POSH Compliance
Prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace — committee constitution, policy, training, records and the annual report.
Overview
POSH compliance is less about a single filing and more about a standing internal capability. An employer above the applicable employee threshold must constitute an Internal Committee with the prescribed composition, including an external member from a body familiar with issues of sexual harassment, and keep that committee validly constituted as people leave and roles change.
Around the committee sit the supporting obligations: a written policy that is actually communicated, display of the committee's details and the consequences of harassment at the workplace, awareness programmes for employees, orientation for committee members, a confidential complaint and inquiry process with defined timelines, and an annual report to the district authority.
The recurring practical failures are an expired external member appointment, a committee that has lost quorum, training that was never repeated after the first year, and an annual report that was prepared but never filed. Treat these as tracked obligations with owners, not as a policy document sitting in a shared drive.
General information only, not legal advice. Thresholds, rates, prescribed forms and due dates change by notification and differ by state — verify against the current gazette, circular or state labour department publication before acting.
Common questions
The questions practitioners raise most often on this topic.
When must an Internal Committee be constituted?
Once the establishment crosses the prescribed employee threshold; branch offices are generally treated separately. Verify the threshold and the required composition against the current statute and rules.
Who can be the external member?
A person from a non-governmental organisation or association committed to the cause of women, or someone familiar with issues relating to sexual harassment — appointed for a defined term and re-appointed on expiry.
What records should be retained?
Committee constitution orders, policy acknowledgements, training attendance, complaint registers with strict confidentiality controls, inquiry reports and the filed annual report.
Audit ChecklistsHow often is training required?
Awareness for employees and orientation for committee members are expected to be carried out periodically, not once. Set a recurring annual cadence and keep attendance evidence.
Where does the annual report go?
To the District Officer, in the prescribed manner, covering the cases received and disposed during the calendar year, along with the annual report of the employer.
Compliance CalendarWhere to go next
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Answers are grounded in Complyuva's live regulatory update feed and the state Labour Code tracker, and scoped to POSH Compliance. Informational only — not legal advice.
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Reference content only. Rates, limits, prescribed forms and state rules change by notification — confirm against the latest gazette, circular or state labour department publication before acting.
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