A working guide for organisations between 10 and 100 employees. Covers the Internal Committee, employer duties under Section 19, the inquiry process, SHe-Box registration following the Supreme Court directives, the Companies Act Board Report disclosure mandate, and the 2024 Amendment Bill that proposes a longer complaint window.
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Verified figures from the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Section references from the POSH Act 2013, and recent regulatory developments.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 came into force on 9 December 2013. It is the codified successor to the Vishaka Guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in 1997 in Vishaka and Ors. v. State of Rajasthan. The Act and the accompanying POSH Rules 2013 set out three obligations for every employer in India: prevention, prohibition and redressal of sexual harassment at the workplace.
The definition of workplace under Section 2(o) is broad. It covers offices, branches, factories, hotels, hospitals, sports complexes, places visited by the employee in the course of employment, and any place arising out of or during the course of employment. Indian courts and tribunals have read this to include client sites, work events, transport provided by the employer and, increasingly, digital workspaces such as email, chat tools and video calls.
The Act protects all women at the workplace, irrespective of age or employment status. This includes regular employees, contract workers, interns, trainees, consultants, volunteers and visitors. Coverage does not depend on whether the woman is on the payroll.
Any workplace with 10 or more employees, including women, men, contract workers and interns counted together, must constitute an Internal Committee under Section 4. Establishments below this threshold are not required to form an IC. Complaints from their employees go to the Local Committee constituted by the District Officer under Section 6.
For multi-location organisations, a separate Internal Committee is required at each office or branch that has 10 or more employees. A single corporate IC at the head office does not satisfy the Act if branches independently cross the threshold.
The 10 employee count is not limited to permanent staff on payroll. Contract workers engaged through a third party, interns, consultants paid on retainer and apprentices all count. Many SMEs miss this and conclude they are below the threshold based on payroll headcount alone, which is incorrect.
Section 4 of the POSH Act prescribes the composition. The IC must have at least four members. At least half must be women. The roles are:
IC members serve for a maximum of three years. The committee must be reconstituted before the term expires. Failure to reconstitute on time has been treated by the Bombay and Delhi High Courts as non-constitution of the IC, with the same Section 26 consequences.
The POSH Rules 2013 prescribe an honorarium of Rs 200 per day for the external member, plus reimbursement of travel expenses. The figure is dated and most employers pay a higher market rate by mutual agreement.
Rule 7 of the POSH Rules disqualifies any IC member who is convicted of an offence, against whom inquiry is pending under any service rules or the IC Act, or who has been found guilty in any proceedings of an offence involving moral turpitude.
Section 19 spells out the affirmative obligations on every employer, regardless of whether a complaint has been received. These are not optional and are referenced in inspection checklists used by labour authorities.
The POSH Act prescribes a clear sequence with strict timelines. Missing a timeline does not invalidate the inquiry but can be raised on appeal.
| Step | Timeline | Section |
|---|---|---|
| Filing the complaint | Within 3 months of the incident, extendable by 3 months | Section 9 |
| Conciliation if requested by complainant | Before the inquiry begins | Section 10 |
| Inquiry by IC | Within 90 days | Section 11 |
| Inquiry report submission | Within 10 days of inquiry completion | Section 13 |
| Employer action on recommendations | Within 60 days of receiving the report | Section 13 |
| Appeal by either party | Within 90 days of recommendation | Section 18 |
Under Section 11, the IC has the same powers as a civil court when trying a suit for the purpose of summoning and enforcing attendance, requiring the discovery and production of documents, and any other matter that may be prescribed.
Section 12 allows the IC to recommend, during the pendency of the inquiry, transfer of either party to another workplace, leave for the complainant of up to three months in addition to her regular leave, or any other relief as prescribed. The employer is required to implement the recommendation.
The Sexual Harassment electronic Box (SHe-Box) is the centralised complaint portal run by the Ministry of Women and Child Development. The portal was originally launched in 2017 and underwent a significant upgrade with the relaunch on 29 August 2024.
Following the Supreme Court judgment in Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa (2023), the Court issued a series of directives between 2024 and 2026 ordering nationwide compliance with the POSH Act. The Court directed:
Multiple state governments have followed up with their own directives. The Government of NCT of Delhi issued a notice on 12 June 2025 requiring all public and private entities to register their Internal Committees on SHe-Box. The Government of Karnataka issued similar directives on 22 August 2025 and 4 November 2025 mandating SHe-Box registration and statewide compliance surveys.
For an SME, SHe-Box registration is now an expected compliance step, not an optional one. As of recent ministry updates, more than 1.61 lakh organisations with 10 or more employees have been registered on SHe-Box. The portal supports 23 languages and is integrated with the Mission Shakti mobile app.
Register and verify the latest requirements at shebox.wcd.gov.in.
For companies registered under the Companies Act, 2013, POSH compliance is also a corporate governance matter. The Companies (Accounts) Second Amendment Rules, 2025, notified by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and effective from 14 July 2025, expanded Rule 8(5) to require detailed POSH disclosures in the Board's Report.
Failure to include these disclosures attracts penalty under the Companies Act, in addition to the Section 26 fine under the POSH Act itself. Companies that do not have a constituted IC and that fail to disclose this in the Board Report face exposure under both statutes.
The penalty regime sits across three statutes that interact with each other.
| Statute | Trigger | Penalty |
|---|---|---|
| POSH Act, Section 26 | Failure to constitute IC, file annual report or comply with other Act provisions | Fine up to Rs 50,000 |
| POSH Act, Section 26 (repeat offence) | Second or subsequent contravention | Twice the punishment, plus possible cancellation of licence or registration to carry on business |
| Companies Act, 2013 | Failure to include POSH disclosure in Board Report | Penalty under the Companies Act, in addition to Section 26 exposure (estimated up to Rs 3 lakh based on standard Companies Act provisions) |
| Indian Penal Code (BNS, post 2024) | Where the conduct also constitutes an IPC or BNS offence | As prescribed under the relevant section |
The Section 26 fine is modest in absolute terms, but reputational damage and the second-order consequences of an inspection finding are usually the bigger cost for SMEs.
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Amendment Bill, 2024 was introduced in the Rajya Sabha on 2 February 2024. The Bill is yet to be enacted, but its key proposed changes are worth tracking:
SMEs preparing their POSH policy in 2026 should build the policy template to be flexible on the complaint window so that an enacted Bill does not require a fresh policy redraft.
These show up most often in compliance reviews of small and growing companies.
The 10 employee threshold counts contract workers, interns, retainers and apprentices. Many SMEs conclude they are exempt based on payroll alone and miss the trigger.
The external member from an NGO or POSH-aware professional is mandatory. An IC of only internal staff is treated as not constituted under the Act.
IC members serve a three year term. Missing the reconstitution date is treated by some High Courts as non-constitution and attracts Section 26 exposure.
Section 21 requires the IC to prepare an annual report and submit it to the District Officer, even if there are zero complaints. Many SMEs skip this.
A policy on the wall does not satisfy Section 19. Periodic workshops for employees and orientation for IC members are statutory obligations, not best practice.
Following the Supreme Court directives, several state governments have now made SHe-Box registration mandatory. SMEs operating across multiple states need to track each state notification.
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Start free Book a demoThis page is a general guide. It is not legal advice. POSH rules and notifications continue to evolve. Verify the current statutory text and the SHe-Box registration requirements applicable to your state at shebox.wcd.gov.in and wcd.gov.in before issuing any policy or compliance notice.