Posh Policy

Posh Policy

PREVENTION OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT POLICY

Preamble

1.1. Sexual harassment at the workplace results in violation of the fundamental rights of a woman

-to equality under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution of India;
-to life and to live with dignity under article 21 of the Constitution;
-to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business which includes a right to a safe environment free from sexual harassment.

Protection against sexual harassment and the right to work with dignity are universally recognised human rights by international conventions and instruments such as Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, which has been ratified on 25 June 1993 by the Government of India.

The Government of India has made a law called "The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013" which has come into force on 9th December, 2013; on prevention of sexual harassment against female employees at the workplace.

1.2. This policy has been framed in accordance with the provisions of "The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013" and rules framed thereunder (hereinafter "the Act") accordingly. While the policy covers all the key aspects of the Act, for any further clarification reference shall always be made to the Act and the provisions of the Act shall prevail.

1.3. We believe in equal work opportunity. We treat each other with respect and expect everyone to promote a sense of responsibility towards each other. We are inclined and committed to provide safe and secure work environment to our employees that enables employees to work without fear of prejudice or gender bias. The Company also believes that all employees of the Company have the right to work with dignity and self-respect and has zero tolerance to any kind of discrimination or harassment.

1.4. The "Policy on Prevention of Sexual Harassment of women at workplace: Guidelines for "M.R. Organisation Limited' intends to provide protection against sexual harassment of women at workplace and the prevention and redressal of complaints of sexual harassment and matters related to it.

Definition:

1. Sexual Harassment: includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour, as physical contacts and advances, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography and sexual demands whether by words, gestures or actions. Sexual harassment includes such unwelcome sexually determined behaviour (whether directly or by implication) as:

• Physical contact and advances;
• A demand or request for sexual favors;
• Sexually coloured remarks;
• Showing pornography;
• Unwelcome sexual advances involving verbal, non-verbal, or physical conduct such as sexually coloured remarks, jokes, letters, phone calls, e-mail, gestures, showing of pornography, lurid stares, physical contact or molestation, stalking, sounds, display of pictures, signs, verbal or non-verbal communication which offends the individuals sensibilities and affect her/his performance.
• Eve teasing, innuendos and taunts, physical confinement against one's will and likely to intrude upon one's privacy;
• Act or conduct by a person in authority which creates the environment at workplace hostile or intimidating to a person belonging to the other sex;
• Repeatedly asking to socialize during off-duty hours or continued expressions of sexual interest;
• Giving gifts or leaving objects that are sexually suggestive
• Any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of sexual nature against a person's wishes

The following circumstances if it occurs or is present in relation to any sexually determined act or behaviour amount to sexual harassment:

• Implied or explicit promise of preferential treatment in employment;
• Implied or explicit threat of detrimental treatment in employment;
• Implied or explicit threat about the present or future employment status;
• Interference with the person's work or creating an intimidating or offensive or hostile work;
• Humiliating treatment likely to affect health or safety.

An alleged act of sexual harassment committed during or outside of office hours falls under the purview of this policy

2. Aggrieved woman: In relation to a workplace, a woman, of any age, whether employed or not, who alleges to have been subjected to any act of sexual harassment by the respondent and includes contractual, temporary visitors.

3. Respondent: A person against whom a complaint of sexual harassment has been made by the aggrieved woman

4. Employee: A person employed at the workplace, for any work on regular, temporary, ad-hoc or daily wage basis, either directly or through an agent, including a contractor, with or without the knowledge of the principal employer, whether for remuneration or not, or working on a voluntary basis or otherwise, whether the terms of employment are express or implied and includes a coworker, a contract worker, probationer, trainee, apprentice or by any other such name.

5. Workplace: In addition to the place of work [Head office / Branch offices, Factories] it shall also include any place where the aggrieved woman or the respondent visits in connection with his/ her work, during the course of and/ or arising out of employment/ contract/ engagement including transportation provided for undertaking such a journey.

6. Employer: A person responsible for management, supervision and control of the workplace.

Roles & Responsibilities

1. Responsibilities of Individual: It is the responsibility of all to respect the rights of others and to never encourage harassment. It can be done by:

• Refusing to participate in any activity which constitutes harassment
• Supporting the person to reject unwelcome behaviour
• Acting as a witness if the person being harassed decides to lodge a complaint

2. Redressal Mechanism: Formal Intervention: In compliance with the Act, if the complainant's warrants formal intervention, the complainant needs to lodge a written complaint, which shall be followed by a formal redressal mechanism as described in this Policy.

3. Internal Complaints Committee: To prevent instances of sexual harassment and to receive and effectively deal with complaints pertaining to the same, an "Internal Complaints Committee" is constituted at each location. The detail of the committee is notified to all covered persons at the location (workplace).

The committee at each location comprises of: an ICC constituted by an organization should have a minimum of 4 (four) members including an external member and at least one-half of the ICC members should be women:

4. Presiding Officer: Presiding Officer is the chairperson of the ICC and should mandatorily be a female employee holding a senior position in the company. In case a senior female employee is not available to fulfil the position of the presiding officer, the employer can appoint a senior female employee for such position from any other administrative units/offices, or from another workplace owned by the same employer. The Presiding officer shall hold office for such period, not exceeding three years, from the date of their nomination as may be specified by the employer.

