Internal Complaints Committee and Local Committee under the POSH Act

Understand Internal Complaints Committee and Local Committee

Key rules to remember

Internal Committee: who constitutes it

Employer, by an order in writing, at every office or administrative unit (Section 4(1))

Required at each unit where offices are at different places or at divisional or sub-divisional level.

Internal Committee: composition

Presiding Officer (senior woman employee) + not less than 2 employee Members + 1 NGO or person familiar with sexual harassment issues (Section 4(2))

At least one-half of the total Members nominated must be women.

Presiding Officer fallback

Own office → other office or unit of the workplace → any other workplace of the same employer, or other department or organisation

Applies if no senior level woman employee is available at the first level.

Internal Committee tenure

Not more than 3 years from the date of nomination, as specified by the employer (Section 4(3))

The NGO member is paid fees or allowances by the employer, as prescribed.

Local Committee: who constitutes it and when

District Officer constitutes it in each district for establishments with fewer than 10 workers, or where the complaint is against the employer (Section 6(1))

Jurisdiction covers the areas of the district where it is constituted (Section 6(3)).

Local Committee: composition

Chairperson (eminent woman in social work) + 1 woman Member from block, taluka, tehsil, ward or municipality + 2 Members from NGOs or persons familiar with the issues (at least one a woman) + ex officio social welfare or women and child development officer (Section 7(1))

At least one nominee preferably has a legal background. At least one nominee must be a woman from SC, ST, OBC or a notified minority community.

Local Committee tenure and fees

Not more than 3 years from the date of appointment, as specified by the District Officer (Section 7(2))

Fees or allowances are payable as prescribed to all except the Members under clauses (b) and (d) (Section 7(4)).

Removal of a member

Contravention of Section 16; conviction or pending inquiry into an offence; guilty or pending disciplinary proceedings; abuse of position prejudicial to public interest

Same grounds in Section 4(5) and Section 7(3). The vacancy is filled by fresh nomination.

Nodal officer

Designated by District Officer; forwards complaints to the Local Committee within 7 days (Section 6(2))

Section 20: the District Officer also monitors timely submission of reports by the Local Committee and engages NGOs for awareness.

How to solve Internal Complaints Committee and Local Committee questions

1. 1Identify the facts: number of workers, whether there are several offices, and whether the complaint is against the employer.
2. 2Decide which committee applies. Ten or more workers with the complaint against someone else means the Internal Committee. Fewer than ten workers, or a complaint against the employer, means the Local Committee.
3. 3State who constitutes it: the employer under Section 4, or the District Officer under Sections 5 to 7.
4. 4List the composition with the exact conditions: the Presiding Officer or Chairperson, the number of Members, the NGO member, and the women requirement.
5. 5Apply the specific point asked: the fallback for the Presiding Officer, the tenure of up to three years, the removal grounds, or the nodal officer.
6. 6Link to the complaint stage if relevant: three months from the date of incident, extendable by up to three months for recorded reasons (Section 9).
7. 7Close with a clear conclusion in one line that answers the question asked.

Quickest way: Two-question test

Common mistakes in Internal Complaints Committee and Local Committee

• Saying the Local Committee is set up by the employer or the State Government.

  Students mix up the two committees because both receive complaints.

  Fix: Remember: the employer sets up the Internal Committee; the District Officer sets up the Local Committee.

• Stating that the Internal Committee is needed only at the head office.

  Students overlook the proviso to Section 4(1).

  Fix: Write that it must be constituted at all administrative units or offices where they are located at different places or at divisional or sub-divisional level.

• Writing that the Presiding Officer may be any senior employee.

  The word "woman" and the fallback order are forgotten.

  Fix: The Presiding Officer must be a woman at a senior level among the employees. If none is available, nominate from other offices or units, then from another workplace of the same employer or another department or organisation.

• Counting the Internal Committee as having exactly three members and a fixed number of women.

  Students memorise the minimum without the conditions.

  Fix: Write: Presiding Officer, not less than two employee Members, and one NGO member. At least one-half of the total Members nominated shall be women.

• Giving the tenure as three years exactly.

  The words "not exceeding" are dropped.

  Fix: Write "for such period, not exceeding three years", as specified by the employer or the District Officer.

• Forgetting the second situation for the Local Committee.

  Students remember only the fewer-than-ten-workers case.

  Fix: Always give both: fewer than ten workers, and a complaint against the employer himself.

Worked examples