Last updated: 18 October 2026
Short answer: Every employer with ten or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee (IC) at each office under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (the POSH Act). The core checklist is: a written POSH policy; a properly composed IC (senior woman Presiding Officer, at least half women, one external member, tenure up to three years); display of the IC order and penal consequences; regular awareness programmes and IC training; inquiries within the statutory timelines; an annual report to the employer and the District Officer; and, for companies, POSH figures in the Board’s report. Failing to constitute an IC can attract a fine of up to Rs 50,000, doubled with possible licence cancellation for a repeat offence.
Who must comply
The Act protects any woman at a workplace, employed or not: employees, interns, trainees, contract workers, visitors, clients and job applicants. “Employee” is defined widely to include regular, temporary, ad hoc and daily wage staff, workers engaged through contractors, probationers, trainees and apprentices, paid or unpaid.
“Workplace” covers Government and private bodies of every kind, hospitals, sports facilities, a dwelling where a domestic worker is employed, and any place visited by the employee during employment, including employer-provided transport. Treat client sites, business travel, offsite events and work-related online spaces as part of the workplace.
- Ten or more employees: constitute your own IC at each office or administrative unit (section 4).
- Fewer than ten employees, or complaint against the employer: complaints go to the Local Committee constituted by the District Officer (section 6). You still have duties to prevent harassment and support the complainant.
The Internal Committee at a glance
| Requirement | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Presiding Officer | A woman employed at a senior level at the workplace (or from another office of the same employer if none is available) | Section 4(2)(a) |
| Employee members | At least two, preferably committed to the cause of women or with social work or legal experience | Section 4(2)(b) |
| External member | One person from an NGO or association committed to the cause of women, or a person familiar with sexual harassment issues (for example, with legal or social work experience) | Section 4(2)(c), rule 4 |
| Gender balance | At least half the members must be women | Proviso to section 4(2) |
| Tenure | Not more than three years | Section 4(3) |
| Quorum for inquiry | At least three members including the Presiding Officer | Rule 7 |
Complaint and inquiry timelines
| Step | Time limit | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Complaint by the aggrieved woman | Within 3 months of the incident (or the last incident in a series); extendable by up to 3 more months for recorded reasons | Section 9 |
| Copy of complaint to respondent | Within 7 working days | Rule 7(2) |
| Respondent’s reply | Within 10 working days of receiving the copy | Rule 7(3) |
| Inquiry completed | Within 90 days | Section 11(4) |
| Inquiry report to employer | Within 10 days of completing the inquiry | Section 13(1) |
| Employer acts on recommendations | Within 60 days of the report | Section 13(4) |
| Appeal | Within 90 days of the recommendations | Section 18 |
Conciliation is possible only at the request of the aggrieved woman, and no monetary settlement can be the basis of conciliation (section 10). Neither party may be represented by a lawyer before the IC (rule 7). During the inquiry, on the woman’s written request, the IC can recommend her transfer or the respondent’s, leave of up to three months for her, or other interim relief (section 12, rule 8).
The POSH compliance checklist
| No. | Requirement | Done |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Written POSH policy adopted, circulated to all staff and published on the website or intranet | [ ] |
| 2 | IC constituted by written order at each office or unit, with correct composition | [ ] |
| 3 | External member qualified and appointed by a nomination letter covering fees and confidentiality | [ ] |
| 4 | IC tenure end date diarised (maximum three years) and fresh order issued in time | [ ] |
| 5 | IC order, member contacts and penal consequences displayed at a conspicuous place in every unit | [ ] |
| 6 | Workplace and IC details registered or updated on the SHe-Box portal | [ ] |
| 7 | Every new joiner given the policy and asked to sign an acknowledgement | [ ] |
| 8 | Awareness programmes for employees, and orientation and capacity building for IC members, held and recorded | [ ] |
| 9 | Sexual harassment listed as misconduct in service rules or standing orders | [ ] |
| 10 | Confidential complaint register kept, with timelines tracked for every case | [ ] |
| 11 | Annual report under section 21 and rule 14 sent to the employer and the District Officer | [ ] |
| 12 | Companies: POSH and maternity benefit disclosures included in the Board’s report | [ ] |
Need the complete, editable set? The Lexfolio POSH Compliance Kit gives you a POSH policy, the order constituting the IC, the external member’s nomination letter, complaint and notice formats, interim relief and conciliation records, an inquiry report, the annual report, a display notice and an employee acknowledgement, plus a one-page Hindi policy summary.
