What is the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy?

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With increasing gender equality in society and the increased opportunities for women in every field of work, it has become unavoidable to take preventive measures against sexual harassment. The weight of preventing sexual harassment lies on the employer. Therefore, employers are required by law to take steps to forbid and deal with molestation in the workplace.

Suppose the employer has not taken all good steps to prevent and deal with harassment in the workplace. In that case, the employer may be responsible for any harassment, even if he was unaware that such harassment was taking place. The Prevention of Sexual harassment Policy includes all the provisions about steps to be taken when such an incident happens. The policy explains what harassment is, expresses to all employees that harassment will not be tolerated, and sets out how employers and employees should react to harassment incidents.

Having an anti-harassment policy doesn’t mean that there will not be harassment complaints or incidents. However, having an adequate policy and procedure linked with anti-harassment training for all staff will prevent harassment and encourage individuals who are the victims to come forward and guarantee that the problem is addressed rapidly and effectively. Get an easily configurable Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy in the form of our Prevention of Harassment Policy.

In this policy, you will get to know:

• Procedure for filing a complaint.
• The formulation of the Sexual Harassment Committee.
• Resolution of such complaint.
• Protection of the victim and witness (if any).
• Steps to be taken if the complaint is made with malice.

Sexual Harassment Policy Template Sample

“Name of the Company” is dedicated to providing a harassment-free workplace regardless of any caste, race, color, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender, origin, nationality, ancestry, disability, or marital status, as the case may be.

“Name of the Company” is dedicated to building a secured and comfortable environment for all its employees, as we believe that they possess legal rights to receive protection against harassment.

Purpose

This policy has been put in place to prohibit or discourage any act of sexual molestation at the place of work. It also states that complaints concerning the same will be addressed immediately.

Scope

This policy applies to all the active employees in the company. It will be compulsorily mentioned in the employees’ terms of service and will be rolled out immediately.

For this policy, the word “Employee” is any person listed in the company’s registers, including temporary, part-time, contractual, contingent, or consultants.

Definition

Sexual Harassment will mean and consists of the following cases:

• Any undesirable sexual approach that tends to offend an individual’s character, personality, or performance, including but not limited to verbal, non-verbal, or physical activities such as sexually colored comments, letters, calls, emails, gestures, stares, physical touch, sounds, stalking, or displaying pornography;
• Any direct or indirect approaches or demands which are not desirable, in exchange for an employee’s job, test, promotion, or assessment;
• Any inappropriate sexual implications in an employee’s body language or personality;
• Any act by an authorized person, which makes the workplace surroundings unfriendly or threatening to another individual;
• Any remarks, taunts, physical confinement against one’s determination, and risk of invasion of one’s privacy and;
• Any act that happens against an active worker of the company, inside or outside the workplace;

Filing Complaint

An employee who is the victim of sexual harassment has the privilege to file a complaint against the offender in the presence of the HR head or any member of the “Sexual Harassment Committee (SHC)”.

Any SHC will require a quorum of “Number of members” members to be present, of which at least two should be females.

The following are the members of the SHC in “Name of the Company”.

Resolution

The SHC will try to resolve the issue either by conversation, inquiry, or other relevant means. If needed, SHC may request detailed research to be processed.

Confidentiality

Information related to any sexual approaches or complaints files must be kept confidential, the revelation of which is punishable misconduct.

Protection against Vengeance

Both victim and witness should be protected against vengeance. Disciplinary action should be taken immediately for any unethical behavior or force against them.

Documentation

The board shall maintain a complete record of the complaint, inquiry, and settlement.

False Complaints

If it is discovered during the investigation that the complaint was falsely submitted in order to smear the accused’s reputation, the complainer may face severe consequences.