5. Employee Members: not less than two Members from amongst employees preferably committed to the cause of women or who have had experience in social work or have legal knowledge. The member shall hold office for such period, not exceeding three years, from the date of their nomination as may be specified by the employer.

6. External Member: one member from amongst non-governmental organisations or associations committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with the issues relating to sexual harassment. The objective of having an external member with such expertise is to ensure that the activities of the ICC are unbiased and uninfluenced, and the inquiry process is neutral and transparent. They shall be paid such fees or allowances for holding the proceedings of the Internal Committee, by the employer, as may be prescribed.

The committee is responsible for:

• Receiving complaints of sexual harassment at the workplace;
• Initiating and conducting inquiry as per the established procedure;
• Submitting findings and recommendations of inquiries;
• Coordinating with the employer in implementing appropriate action;
• Maintaining strict confidentiality throughout the process as per established guidelines;
• Submitting annual reports in the prescribed format.

Complaint of Sexual Harassment:

Any aggrieved woman may make, in writing, a complaint of sexual harassment at workplace to the Internal Committee, within a period of three months from the date of incident and in case of a series of incidents, within a period of three months from the date of last incident:

I. Where the aggrieved woman is unable to make a complaint on account of her physical or mental incapacity or death or otherwise, her legal heir or such other person as may be prescribed may make a complaint under this section

II. Where such complaint cannot be made in writing, the Presiding Officer or any Member of the Internal Committee or the Chairperson or any Member, as the case may be, shall render all reasonable assistance to the woman for making the complaint in writing:

• If the Aggrieved Woman is unable to make a complaint on account of her physical incapacity, a complaint may be filed by:
  • her relative or friend; or
  • her co-worker; or
  • an officer of the National Commission for Women or State Women's Commission; or
  • any person who has knowledge of the incident, with the written consent of the Aggrieved Woman

III. the Aggrieved Woman is unable to make a complaint on account of her mental incapacity, a complaint may be filed by:

• her relative or friend; or
• a special educator; or
• a qualified psychiatrist or psychologist; or
• the guardian or authority under whose care she is receiving treatment or care; or
• any person who has knowledge of the incident jointly with the Aggrieved Woman's relative or friend or a special educator or qualified psychiatrist or psychologist, or guardian or authority under whose care she is receiving treatment or care

IV. If the Aggrieved Woman for any other reason is unable to make a complaint, a complaint may be filed by any person who has knowledge of the incident, with her written consent.

V. If the Aggrieved Woman is deceased, a complaint may be filed by any person who has knowledge of the incident, with the written consent of her legal heir.

The complaint shall be submitted by the complainant to the IC in writing or shall be submitted to the IC electronically at rashmi@mrorganisation.com . The complaint can also be physically submitted to any IC member.

VI. Receiving a Complaint: Dealing with incidents of harassment is not like any other type of dispute. Complainants may be embarrassed and distressed and it requires tact and discretion while receiving the complaint.

The following points are kept in mind by the receiver of the complaint:

• Complaint are listened to and the complainant informed that the Company takes the concerns seriously. Complainant is informed that these concerns will be reported to the appropriate committee and follow up will be done speedily
• Situation are not be pre-judged. Written notes are taken while listening to the person. Complainant is allowed to bring another person to the meeting if they wish. When taking accurate notes, complainants own words, where possible, is used. Clear description of the incident in simple and direct terms is prepared and details are confirmed with the complainant.
• All notes are kept strictly confidential. Complainant's agreement is taken to allow proceeding with the matter, which involves a formal investigation.
• The complainant is advised that although the process is confidential, the respondent needs to be informed and any witnesses and persons directly involved in the complaint process will also learn of the complainant's identity.

Care is taken to prevent any disadvantage to or victimization of either the complainant or the respondent

Resolution procedure:

1. Resolution procedure through conciliation.

• Once the complaint is received, before initiating the inquiry the committee may take steps to conciliate the complaint between the complainant and the respondent. This is only if requested by the aggrieved woman.
• It is made clear to all parties that conciliation in itself doesn't necessarily mean acceptance of complaint by the respondent. It is a practical mechanism through which issues are resolved or misunderstandings cleared.
• In case a settlement is arrived at, the committee records & reports the same to the employer for taking appropriate action. Resolution through conciliation happens within 2 weeks of receipt of complaint.
• The committee provides copies of the settlement to complainant & respondent. Once the action is implemented, no further inquiry is conducted

2. Resolution procedure through formal inquiry

The committee initiates inquiry in the following cases:

• No conciliation is requested by aggrieved woman;
• Conciliation has not resulted in any settlement;
• Complainant informs the committee that any term or condition of the settlement arrived through conciliation, has not been complied with by respondent;
• The Committee proceeds to make an inquiry into the complaint within a period of 1 week of its receipt of the original complaint/closure of conciliation/repeat complaint;