POSH Training & Awareness

POSH Training & Awareness

What is POSH Training?

In 2013, the Government of India enacted the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, also called the POSH Act. The Act holds an organization and the employer responsible for taking measures to prevent incidents of sexual harassment at the workplace. The Act also lays down several measures for organizations to be compliant with the Act.  One of them is spreading POSH awareness to all the employees in the organization about their roles and responsibilities through the training programs and similar initiatives. It is advisable to conduct such training at least twice a year.

Why POSH Training?

Firstly, it is legally mandatory to conduct POSH training. The organization can attract heavy penalties like a fine of INR 50000 for a first-time offence and cancellation of business licenses for the repeated offences if the law is not followed. In addition, just having a law does not help. Many times, women question whether a particular behaviour can be counted as sexual harassment even after they felt uncomfortable or violated. So, it is important for employees to know what is acceptable in the workplace, what constitutes sexual harassment and what does not.

Moreover, the employees should also be aware of what to do if their colleagues are subjected to sexual harassment. Effective training on POSH can address these issues. Organizing POSH training is a step towards protecting the rights of women employees and ensuring equality at the workplace. Training must be given to all employees regardless of their gender or designation.

What are the POSH Benefits?

If you think the above mentioned are not good enough reasons to organize POSH training, here is a list of more benefits in conducting POSH training for the organization.

• Sexual harassment can hamper the productivity of not only the victims but also other employees. Better training, lesser incidents of sexual harassment and higher productivity.
• POSH training shows that the organization cares about the employees which can increase job satisfaction and employee engagement.
• POSH training improves employee retention and the quality of workplace culture. In general, the training improves the perception of employees about the organization.
• The reputation and goodwill of an organization can be damaged if employees decide to reveal their horrible experiences of sexual harassment via social media. Organizations may lose their customers as well. Sensitizing the employees through POSH courses and programs can safeguard the organization’s reputation and ensure customer retention.

Like mentioned before, non-compliance to the act can attract penalties. There can also be chances that the legal fight can take a long time which will result in a huge financial impact. Conducting regular POSH training and awareness programs will not only help in avoiding such legal tangles but can also act as proof in the court that the organization had taken necessary steps for the prevention of unfortunate sexual harassment incidents.