Overview
Somewhere between hire number nine and hire number eleven, a legal obligation appears that most founders never see coming. Under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, every employer with 10 or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee (IC) under Section 4 — a standing body, not a one-time form. Getting compliance under the POSH Act right at that point matters for reasons beyond the statute itself: investors ask for it in diligence, enterprise customers ask for it in vendor onboarding, and since a 2025 rule change, companies now have to name actual numbers in their annual filings.
The IC is not a rubber stamp. Section 4(2) requires a woman Presiding Officer at a senior level, at least two members from among employees with a background in women’s causes or legal/social work, and one external member from an NGO or association familiar with sexual harassment issues — with at least half the nominated members women. Members serve a term not exceeding three years and can be removed under Section 4(5) for defined cause. Below the 10-employee threshold, or where the complaint is against the employer personally, the woman complains instead to the district’s Local Committee under Section 6 — the Act does not simply exempt small workplaces, it redirects them.
Section 19 puts recurring obligations on the employer beyond just forming the committee: a safe working environment, a displayed notice of penal consequences and the IC’s constitution order, and organised awareness workshops and orientation for IC members at regular intervals. This sits alongside the same kind of governance discipline we build for ESG and CSR-2 reporting and the terms in a well-drafted employment agreement — one HR-and-compliance spine, not a scramble each time a new form appears.
We are a private consultancy, not a government authority, an IC member, or a substitute for legal counsel on an actual complaint. What we do is prepare: constitute the committee correctly, draft the policy, run the awareness sessions, and file the annual report and the Board’s Report disclosure. We do not adjudicate complaints, represent either party in an inquiry, or promise a particular outcome — that authority sits with the Internal Committee, the Local Committee and, where litigated, the courts.
Who it’s for
- Companies that have crossed, or are about to cross, the 10-employee threshold and need an Internal Committee constituted correctly
- HR and compliance teams that have an IC on paper but no policy, training records or complaint register behind it
- Companies preparing a Board’s Report who need the 2025-mandated POSH complaint disclosure done right, not guessed at
- Smaller workplaces under 10 employees who want to understand what still applies to them under the Local Committee route
- Founders responding to an investor or enterprise-customer diligence request that specifically asks about POSH compliance
Eligibility & requirements
- Every employer at a workplace with 10 or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee under Section 4 of the POSH Act
- IC composition under Section 4(2): a woman Presiding Officer at a senior level, at least two members with relevant experience, one external NGO/association member, and at least half of all nominated members women
- IC members hold office for a term not exceeding three years from nomination (Section 4(3))
- Below 10 employees, or where the complaint is against the employer, the complaint goes to the district’s Local Committee under Section 6 instead of an Internal Committee
- Section 19 requires a displayed policy notice, a safe working environment, and regular awareness workshops and IC-member orientation
- Since 14 July 2025, every company filing a Board’s Report under the Companies Act must disclose actual POSH complaint numbers — received, disposed of, and pending beyond 90 days — not just a compliance statement
How CapEasy handles it
- We assess your current headcount and structure to confirm whether the Internal Committee or the Local Committee route applies to you
- We draft the IC nomination letters against the Section 4(2) composition requirements — Presiding Officer, internal members, external member — and you formalise the appointments
- We draft the POSH policy and prepare the notice for display, matching the Section 19 requirement
- We run the awareness workshop and IC-member orientation session your organisation needs on a recurring basis
- We help set up a complaint intake and register aligned to the Act’s own timelines, so if a complaint is ever filed the process is not improvised
- Each calendar year, we prepare the IC’s annual report in the Rule 14 format and support submission to the District Officer
- For companies filing a Board’s Report, we prepare the POSH disclosure required under the 2025 Companies (Accounts) amendment alongside your other statutory filings
Documents you’ll typically need
- Current employee headcount and organisation structure
- Proposed IC members’ details (for the Presiding Officer, internal members and external NGO/association member)
- Any existing POSH policy, notice or complaint records already in place
- Prior years’ IC annual reports, if any
- Board’s Report drafting inputs for companies that need the 2025 disclosure clause included
- Any complaint or grievance records the committee needs to account for in the annual report
CapEasy is a private consultancy and is not affiliated with any government authority. We help you assess eligibility and prepare and file your application; eligibility and approval depend on your specifics and the relevant department’s discretion.
