How-To · Employers · Last verified October 2026
How to Handle a POSH Complaint as an Employer (2026)
When a POSH complaint lands, an employer has clear legal duties and very little room to improvise. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 sets out who must inquire, how, within what time, and what the employer must do with the outcome. Getting the process right protects the complainant, gives the respondent a fair hearing, and shields the organisation from liability for mishandling. Getting it wrong, by delaying, by taking sides, or by skipping the committee, creates fresh legal exposure of its own. This guide walks an employer through handling a complaint properly. It is written for employers and in-house HR and legal teams and is general information, not legal advice; take advice on any live complaint. Last verified October 2026.
- The IC decides, not the employer: route the complaint to a valid Internal Committee, enable a fair inquiry, and implement the recommendation.
- Have the IC ready: an employer with 10 or more employees must constitute an IC with a senior woman as Presiding Officer, an external member, and at least half women.
- Timelines: complaint within 3 months (extendable 3 more for recorded reasons), inquiry within 90 days, employer action within 60 days, appeal within 90 days.
- Confidentiality and non-retaliation: keep the proceedings confidential and protect the complainant and witnesses from victimisation; both are hard legal duties.
- Compliance behind it: a POSH policy, training, displayed details, assisting the IC and an annual report make handling a live complaint credible and avoid penalties.
01The short answer
On receiving a POSH complaint, an employer must route it to a properly constituted Internal Committee (IC), let the IC conduct a fair inquiry within the statutory timelines, and then act on the IC's recommendations. The employer does not decide the complaint itself; the IC does. The employer's job is to enable the process, protect both parties, and implement the outcome.
Key timelines to hold in mind: an employer with 10 or more employees must have an IC; a complaint is normally made within 3 months of the incident (extendable by a further 3 months for reasons recorded); the inquiry should finish within 90 days; and the employer should act on the IC's recommendation within 60 days of receiving the report. This page is the employer's side; for the complainant's side, see how to file a POSH complaint at work.
02Have a valid Internal Committee ready
The IC has to exist and be valid before a complaint arrives. An employer with 10 or more employees must constitute one, and a defective committee can sink an otherwise fair inquiry. The composition broadly requires:
- a Presiding Officer who is a woman employed at a senior level;
- members from among employees, preferably committed to the cause of women or with relevant experience;
- an external member from an NGO or association familiar with sexual harassment issues; and
- a composition where at least half the members are women.
Where there is no IC, because the workplace has fewer than the threshold or for a complaint against the employer, the complaint goes to the Local Committee constituted by the District Officer. Keep the IC's constitution current, because members change and a lapsed committee is a common compliance failure.
03On receiving a complaint
When a complaint comes in, act promptly and neutrally:
- Acknowledge and route it to the IC. Do not let a manager or HR quietly handle it off the books.
- Check the basics, that it is in writing (the IC can help reduce an oral complaint to writing) and within the time limit, bearing in mind the IC can extend time for recorded reasons.
- Offer interim measures if requested or appropriate, such as transfer or leave, so the complainant is not forced to work alongside the respondent during the inquiry.
- Do not prejudge. The employer must not take sides, pressure either party, or impose punishment before the inquiry concludes.
The employer does not judge a POSH complaint. It equips the Internal Committee to inquire fairly, protects both parties, and implements the committee's recommendation.
04The inquiry and its timelines
The IC conducts the inquiry following principles of natural justice: both sides are heard, evidence is considered, and the respondent gets a chance to answer. The Act sets a framework of timelines the employer should help the IC meet:
| Stage | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Making the complaint | Normally within 3 months of the incident, extendable by 3 more months for recorded reasons |
| Completing the inquiry | Within 90 days |
| IC report to the employer | Within 10 days of completing the inquiry |
| Employer acting on the recommendation | Within 60 days of receiving the report |
| Appeal by an aggrieved party | Within 90 days, to a court or tribunal |
Courts have declined to quash an inquiry merely because the 90-day mark was missed, but delay invites challenge and should be avoided and justified where it happens. The employer should give the IC the facilities, information and attendance it needs to inquire on time.
05Acting on the recommendation
The IC submits a report with findings and recommendations. If the complaint is proved, the IC can recommend action against the respondent, which may include disciplinary action under the service rules and the kinds of relief the Act allows, such as deductions or compensation to the complainant. If it is not proved, no action lies against the respondent, and the Act also discourages malicious complaints while protecting a genuine complaint that simply could not be proved.
