1. INTRODUCTION
The Sexual Harassment (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 ("POSH Act") read with the Sexual Harassment (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Rules, 2013 (collectively referred to as, "POSH Law") casts certain obligations on the employer, including but not limited to, submission of an annual report.
Section 21 of the POSH Act mandates the Internal Complaints Committee ("IC") to submit an annual report every calendar year to the employer as well as the district officer. In terms of the provisions under the POSH Law, the annual report should include the following: the number of complaints of sexual harassment received in the year; the number of such complaints disposed during the year; the number of sexual harassment cases pending for more than ninety (90) days; the number of workshops or awareness programs conducted by the employer for sensitizing the employees with the provisions of the POSH Law; and the nature of action taken by the employer or district officer while handling sexual harassment complaints. While the provisions of the POSH Law set out the components of the annual report, the POSH Law is silent on the timeframe for submission of the annual report. However, certain local authorities at the district level such as in Mumbai and Uttar Pradesh have notified the timelines for submission of the annual reports.
2. DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF ANNUAL REPORT IN GURUGRAM
The district officer of Gurugram vide order dated November 12, 2021 ("Order"), directed all organizations (government as well as non-government organizations) to submit their annual reports by April 30th of the following year. Further, in the event of failure to submit the annual report within the stipulated time period, a penalty of INR 50,000 shall be imposed and strict action in accordance with the POSH Law shall be initiated against the organization.
Following this Order, the district officer of Gurugram on December 8, 2021, specifically notified 'April 30, 2022' as the last date for submission of the annual report under the POSH Law for the calendar year 2021. All organizations are required to submit their annual reports online via a google form.
3. INDUSLAW VIEW
Annual reports serve the purpose of providing grassroot data regarding the application and implementation of the POSH Law with information of sexual harassment complaints filed, disposed of, and pending at every organization. However, even after nine (9) years since the POSH Law came into force, there continues to be an absence of centralized data on implementation and effectiveness of the POSH Law.
In our view, clarification of annual report submission deadlines is a welcome step in the right direction towards the process of streamlining compliance of submission of annual reports. However, having a unified timeline across India, in our opinion, would trim down the element of ambiguity in submission of annual reports and ease the process for employers and the IC.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
