India: The Indian Government Launched the New “SHe-Box” Portal to Bolster Workplace Safety for Women

Authors: Avik Biswas, Ivana Chatterjee, Animay Singh

On 29 August 2024, the Ministry of Women and Child Development launched an updated version of the “SHe-Box” portal (“Portal.”) The updated Portal has been introduced to supplement the Central Government’s efforts to improve the enforcement of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition, and Redressal) Act, 2013 (“POSH Act.”)

The POSH Act was enacted to facilitate the creation of safe and secure workplaces for women, free from instances of sexual harassment. The provisions of the POSH Act extend not only to women who are permanent employees but even to women working on a contract basis or third parties who may be present at the workplace. Employers are required to set up an Internal Committee (“IC”) to take cognizance of and conduct investigations on complaints of sexual harassment made by women employees or third parties.

The improved version of the Portal will allow women employees to submit their complaints directly to the concerned IC or local committee (statutorily constituted at the district level). Once a complaint is registered on the Portal, it will be directed to the concerned IC for action. Employers are required to upload the details of the organization’s IC on the Portal for such complaints to be directed to the IC.

As a comprehensive platform for the registration and monitoring of sexual harassment complaints, the Portal will allow complainants to monitor the status of their complaints and ensure that the complaints are resolved in a timely manner. The Portal has a detailed guide on how complaints can be filed and a free-to-access repository of information related to the POSH Act, including handbooks, training modules, and advisory documents which are available in Hindi and English. The Portal is expected to be fully functional once government departments and private employers update the information of their respective IC’s.

Key Action Points for Human Resources and In-House Counsel

It is important for organizations to monitor the developments in the phased introduction of the Portal and ensure that the details of the IC are duly uploaded on the Portal.