Your Complete Guide to Submitting a PoSH Annual Report

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Published by Sexual Harassment Law Compliance on October 20, 2021

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The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act (“POSH”), 2013 mandates all organisations with 10 and more than 10 employees to constitute an Internal Committee (IC). The primary purpose of this Committee is to prevent sexual harassment and ensure a safe workplace for its employees. The Committee is mandated to submit an annual report for every calendar year to its employer and the District Officer. This annual report is usually referred to as the PoSH Annual Report and gives a detailed account of the working of the Committee.

What is a PoSH Annual Report?

As per the PoSH Act, 2013 the annual report must include the following details:

S. No.	Details	Status
1.	Number of complaints of sexual harassment received in the year
2.	Number of complaints disposed of during the year
3.	Number of cases pending for more than ninety days
4.	Number of workshops or awareness programmes carried out against sexual harassment
5.	Nature of action taken by the employer or District Officer

The Internal Committee should be transparent in preparing the Annual Report and must include all the relevant details. Although to maintain confidentiality, the committee can abstain from mentioning the following details in the report:

Identity, name, and address of the aggrieved, respondent, and witnesses
Information pertaining to conciliation and inquiry proceedings
Recommendations of IC (or LC)

Why file a PoSH Annual Report?

Section 21 and 22 of the PoSH Act mandates the Annual Report submission to the management and the District Officer.

The law also specifies that if the Annual Report is not submitted, it could lead up to a penalty of Rs.50,000and in case of non-compliance for consecutive years, it could also lead to the termination of the organisation’s license altogether.

Additional details that can be added in the Annual Report

To reflect that an organisation not only complies with the sexual harassment laws but goes beyond to ensure a safe workplace for its employees, the following information can be added to the Annual Report.

Internal Policy

If an organisation has an internal PoSH policy formulated, it can mention the same in the Annual Report. To learn about the need and importance of an internal PoSH policy, refer to https://shlc.in/need-for-a-comprehensive-sexual-harassment-policy-covering-all-employees/

Formation of Internal Committee

TheAnnual Report should include the details of the Internal Committee formation for each branch of the organisation. To know more about formation of an IC, refer to https://shlc.in/steps-to-set-up-your-own-internal-committee/

Details of IC Members

Mention if the organisation has provided the details about the IC members in the appropriate languages to the employees. To know about the need of publicising about the IC members, refer to https://shlc.in/need-for-publicising-the-constitution-of-the-icc/

Employee Awareness and Assistance

Add details of any seminars or workshops conducted by the organisation to spread awareness about sexual harassment at the workplace. Include details of how the organisation ensures that the IC is easily approachable for its employees, in case of any grievances.

To know more about the Annual Report or to get a free sample, contact us at contact@shlc.in or call us on +91962539240

This blog is written by SHLC intern Prachi Gupta. She is currently a third year law student at the Faculty of Law, Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh.

Disclaimer: The information on this blog is not legal advice and is not intended as legal advice. The legal information is provided for informational/ educational purposes only and is not a substitute for legal advice. The use of this blog does not constitute an advocate-client relationship. Whilst we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct. However, SHLC makes no representations, express or implied about reliability, suitability or accuracy with respect to the Blog or the information contained on the Blog for any purpose. Accordingly, before taking any actions based upon such information, we encourage you to consult with the appropriate legal professionals.