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FAQs related to Annual Report of the Internal Committee
| Filing related queries | |||
| 1 | Is submission of Annual Report by Internal Committee mandated under the Law? | Yes. Section 21 of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition And Redressal) Act andRules, 2013 (“Law”) mandates submission of Annual Report. | |
| 2 | What details are to be included in the Annual Report? | Rule 14 of the Law states that the following details need to be included in the Annual Report – i. Number of complaints of sexual harassment received in the year; ii. Number of complaints disposed off during the year; iii.Number of cases pending for more than ninety days; iv. Number of workshops or awareness programme against sexual harassment carried out; v. Nature of action taken by the employer or District Officer. | |
| 3 | Who needs to prepare this Annual Report? | This Annual Report is to be prepared by the IC. There are some disclosures that are required to be made in Organization’s Annual Report also which are dealt with separately below. | |
| 4 | Do all members of the IC need to sign the Annual Report? | Ideally, it is advisable that all members of the IC sign the Annual Report. However, the Annual Report can also be signed by the Presiding Officer on behalf of the IC. In this case, it should be ensured that the IC has confirmed the Annual report in writing or by way of an email. Essentially, since the preparation of an Annual Report is the responsibility of all members of an Internal Committee, it should be ensured that all members have ‘okayed’ the Annual Report before submission | |
| 5 | How many copies of the report does the IC need to make? | The IC needs to make three copies of the report. One for its own records and two to be forwarded to the employer. Of the two copies that the IC forwards to the Employer, the employer retains one copy and forwards the other copy to the District Officer. | |
| 6 | Who does the IC need to submit the Annual Report to? | The IC needs to submit two copies of the report to the Employer. Of the two copies that the IC forwards to the Employer, the employer retains one copy and forwards the other copy to the District Officer. The IC also needs to retain one copy for its own records. | |
| 7 | Who needs to forward the Annual report to the District Officer? Is it the IC or the Employer? | The Annual Report is forwarded to the District Officer by the Employer. | |
| 8 | Who is the District Officer? | - An Appropriate Government might notify any of the following people as District Officers under the law – • District Magistrate • Additional District Magistrate • Deputy Collector - The District officers are different in different regions subject to the Organization’s location. - A list of District Officers for several districts has been prepared by POSHequili. The list can be found here. | |
| 9 | Is there any template for Annual Report as per Law? | - The Mumbai City District Officer has released a template that is applicable to the Annual Reports that are to be submitted by Organizations based in Mumbai City. Please click here for the template copy - Apart from this, there is no template provided under the Law. - Please click here for the suggested draft of the Annual Report prepared by POSHequili | |
| 10 | Should the Annual Report be hand delivered to the District Officer or does it need to be couriered? | The Annual Report can be couriered or hand delivered, subject to any organization’s comfort. If hand delivered, an acknowledgement of submission must be retained for records. If couriered, the receipt of courier should be retained for records. It is recommended that the Report be submitted through registered speed post. Additionally, where available, an email of the Annual Report can be emailed to the respective District Officers simultaneously. | |
| 11 | Can Annual Report be filed online? | Some District Officers might allow filing of the Annual Reports online for their respective districts while others might require a physical copy. This needs to be confirmed for each district. Please click her for the list of District Officers, their addresses and email IDs (wherever available). | |
| 12 | What is the last date for submission of report? | The Law is silent about any last date for submission of Annual Reports.We recommend that, in case there are no notifications to the contrary, Reports should be submitted by 31st January every year. | |
| 13 | Can POSHequili file the report on Organization’s behalf? | No, the Annual Report needs to be filed by the Organization specifically because it requires the Organization’s stamp and the authorized person’s signatures. POSHequili can provide assistance. | |
| Queries on Complaint-related data | |||
| 1 | No complaints were filed in the organization during the year, do I still need to file the Annual Report? | Yes. The number of complaints and all other data would be “0” or “Nil” | |
| 2 | Are conciliations to be included in Annual Report? | Yes, conciliations are to be included in Annual Report. You can refer to the suggested draft of the Annual Report prepared by POSHequili | |
| 3 | Are complaints which are withdrawn to be included in Annual Reports? | Yes, withdrawn complaints are to be included in the Annual Report. You can refer to the suggested draft of the Annual Report prepared by POSHequili | |
| 4 | Are oral complaints to be included in the report? | As per the Law, a complaint of Sexual Harassment needs to be in writing and needs to be made by Complainant or by other persons on behalf of the complainant, as mentioned in the Law. Thus, oral complaints are not to be included in the Annual Report | |
| 5 | Are Anonymous complaints to be included in the report? | As per the Law, a complaint of sexual harassment needs to be made by the Aggrieved Woman or through specific individuals that can make complaints on behalf of the Aggrieved Woman. Thus, anonymous complaints are not to be included in the Annual Report. | |
| 6 | Are complaints filed by men or individuals from other genders to be included in the Annual Report? | While organizations might have gender neutral policies for sexual harassment, the Law applies only to complaints filed by an Aggrieved Woman. Thus, complaints filed by men or individuals from other genders are not to be included in the Annual Report. | |
| 7 | If an Organization has more than one IC, should all ICs submit separate Annual Reports? | Yes, each IC has to submit separate Annual Reports with District Officers of their respective Districts. | |
| Queries Related To Training-Related Data | |||
| 1 | What happens if the number of workshops / training programs shows 0 in the Annual Report? | This is not recommended and does not reflect well on the organization’s ‘preventive’ measures which are also mandatory under Law | |
| 2 | Employees go through e-learning module. Can I record that in the Annual report? If yes, how? | E-Learning modules can be included in the Annual Report. The number of E-Modules provided can be added as the data. You can refer to the suggested draft of the Annual Report prepared by POSHequili | |
| 3 | For IC members, is quarterly meeting not the same as training? Can this be counted in annual report? | No, quarterly meetings are like discussions and updates amongst the IC members to keep themselves updated about the various updates in Law. Trainings, on the other hand, is conducted for skill building and capacity building to ensure that IC members are able to do a thorough inquiry without being biased and while following the process under Law. | |
| 4 | If my employees attend open workshops, is that sufficient compliance for the purpose of Annual Report? | Yes, open workshops are sufficient compliance for the purpose of Annual Report. It is recommended that a record of such attendance be maintained by the Organization as proof. | |
| 5 | Do I need to conduct employee session and IC training both for the purpose of the Annual Report? | Yes as those are separate compliance requirements under Law. | |
| Others | |||
| 1 | What happens if I don’t file annual reports? | Organization may be liable to penalties as per Law. | |
