What To Do Before Approaching Complaints Committee - The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Law

This is the second post in the Sexual Harassment at Workplace Series. Read the first here. 

The 2013 act covers women in almost every occupational role at a workplace, it is recommended to conduct a preliminary check on the approaching complains committee.

While checking one needs to confirm the following –    

1) Whether the specific conduct qualifies as sexual harassment

2) Confirm whether the harassment took place within the workplace and within the laws of the act.

3) Assess whether the perpetrator is under the control of the same employer, this help determine whether the complain committee will be fruitful

According to the act, following acts and behaviour are considered as sexual harassment –

1) Unwelcome physical contact and advances

2) Showing Pornography and making sexually coloured remarks

3) Any other unwelcome physical, verbal, non-verbal conduct of sexual nature.

4) At the workplace often demands of sexual favours are coupled with promises of some kind of preferential treatment and bias. If this is not agreed upon, it might lead to unpleasant work environment.

According to the act any promises of preferential or detrimental treatment, threats related to a woman’s employment status or interference with her work or creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment or humiliating treatment which affects her health and safety are indicators of unwelcome behaviour, contact, advances or communication causes sexual harassment to the woman.

Whereas the conduct that is not sexual in nature will not be covered by the act. Therefore a woman will not be protected under the act of violence, improper language slang that has no sexual context.

Employment Status of Women – Who is protected as per the act?

1) Women employed on full-time, part-time or on ad-hoc basis

2) Temporary employee

3) Women employed as contract workers

4) Indirect women employees, like the ones that are employed through contractors.

5) Probationers, trainees, interns

6) Women who are not employed for remuneration and women working on a voluntary basis.

Confirm that the harassment occurred at the ‘Workplace’

Workplace includes the premises of all private and public entities which operate on commercial basis or work, education, vocational services, entertainment, sports facilities, hospitals and nursing homes. With respect to house helps, a house is also considered a workplace. Any sexual harassment by an employer or colleague in these areas is considered under the act.

Is the offender under the control of the employer?

There are times when an outsider enters the workplace premises for work, example a Chartered Accountant may visit the office for carrying out an audit or a lawyer to for legal issues.

In such a situation remedies such as deduction of salary as per the Sexual Harassment may not be effective to provide relief, since the employer does not exercise direct control over the offender. How can a woman safeguard herself in such cases? An employer can terminate engagement with any such offender and help in lodging a FIR and approaching the police. Although the act doesn’t protect women in such cases.

Keep following for more on The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 

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