The POSH Act is India's law on sexual harassment of women at the workplace. It requires employers to provide a safe workplace, set up an Internal Committee, and run awareness programmes at regular intervals. Training is one duty among several, so it supports compliance but doesn't replace the committee, the policy or the records. Counsel or your compliance lead should confirm how the law applies to your organisation.
The POSH Act is the short name for the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. POSH stands for Prevention of Sexual Harassment.
What does the POSH Act require an employer to do?
Section 19 of the Act lists the duties of an employer. As reproduced on Lawrato, it asks the employer to do the following:
- Provide a safe working environment, including safety from people who come into contact with the workplace.
- Display the penal consequences of sexual harassment and the order constituting the Internal Committee in a conspicuous place.
- Organise workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals, and orientation programmes for Internal Committee members.
- Provide facilities to the Internal Committee or Local Committee for handling a complaint and conducting an inquiry.
- Assist in securing the attendance of the respondent and witnesses, and make available the information the committee requires.
- Assist the woman who chooses to file a complaint under the Indian Penal Code or another law, and treat sexual harassment as misconduct under the service rules.
The statute also asks the employer to monitor timely submission of reports by the Internal Committee. Read the Act's own text on India Code before you build a policy, because commentary sites summarise and sometimes disagree on how the duties are grouped.
Who must set up an Internal Committee?
Section 4 asks an employer to constitute an Internal Committee at each office or branch with ten or more employees. For establishments below that size, or where the complaint is against the employer, the Act provides for a Local Committee at district level. The Act also sets who must sit on the Internal Committee, including a presiding officer who's a senior woman employee and an external member from a non-governmental organisation or an association committed to women's causes. Your counsel should confirm the exact composition for your structure.
Does the POSH Act cover remote and hybrid staff?
The Act defines "workplace" widely. It includes any place visited by the employee during the course of employment, including transportation provided by the employer, and it extends to a dwelling place or house in some circumstances. That means conduct on a client site, at an off-site event or in a work-related online setting can fall within the complaint process. How far the definition reaches for a particular remote case is a legal question, so ask counsel before you write the policy wording.
What does the Act expect from training?
The Act doesn't set a syllabus, a duration or a format. Section 19 only says to organise workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals and to run orientation for committee members. Everything else is your design choice.
A sensible programme usually separates three audiences:
- All employees: what the policy says, what counts as harassment, how to complain, and what happens after.
- Managers: how to receive a disclosure, why they must not investigate on their own, and how to avoid retaliation.
- Internal Committee members: the inquiry process, confidentiality, timelines and documentation.
Where does training fit, and what format works?
Training sits between the policy and the committee. The policy states the rules, the committee handles complaints, and training makes sure people know both exist. The table below compares common formats. It's a planning aid, not a legal checklist.
| Audience | Format that often fits | What video can do | What needs a live session |
|---|---|---|---|
| All employees | Short scenario-led modules | Show the same scenarios to every site and language | Questions and local context |
| Managers | Scenario modules plus a discussion | Model a good response to a disclosure | Role-play and judgement calls |
| Committee members | Live workshop with reference material | Explain the process steps | Mock inquiries, legal input |
| New joiners | Part of induction | Repeat the core message on day one | Introduction to the committee |
Scenario writing is where a module succeeds or fails. Use realistic situations from your own sector, written with your HR and legal team, and avoid scenes that read as accusatory toward a group. For Indian teams, language matters: our guide to localising training video for Indian teams covers how to plan versions without losing meaning. For more on where AI-assisted production helps and where it should not be used, see POSH and AI training videos: the decisions to make.
What should HR record?
The Act requires an annual report by the Internal Committee, and Section 22 asks the employer to include the number of cases in its own annual report. Beyond that, keep what lets you show the programme ran: the policy and its version, the order constituting the committee, training dates, who was invited, who attended and how the content was reviewed. Don't store complaint detail in training records, and keep confidentiality rules in mind.
Where Probbit fits
Probbit produces compliance and POSH training video as one format inside a wider programme. Your HR and legal team approve the script and scenarios, and delivery timing depends on approved source material, languages and review rounds. Probbit doesn't give legal advice or certify compliance. If you're deciding which parts of your POSH training should be video, schedule a call.