The annual report and Board’s report disclosures
IC annual report (section 21, rule 14). In each calendar year the IC prepares a report for the employer and the District Officer, stating: the number of complaints received; the number disposed of; the number pending for more than 90 days; the number of workshops or awareness programmes held; and the nature of action taken. The Act does not fix one national filing date, and many District Officers set their own (often January for the previous year). File even a “nil” report.
Employer’s report (section 22). The employer must include the number of cases filed and their disposal in its annual report, or, if it does not prepare one, inform the District Officer.
Companies. The Companies (Accounts) Second Amendment Rules, 2025, effective from 14 July 2025, require the Board’s report to state the number of sexual harassment complaints received, disposed of, and pending for more than 90 days during the year, along with a statement on compliance with maternity benefit law and the number of female, male and transgender employees.
Duties of the employer under section 19
- Provide a safe working environment, including safety from visitors and clients.
- Display the penal consequences of sexual harassment and the order constituting the IC.
- Hold workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals, and orientation programmes for IC members.
- Provide facilities to the IC, help secure the attendance of the respondent and witnesses, and give the IC the information it needs.
- Help the woman if she chooses to file a criminal complaint, and initiate action under the criminal law against the perpetrator where appropriate.
- Treat sexual harassment as misconduct and act on it.
- Monitor the timely submission of IC reports.
Since 1 July 2024 the related offences are in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023: sexual harassment (section 75), assault or criminal force to outrage modesty (section 74), voyeurism (section 77), stalking (section 78) and words or gestures insulting the modesty of a woman (section 79). The POSH process does not bar a criminal complaint.
What the Supreme Court has directed
In Aureliano Fernandes v. State of Goa, (2024) 1 SCC 632 (decided 12 May 2023), the Supreme Court found serious gaps in implementing the Act and directed verification that all public bodies and institutions have properly composed committees, publication of committee details and complaint procedures on websites, and regular training for committee members. In continuing proceedings, on 3 December 2024 the Court directed States to notify District Officers, constitute Local Committees and have District Officers survey whether organisations have set up ICs. Expect your District Officer or labour department to ask for your IC details.
The Ministry of Women and Child Development relaunched the SHe-Box portal on 29 August 2024 as a central platform for IC and LC information and for registering and tracking complaints. Register your workplace and keep the IC details current.
Common mistakes
- A Presiding Officer who is not a senior woman, or a committee with fewer than half women.
- No external member, or the company’s own lawyer acting as the external member.
- Letting the IC’s tenure lapse without a fresh order.
- Rejecting a complaint as late without considering the three month extension.
- Pushing the complainant into conciliation, or settling with money.
- Missing the 90 day inquiry limit and the 10 day reporting limit.
- Discussing the case on e-mail groups or with the media, in breach of the confidentiality rule in section 16.
- Not filing the annual report, or leaving POSH data out of the Board’s report.
Be audit ready. The POSH Compliance Kit includes a compliance calendar and every format an inspector, District Officer or auditor is likely to ask for, in editable Word and PDF.
Setting up HR documents as well? See our guide to the appointment letter under the new Labour Codes, and for website data practices, the privacy policy guide under the DPDP Act.
Frequently asked questions
Is POSH compliance mandatory for companies with fewer than ten employees?
They need not constitute an IC; complaints go to the Local Committee. They must still prevent harassment, have a policy and cooperate with the Local Committee.
Can a man file a complaint under the POSH Act?
The Act protects women. Many employers’ policies extend protection to all genders as a matter of internal policy, handled under service rules.
Who can be the external member of the IC?
A person from an NGO or association committed to the cause of women, or a person familiar with issues relating to sexual harassment, such as someone with experience in social work on women’s issues or familiar with labour, service, civil or criminal law.
What is the time limit to file a POSH complaint?
Three months from the incident or the last incident in a series, extendable by up to three more months if the IC is satisfied that circumstances prevented earlier filing.
When should the annual POSH report be filed?
Every calendar year, with the employer and the District Officer. Check your District Officer’s notice for the date; many fix January.
What is the penalty for not having an IC?
A fine of up to Rs 50,000. A repeat offence can attract double the punishment and cancellation or non-renewal of the business licence or registration (section 26).
*This article is general information, not legal advice.*