The employer must act on the recommendation within 60 days. The employer does not get to substitute its own view for the IC's finding; it implements the recommendation, subject to the parties' right of appeal. Mishandling this step, by ignoring the finding or going soft on a proven case, is itself a source of liability.
06Confidentiality and non-retaliation
Two duties run through the whole process:
- Confidentiality. The identity and details of the complainant, respondent, witnesses and the proceedings are to be kept confidential, with penalties for breach. Leaks are both unfair and a compliance breach.
- Non-retaliation. The complainant and witnesses must not be victimised for raising or supporting a complaint. Retaliation, such as a sudden transfer, poor appraisal or termination linked to the complaint, exposes the employer further.
Treat both as hard rules, not aspirations. They are frequently where employers slip and where a mishandled complaint turns into litigation.
07Compliance behind the scenes
Beyond a single complaint, the Act imposes ongoing duties that make handling complaints credible: having a POSH policy, conducting awareness and training, displaying the consequences of harassment and the IC's details, assisting the IC, and filing an annual report of complaints as required. An employer who has done this groundwork handles a live complaint far better than one scrambling to constitute an IC after the fact.
Failure to comply can attract penalties and, for repeat failures, more serious consequences including action affecting licences or registrations, so compliance is not optional housekeeping.
08Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
A POSH matter can move beyond the Internal Committee into an appeal before a court or tribunal, or a related writ or service dispute in a High Court, and an employer needs to know when that happens. Claw tracks labour court, industrial tribunal and High Court matters and the resulting appeals across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with alerts and monitoring, so an employer or its counsel sees a new filing, an interim order or an appeal without checking the cause list by hand. Claw's Legal GPT researches across 30 crore+ judgments, with Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, so in-house teams can see how courts have treated IC inquiries, timelines and natural-justice challenges before responding to one. To check whether a party to a complaint is already in related litigation, run a case search across Indian courts by name across every forum at once. Results return in under 5 seconds, and Claw does not train its AI models on your documents, which matters when the subject is as sensitive as a harassment inquiry. A clean case-search result means nothing was found on the forums and date searched under the names used, not that no matter exists; this is general information, not legal advice.
09Sources and further reading
- Ministry of Women and Child Development (POSH): wcd.gov.in
- India Code (POSH Act, 2013): indiacode.nic.in
- Ministry of Labour and Employment: labour.gov.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This guide is general information, not legal advice. POSH timelines, committee composition and penalties are set by the Act and Rules and are applied by the committees and courts; confirm the current position and take advice on any live complaint.
10Frequently asked questions
What must an employer do when it receives a POSH complaint?
Acknowledge it and route it to a properly constituted Internal Committee rather than handling it informally; check that it is in writing and within the time limit, bearing in mind the committee can extend time for recorded reasons; offer interim measures such as transfer or leave if appropriate; and avoid prejudging or punishing anyone before the inquiry concludes. The committee decides the complaint, and the employer implements the outcome.
Who must set up an Internal Committee under the POSH Act?
An employer with 10 or more employees must constitute an Internal Committee. It should have a senior woman as Presiding Officer, members from among employees, an external member from an NGO or association familiar with the issue, and a composition where at least half the members are women. Where there is no committee, or the complaint is against the employer, it goes to the Local Committee set up by the District Officer.
What are the timelines for a POSH inquiry?
A complaint is normally made within 3 months of the incident, extendable by a further 3 months for reasons recorded in writing. The inquiry should be completed within 90 days, the committee gives its report to the employer within 10 days of completing it, the employer acts on the recommendation within 60 days, and an aggrieved party can appeal within 90 days to a court or tribunal.
Can the employer overrule the Internal Committee's finding?
No. The employer does not substitute its own view for the committee's finding; it must act on the recommendation, within 60 days, subject to the parties' right of appeal. Ignoring a finding or going soft on a proven case is itself a source of liability. The appropriate route to challenge a finding is an appeal to a court or tribunal, not an employer override.
What happens if an employer mishandles a POSH complaint?
Mishandling, such as not having a valid committee, delaying the inquiry, breaching confidentiality, retaliating against the complainant, or failing to act on the recommendation, creates fresh legal exposure and can attract penalties under the Act, with more serious consequences for repeat failures. It can also lead to appeals and related litigation in courts and tribunals, which is why following the process precisely matters.