Internal Committee
As per the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (prevention, prohibition & redressal) Act, 2013, it is mandatory for every organization having 10 or more employees to constitute an Internal Committee (IC) to receive and address the complaints of Sexual Harassment at the Workplace.
As envisaged by the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (prevention, prohibition & redressal) Act, 2013 it is the duty of the employer of a workplace to constitute by an order in writing, a committee to be known as the Internal Committee (IC).
The Internal Committee shall consist of at least 4 members, including a Presiding Officer who should be a woman employed at a senior level, 2 members from among employees who are committed to women's causes or have experience in social work, and 1 external member from an NGO or an association committed to the cause of women or a person familiar with issues relating to sexual harassment.
An Internal Committee shall have a minimum of four members including an external member. It may be further noted that at least One-half of the IC members should be women.
As per the provisions of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (prevention, prohibition & redressal) Act, 2013, where the offices or administrative units of the workplace are located at different places or divisional or sub-divisional levels, the Internal Committee shall be constituted at all administrative units or offices.
The Internal Committee is responsible for receiving complaints of sexual harassment, conducting inquiries into the complaints, providing recommendations for action to the employer, and monitoring the implementation of the recommendations.
An aggrieved employee is required to file a written complaint with ICC within 3 months of the date of the incident. The complaint should contain details of the incident, names of the parties involved, and any evidence available.
After receiving a complaint, the IC is required to conduct an inquiry into the complaint, provide an opportunity for both parties to be heard, and then make recommendations to the employer for action, which may include disciplinary action against the harasser.
The IC is required to complete the inquiry within 90 days of receiving the complaint, and the employer must act upon the recommendations of the IC within 60 days of receiving them.
Yes, the IC can provide counselling to the complainant and the respondent to facilitate the resolution of the complaint. However, counselling should not be used to pressurize the parties or to compromise the inquiry process.