If you are an HR lead or a founder looking for help with POSH, you will find law firms, POSH consultants, online training platforms and counsellors all offering it. They do different jobs, and most organizations use more than one. This guide explains what POSH compliance usually involves and which kind of provider covers which part, so you can ask for the right thing.
This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm what the law asks of your organization with a legal adviser.
What POSH compliance usually involves
POSH refers to the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. The Act asks every employer to set up an Internal Committee by a written order, with a committee at each office in a different place. The committee is led by a senior woman employee, has at least two members from among the employees and one external member, and at least half its members are women. Members serve for up to three years, and the employer pays the external member's fees.
The Act also asks employers to display the penal consequences of sexual harassment and the order that sets up the committee, to run workshops and awareness programmes at regular intervals, and to run orientation for committee members. Each calendar year the committee prepares an annual report for the employer and the District Officer, and the employer includes the number of cases and how they were dealt with in its own annual report. Establishments with fewer than ten workers and no Internal Committee send complaints to the district's Local Committee. The Act as published in 2013 allows a fine of up to fifty thousand rupees for an employer who does not comply.
Most organizations also write a POSH policy. Our plain guide to the Act covers each of these points in more detail.
Law firms
A law firm, or a lawyer who practises employment law, is the provider that can tell you what the Act and its rules ask of your organization in particular. Lawyers usually draft or review the POSH policy, the order constituting the Internal Committee and the annual report, and advise when a complaint arrives. Some also run orientation for committee members on how to conduct a fair inquiry. A law firm suits an organization that wants legal sign off on its documents and process, or that is handling a complaint now.
POSH consultants
A POSH consultant or consultancy usually offers a package around the Act: setting up or refreshing the Internal Committee, a policy template, awareness sessions for employees, committee orientation, help with the annual report and, often, an external member. Some are run by lawyers and some by trainers or HR professionals, so ask who will do each piece of work. A consultant suits an organization that wants one provider to coordinate the whole cycle each year.
Online POSH training platforms
Online POSH training is usually a set of recorded video modules or courses that employees take at their own pace, often with a short quiz and a completion record for HR. It reaches a large or spread out workforce quickly and is easy to repeat for new joiners. It suits an organization that needs to reach many people in many places. Ask whether there is any live element, since people rarely raise a real question with a video.
Counsellors who run workshops or serve as external members
Some counsellors run live POSH awareness workshops, and some take on the external member role on an Internal Committee. A counsellor brings practice in listening, in handling hard conversations and in the distress a complaint can cause on every side. That can help a workshop feel safe enough for people to ask questions, and it fits the Act's description of an external member as someone familiar with the issues around sexual harassment. A counsellor is not a lawyer, so pair this with legal advice on your documents.
Whoever you consider for the external member role, ask about their background and any committee experience, and check it against the Act's description with your legal adviser.
How Leshya can help
Leshya can arrange two pieces of this work through counsellors who tell us they run POSH workshops or take on the external member role. They describe that experience themselves, and Leshya does not certify it, so ask about their background when we scope the work. A person reviews every counsellor profile before it goes live.
POSH awareness workshops can be online or in person and are billed per workshop run. An external member for your Internal Committee is matched by Leshya after we hear what you need, and is billed per month. You start with an inquiry: a person at Leshya reads it, a short call follows, and we agree the format and fee before anything starts. Leshya does not draft policies or give legal advice, and working with Leshya does not by itself mean your organization meets its duties under the Act.
Every Leshya page and counsellor website follows WCAG 2.1 AA practices, so employees who are blind or have low vision can browse and book with a screen reader.
Which fits your need
You need your policy, committee order or annual report drafted or checked, or you have a complaint in hand: start with a law firm.
You want one provider to coordinate the yearly cycle: a POSH consultant may suit you. Ask who does each piece.
You need to reach a large or spread out workforce with the same course: an online POSH training platform may suit you.
You want a live, small group workshop where people feel able to ask, or you need an external member for your committee: a counsellor may suit you, alongside legal advice.
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Common questions
Under the Act, an employer sets up an Internal Committee with an external member, displays the penal consequences and the committee order, runs awareness and orientation programmes, and reports cases each year. Confirm the details for your organization with a legal adviser.
