Amongst other responsibilities, the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition & Redressal) Act, 2013 requires the employer to provide:

1. a safe working environment, and
2. display the consequences of involvement in sexual harassment in a prominently noticeable way at the workplace
3. display the order constituting the Internal Complaints Committee.

Implementation of the above responsibilities is conventionally undertaken through a written sexual harassment prevention policy. Drafting an effective sexual harassment prevention policy requires one to ask the following questions:

What is the purpose of the policy?

What is the benefit of a well-drafted policy?

What are the ideal elements that any policy must include?

There is no legal requirement on what components should be included.  However, here are the 5 important pointers that must be kept in mind while drafting sexual harassment policies:

1. Policy should be in consonance with the need of the organisation: Assessment of different workplace settings in an organization is important before starting work on a sexual harassment policy, so that possible scenarios in which workplace related harassment can occur can be assessed and covered. For example, the Act covers sexual harassment in schools and educational institutions as well. However, the anti-sexual harassment policy of such educational institutions would be different from that of an ordinary organization, as apart from the employees, the policy would be applicable on students as well. Such a situation will require a different kind of disciplinary action The drafter should take inputs from the management and employee to identify the needs of the organization and the potential areas of risks that need to be mitigated through the policy.
2. Policy should be in consonance with the ideology of the organisation: The management and relevant company officers should take a consistent management stance on sexual harassment in light of the act for necessity of compliance with the law and risks. A well-drafted policy articulates a uniform organizational stance enables the employer and his team which is associated with sexual harassment, such as counsellors, committee members, HR or other support staff to act in a coherent and consistent manner. It leaves little room for adhocism or inconsistency in the actions of different organizational participants, which is always beneficial.
3. The policy should be in consonance with the provisions of the new Act: In a number of companies that we have worked with, it is found that the organizations are blindly “copy-pasting” the policies adopted by some foreign organizations or copying from each other. Although, the basic principles of anti-sexual harassment law remain the same throughout the world, and there is no harm in considering the best practices of the industry globally. However, mere copy-pasting the provisions without giving much thought about the ramifications of the text in context of the operating sector of the business or cross-checking if they actually meet all the required standards under the 2013 Act might be counter effective and will not be able meet the purpose. It is important that the policy is drafted in accordance with the provisions of the new Act.
4. The language should be concise, clear and written in simple language with examples: While drafting an effective policy, one should remember that the policy will be uniformly applicable to all the employees, which might include the working class, blue-collared workers, drivers or janitors in the organization. Hence, it is important that the policy is drafted in very simple and clear language. If possible, the organization should strive to prepare translated copies of the policy in Hindi and in the local language where the office is situated in (Hindi and local translations may be drafted in simple conversational language instead of technical language so that staff members are easily able to understand contents of the policy).
5. The policy should cover all the entire essential points required to make a watertight policy: Typically, a sexual harassment prevention policy should incorporate necessary provisions of the law, any additional organizational practices and have sufficiently detailed points, illustrations or examples which enable employees to understand the policy in a simple manner. It is also essential that the policy covers all relevant points – for reference, a detailed checklist of the provisions has been provided.

Sample Sexual Harassment Policy

You can download free Sample Sexual-Harassment Policy or your reference. This policy has been made keeping in mind all applicable provision of sexual harassment laws in India.

Can you help an organization create tailor-made sexual harassment policies, set up and train complaints committees, conduct employee sensitizations, create systems for confidentiality, implement a consistent management stance and perform compliance under existing law? Can you help an organization implement a gender-neutral framework to tackle workplace-harassment? Organizations will highly value a professional, who can enable them to adequately implement the sexual harassment law as per the needs of the organisation. If you are willing to add value to your existing skillsets by becoming a Sexual Harassment Law Prevention and Workplace Diversity Expert, certified by one of the India’s top law school, National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), visit http://sexualharssment.nujs.edu or to know how this course might help you in your career send a mail to [insert mail id].