POSH Annual Report: Process and Format

Introduction

POSH Annual Report is an essential submission from the organization to the district officer under the POSH Act. As the number of sexual harassment cases has been increasing rapidly where POSH Compliances play an important role to prevent women from the sexual harassment. Every organization having 10+ employees is mandatory to file this report every year to maintain a healthy work environment. Not complying with the POSH, the organization may face several legal obstacles which may also damage the organization reputation. Whether you are a small business or a large entity where you have more than 10+ employees, having the POSH knowledge is important. In this blog section, you will get the complete understanding over the POSH Annual Report including its meaning, needs, process, report format and penalties. 

What is the POSH Annual Report?

POSH Annual report is a formal documents prepared by the internal complaint committee of the organization to report sexual harassment cases to District Officer. It is a mandatory compliance for the organization or company which has more than 10 employees under the POSH Act, 2016. 

However, every organization with 10+ employees must submit their POSH Annual Report by 31st January every year. This report is a comprehensive detailed report where the companies outlines the efforts and preventions for the sexual harassment, including complaints, taken actions and workshop or training programs and many more. 

Additionally, this posh annual report has to be submitted at the district office (according to the areas where the organization situated). This report can be submitted offline and online both ways depending upon district office preferences. 

Who needs to submit these reports? 

All organizations which have more than 10 employees, whether it is government or non-government, need to submit a POSH Annual Report every year. The organization includes: 

1. Industries
2. Bank and Financial Institution 
3. Corporate offices 
4. Private firms
5. Hospitals and Healthcare Institutions 
6. Schools, Colleges and other educational institutions

This annual report ensures that all sectors, whether it is private or government, maintains a safe and healthy environment for women. 

Process for Filing POSH Annual Report 

Here is the complete process for filing POSH Annual Report as follows: 

Step 1: At the very initial stage, the organization must formulate the POSH policy and outlines the commitment to prevent sexual harassment. 

Step 2: They must have all the relevant documents and data which are required for the POSH report. The data includes - No. of complaints received in a year, responses, training programs offered to the employee and other relevant data. 

Step 3: Once this documentation and collection of data has been done, make a POSH Annual Report and ensure that the report complained thoroughly. Here, the organization must have summarized actions performed during the period. 

Step 4: After filing the Annual report appropriately, it must be submitted to the District Officer and other relevant authority. Here, the legal authority will check all the legality and requirements. If the authority finds any issues in the report, they will notify the organization accordingly. 

Note: Many states do not have District officers, in this case, the POSH report can be submitted to the Chief Minister’s Office and the Women and Child Development Department/Ministry as a safeguard. 

POSH Annual Report Format 

Under the POSH Act Rules, 2013 there is a prescribed format for the POSH Annual Report. The following information and points must have in this POSH Annual Report: 

1. No. of complaints received in a year to the POSH Community. 
2. No. of cases have been resolved throughout the year after receiving the complaint and also have mentioned the duration which has taken through the complete procedure. 
3. No. of cases or complaints which are pending for more than 90 days. 
4. Actions which has been taken for such complaints by the organizations 
5. Details for workshop and training programs which are conducted by the organization in a year. 

Penalties for not file the POSH Annual Report 

In case of non filing the POSH Annual Report to the District Officer, the authority may take actions. This action may include issuing notice to the organization to file report and may also impose penalty upto ₹50,000. Not filing a POSH annual report damages the organization reputation and also has negative consequences for the employers. Therefore, the organizations must comply with the POSH Act provisions. Filing POSH Annual Report on time not only prevents penalties but also provides a safe and healthy work environment for the women and helps to maintain good employee relations in the organizations. 

Conclusion 

POSH Annual Report is an invaluable document which showcases the safe and healthy workplace of an organization. This report must mention the key components of a POSH policy which includes a clear objective of the policy, each case and actions which have been taken from the organization's side, workshop and training details. This annual report also has a prescribed format which will be submitted accordingly otherwise the organization may face issues. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

1) What is the POSH Act? 

POSH Act stands for “The Preventiion of Sexual Harassment” is an Indian law enacted in 2013 that protect women from sexual harrassment in the workplace and provide a healthy work enviroment. 

2) What is the due date for filing an annual report under POSH? 

28th February is the due date for filing an annual report under the POSH. 

3) What are the compliances under POSH? 

POSH Compliances includes create a policy that prohibits sexual harassment, form a committee, train employees, report harassment, take action and filing POSH annual report timely every year. 

4) Is the POSH Act civil or criminal? 

POSH (The Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Act is a civil remedy but the aggrieved women can pursue civil and criminal resources both. 

5) Who Prepare and Submit POSH Annual Report?

The internal Committee of a company or organization has to prepare and submit the POSH Annual Report every year. 

6) What is LCC?

The LCC is a Committee established by the State Govt for the Organisations which have less than 10 Employees to Report any Cases during any Calendar year and seek remedy.