When creating an Internal Complaints Committee, as required by the Sexual Harassment in the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (PoSH law), for any organisation with more than ten workers, there is sometimes some uncertainty.
According to Section 4 of the PoSH law, an external member for posh must be selected who has either worked in non-governmental organisations devoted to the cause of women or is familiar with women's concerns.
On first glance, this may appear ambiguous, given that the Act does not specify any qualifications or roles for the ICC's external member for posh. The reason of this seeming uncertainty, on the other hand, is inclusion. The legislation is intentionally wide to empower the external member for posh to emerge from any technical experience as long as they are sensitive to the grievance and educated about women's rights.
To prevent legal responsibility, it is critical to be aware of the precise qualifications listed in Section 4(2) of the PoSH law.The court held in Jaya Kodate v. Rashtrasant Tukdoji Maharaj Nagpur University that the absence of a member who does not meet the standards outlined in the preceding sections is considered a breach of the PoSH law and hence unlawful. Neglecting these qualifications may result in the company being asked to reconstitute their ICC, as seen in the case Ruchika Singh Chhabra v. Air France, where a lawyer with experience in Labour Laws was deemed an inappropriate appointment for the role of the defendant company's ICC's external member for posh.
The external member for posh is an important component of any Internal Complaints Committee since they give an unbiased, balanced viewpoint. They are not involved in or aware of any internal corporate politics or employee connections, therefore their opinions and findings are based solely on the facts and circumstances given. Being an external member for posh who is largely unknown to the workforce puts complainants and witnesses at ease while discussing workplace harassment. It relieves the stress of dealing with someone who is always present at work or has a preexisting prejudice towards or against the complaint.
As a result, it is critical to select an external member who knows and is sensitive to the ways in which gender influences power relations in the workplace. They should not have any unfavourable preconceived biases and should not have any personal relationships with anyone in the workforce in order to avoid a conflict of interest. The corporation normally provides external member for posh with a three-year tenure. As a result, if an external member for posh does not feel like they are the perfect match for the firm, they can always be replaced with someone who possesses the empathic, neutral, and unbiased attributes that they are expected to have. The PoSH law also does not prohibit the firm from reappointing the same external member for posh for many terms, making it easier for corporations to keep a member who promotes the company's excellent standards.