“Ensuring Legal Preparedness & Compliance”
Held on 4th December 2025 at PHD House, New Delhi
Workshop on Prevention of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (POSH) Act, themed “Ensuring Legal Preparedness & Compliance” was organized by HR & IR Committee, PHDCCI. This insightful workshop was organized on 4th December 2025 at PHD House, wherein HR Heads, IC Members, Advocates, General Counsels, Compliance Heads and CEOs from diverse industry participated as delegates.
Shri Ashish Wig, Chair, HR & IR Committee PHDCCI, highlighted that Women Empowerment is India’s national vision, and achieving this requires consistent efforts across all sectors of the economy. He pointed out that workers in the unorganized sector have very limited awareness of the POSH Act, despite being among the most vulnerable. Sectors such as agriculture, India’s largest employer, and construction, where women often outnumber men, face significant gaps in knowledge and implementation. Many women in these sectors have low levels of formal education, making capacity-building and handholding support essential for their protection and empowerment.
He stressed that a mind-set change is crucial, as it will pave the way for safer workplaces, greater gender sensitivity, and more inclusive growth. He also encouraged participants to share their suggestions on strengthening the POSH Act, so that these inputs may be submitted to the concerned Ministry for their consideration.
Keynote Address was delivered by Ms. Jyoti Grover, Former Chairperson, Local Committee, Gurugram and Partner, Counsel Quest LLP. She emphasized several critical aspects concerning the effective implementation of the POSH Act. She underscored the importance of strictly following Supreme Court judgments, noting that these rulings provide essential clarity and direction to institutions on ensuring proper compliance.
She highlighted that compliance in the unorganized sector requires urgent strengthening, as a large portion of India’s workforce operates in this space with limited awareness and mechanisms for redressal. Ms. Grover pointed out that the Government remains particularly concerned about the vulnerabilities faced by workers in the unorganized sector, which often result in unreported or unresolved cases.
She further mentioned that a significant number of POSH-related complaints are originating from educational institutions, indicating the need for robust sensitization, proactive preventive measures, and capacity-building within schools, colleges, and universities.
Ms. Grover also drew attention to the fact that domestic workers can approach the Local Committee (LC) established at the district level for filing complaints in the absence of an Internal Committee. However, she noted that Local Committees continue to face certain practical challenges and limitations, which can sometimes affect the speed and effectiveness of grievance redressal.
Ms. Kanchan Zutshi, Director, PHDCCI in her Vote of Thanks, highlighted the importance of focusing on employees in the unorganized sector, noting that they often operate outside a structured ecosystem and therefore remain more vulnerable. She emphasized that there is a strong need for continued dialogue and deeper deliberations to strengthen awareness and protection mechanisms for this segment of the workforce.
On the topic, “Reality vs Myths on POSH”, Adv. Navmallika Gupta, Partner, Counsel Quest LLP, clarified several misconceptions and highlighted practical challenges in the implementation of the POSH Act. She explained that if a victim is hesitant or unwilling to file a complaint, colleagues or witnesses should proactively reach out to the HR department and inform them of the situation. However, she emphasized that a complaint cannot be formally filed on behalf of the aggrieved woman, as the Act mandates that the grievance must originate from the complainant herself.
Adv. Gupta pointed out that many times the aggrieved woman wishes to have an informal discussion with the Internal Committee (IC) before deciding on whether to file a formal complaint. She clarified that the IC cannot initiate an inquiry based solely on an oral representation, as the Act requires a written complaint to commence formal proceedings.
The full day Workshop provided in-depth knowledge to the participants on the following important topics under POSH Act:
· Distinct roles of the IC, External Members, and HR during the Redressal Process
· Steps in Conducting Inquiry Timelines, Procedure, Principals of Natural Justice, Witness Testimonies, Evidence, Cross Examination Arriving at conclusions & recommendations.
· Conciliation
· Dealing with Tricky Cases
· POSH Law: Compliance Case Precedence & Impact of labor codes
Following Domain Experts shared their perspectives during the workshop spread over 5 sessions – Ms. Leher Sethi, Director- Something Creative & Member- POSH Committee, Dept. of WCD (South), GNCTD; Dr. Aditi Kaushal Bhardwaj, Founder, Dr. POSH; Adv. Jayant Bakshi, Founding Partner at SolCom Law; Ms. Rea Mittal, Psychologist; Mr Mayank Francis Dias, Advocate, Michael Dias & Associates and Ms Priyam Mehta, POSH Specialist, Founder, AHEM & MLC
The workshop has been highly interactive and was attended by more than 60 persons.
Counsel Quest LLP was the knowledge partner of the workshop.
