Mumbai: India’s top 30 blue-chip companies saw a 6.2% rise in the number of sexual harassment complaints in the last fiscal, which experts said is a sign of employees feeling safer about speaking out.
BSE 30 companies received a total of 958 sexual harassment complaints from their employees in FY25, up from 902 in FY24, according to data put together for ET by Complykaro, which advises companies on prevention of sexual harassment, or POSH compliance. Vishal Kedia, founder of Complykaro, said a steady increase in complaints reiterates the effectiveness of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, known as POSH Act. A 21% increase in the pendency of complaints awaiting to be resolved at the end of the year, though, is a matter of concern, he added. During FY24, 902 cases were reported under the POSH in Sensex companies, out of which 800, or 88% of the cases, were disposed of, and 12% of cases were pending at the time of reporting by the companies, which included spillovers.
“I believe the current year will be a tectonic shift in POSH reporting and compliance, as the Supreme Court has not only made it mandatory for all companies (big or small) to register their internal complaints committees (IC) on the Government of India’s SHe-Box Portal, but has also directed surveys to be done by labour commissioners in each district to oversee compliance,” Kedia said.
“This has led to a flurry of activities in MSMEs trying to comply with the POSH Act, and we are receiving, on average, 7-8 enquiries per day in this regard,” he added.
The SHe-Box Portal will make it easier for a victim to file a POSH complaint since all companies will be available under one roof. An employee can have further comfort in the fact that the government is having oversight over the enquiry process.
“The rise in POSH complaints is not a sign of workplaces becoming less safe, but it’s a sign of employees finding their voice,” said Pallavi Pareek, founder of Ungender, a Bengaluru-based advisory and technology company on POSH. “For years, silence was the norm. Today, more people are stepping forward because awareness is spreading and confidence in redressal is growing,” she said.
Interestingly, banks (34%) and IT companies (31.5%) made up almost two-thirds, or 627 complaints, of total Sensex complaints in FY25. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) showed the maximum number of complaints received, with 125 cases reported in FY25 versus 110 in FY24, followed by ICICI Bank with 117 cases, down 12.03% from 133 in FY24, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, and HCL Technologies, in that order.
None of these firms respond to email queries as of press time Saturday. “The POSH Act is only as strong as the will of organisations to implement it. Filing a complaint should never feel like a risk; it should feel like a right,” Pareek said.
BSE 30 companies received a total of 958 sexual harassment complaints from their employees in FY25, up from 902 in FY24, according to data put together for ET by Complykaro, which advises companies on prevention of sexual harassment, or POSH compliance. Vishal Kedia, founder of Complykaro, said a steady increase in complaints reiterates the effectiveness of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, known as POSH Act. A 21% increase in the pendency of complaints awaiting to be resolved at the end of the year, though, is a matter of concern, he added. During FY24, 902 cases were reported under the POSH in Sensex companies, out of which 800, or 88% of the cases, were disposed of, and 12% of cases were pending at the time of reporting by the companies, which included spillovers.
“I believe the current year will be a tectonic shift in POSH reporting and compliance, as the Supreme Court has not only made it mandatory for all companies (big or small) to register their internal complaints committees (IC) on the Government of India’s SHe-Box Portal, but has also directed surveys to be done by labour commissioners in each district to oversee compliance,” Kedia said.
“This has led to a flurry of activities in MSMEs trying to comply with the POSH Act, and we are receiving, on average, 7-8 enquiries per day in this regard,” he added.
The SHe-Box Portal will make it easier for a victim to file a POSH complaint since all companies will be available under one roof. An employee can have further comfort in the fact that the government is having oversight over the enquiry process.
“The rise in POSH complaints is not a sign of workplaces becoming less safe, but it’s a sign of employees finding their voice,” said Pallavi Pareek, founder of Ungender, a Bengaluru-based advisory and technology company on POSH. “For years, silence was the norm. Today, more people are stepping forward because awareness is spreading and confidence in redressal is growing,” she said.
Interestingly, banks (34%) and IT companies (31.5%) made up almost two-thirds, or 627 complaints, of total Sensex complaints in FY25. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) showed the maximum number of complaints received, with 125 cases reported in FY25 versus 110 in FY24, followed by ICICI Bank with 117 cases, down 12.03% from 133 in FY24, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, HDFC Bank, and HCL Technologies, in that order.
None of these firms respond to email queries as of press time Saturday. “The POSH Act is only as strong as the will of organisations to implement it. Filing a complaint should never feel like a risk; it should feel like a right,” Pareek said.
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