New Delhi, November 22
All government and private companies and establishments are legally bound to draft anti-sexual harassment policy and set up internal committees to address complaints of sexual harassment.

The Sexual Harassment at Workplace Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act, 2012, notified on April 22 this year outlines the duties of organisations towards making work environment safer for women.

All companies at each of their branches employing 10 or more persons must set up four-member complaint committees headed by a senior woman member and comprising two women with experience in gender issues and an NGO representative.

The District Magistrate or the District Collector must set up local complaint committees in each district to take up cases of organisations with less than 10 workers and those where the employer is the aggressor.

Another duty cast upon the employers relates to drafting the anti-sexual harassment policy and disseminating it widely. The draft rules of the law, which are yet to be notified by the government and are stuck with the Law Ministry, define the role of the employers saying, "The employer must formulate an internal policy to prevent, prohibit and redress sexual harassment at workplace and make the environment safer."

All employers are legally bound to maintain an annual account of the work of such committees. Top officials in the Ministry of Women said though the rules under the law had not been notified, their absence couldn't be an excuse for employers not to act.

"The Supreme Court had 16 years ago in the Vishakha judgment of 1997 laid down guidelines on internal complaints committees, but most companies don't have one," a top ministry official said.

As for the employers, the law requires them to ensure that the complaints committees meet once a fortnight. In cases where the committees conclude that the charge of sexual harassment is true, the draft rules procured by TNS provide that they can recommend to the employer any of these - a written apology from the accused, warning, denial of promotion under service rules, stoppage of increments and termination of service.