discussing the technological solutions organizations can apply for compliance with the POSH Act and why organizations have to comply with the act.
What penalties will an organization have to pay for non-compliance with the POSH Act, of 2013?
The POSH Act of 2013 enlists numerous provisions where organizations have to pay hefty fines for non-compliance in the organization. Here are the laws applicable as follows:
- Section 16 of the POSH Act, 2013 mandates that there must be a prohibition of the publication of the contents of enquiry publically to protect the rights of the aggrieved woman. In case an organization fail to comply with the same then a penalty would be levied as per Section 17 of the POSH Act, 2013.
- A penalty of Rs 50000 would be applicable in case there is a failure to constitute an internal committee within the organization as per Section 26 of the POSH Act, 2013.
Cases’ effects in India
- Two significant cases that followed the Vishaka case reinforced the legal foundation against workplace sexual harassment. The Supreme Court supported the termination of a higher-ranking official of the Delhi-based Apparel Export Promotion Council for sexual harassment in the 1999 case Apparel Export Promotion Council v. A.K. Chopra. “Physical contact is not always essential for an act amounting to workplace sexual harassment,” according to the court’s expanded definition of sexual harassment. Any “unwelcome” conduct is viewed as sexual harassment.
- Later, the Supreme Court emphasised that States must adhere to the Vishaka Guidelines and make sure they are implemented effectively in the Medha Kotwal Lele & Ors v. Union of India & Ors (2013) case. The court further declared that the victim or the parties who were wronged could file an appeal with the High Courts if the rules were not followed.
Organizational Compliance with the POSH Act Through technology
- Anonymous reporting systems can be implemented in organizations so that there can be compliance with the POSH Act, 2013. Here, many people in an organization fear while reporting incidents of sexual harassment that occur within the organization. It would be better to implement anonymous reporting systems to decrease the fear of reporting crimes in the organization to the senior authorities. However, one must keep in mind that nothing comes close to strong sexual harassment policies that can be implemented in an organization.
- There must be a design for the technological protocols so that the employees in an organization don’t make the wrongful use of the technology. Some organizations strongly implement solutions like the usage of official email IDs only during working hours. Some well-known corporate organizations use the practice of designing applications to track the work status and the mails of the employees.
- E-Course learning is another way that can help in compliance of the organizations with the conditions laid down under the POSH Act, 2013. The online training that is provided to the employees on the POSH Act, 2013 should be mandatory as this will educate all the employees in an organization about their rights and also, damages they can claim for harm to their physical and mental health. Many employees who are working in an organization also get an idea of what can be an effect as per the POSH Act, 2013 if they engage in the practice of sexual harassment. The Posh Act, 2013 already states that offences under this act are not cognizable and if a person’s offence falls under this act then he has to apply for bail from the court only and his career can also be at risk.
- The market has several data analytics software which can help in risk analysis so that organizations can take measures to reduce the rate of sexual harassment in their organizations. Data Analytics can be used by collecting feedback from the employees in an organization and ensuring that suitable measures are implemented in the organization. Through data analytics, the internal committee of the organization can get reports and develop rules and regulations to prevent sexual harassment offences.
Conclusion
In Conclusion, technology may have its own risks if its use is made for wrongful acts. There can be numerous problems that technology solves if organization and the individuals use it in the right way to solve problems. The compliance with the POSH Act, 2013 would be easier if the organizations use it to prevent legal harms that may cause damages to the other individuals who are working in the same organization.
Contributed by: Abhiraj Singh
Sushant University (2021-26)