Sexual harassment at workplace

How does one manage and combat sexual harassment in companies? What factors must be taken into consideration’?
From the size of the company, to the severity of the incident, sexual harassment requires human resource management methods that are victim-friendly, effective, and quick. On another dimension, a healthy and women—friendly culture is required among employees that dis-incentivizes sexual harassment.

For large companies, the concern is usually mitigated by multiple HR professionals employed to create policies and
practices that both prevent and manage sexual harassment in the workplace.

A smaller number of employees does not decrease the occurrence of sexual harassment – in some ways, small firms are more susceptible (Firestone, 2018). There are concerns with smaller companies of the cost of hiring HR professionals and the effectiveness of sensitization sessions.

According to most laws, when there is the existence of a supervisor, any hostile work environment with discrimination in the form of tangible employment action is the liability of the employer (Fleischer, 2018).

Avoiding this requires an affirmative defense through non-discrimination and anti—sexual harassment policies established and published in written format (Fleischer, 2018). Besides this, there are certain other human resource management methods that can be adopted once a sexual harassment complaint has been received:

1. Interim measures to provide a sense of safety and security tor the complainant
2. Prompt and thorough investigation of the complaint, with measures taken to obtain relevant evidence and intimate relevant law and legal authorities if required
3. Maintain confidentiality at all points, protecting the identity of the complainant and the accused until investigation is complete
4. Storing evidence in a safe manner without possibility of tampering
5. Interviewing the complainant in a non—intensive and non-antagonistic fashion, being sensitive to the possible
experience of traumatic events
6. Reviewing the company‘s liability insurance policy and notifying the insurance company of the complaint`s
existence (Fleischer; 2018)
7. Bringing in experts to assist with interview/investigation if required
8. Don’t prohibit the employees from talking about the incident » this could be considered as an unfair labor practice.

Sexual Harassment Of Women At Workplace, India

Sexual Harassment Of Women At Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition And Redressal) Act 2013 – POSH.

• Understanding role, responsibility and liability of Organizations/Employers, Management and Supervisors. The safety net or Compliance Audits
• Understand of Conduct Rules, Inbuilt mechanisms for fairness , Check-points to ensure Principles of Natural Justice Inquiry procedures and Reports
• Mechanism to implement the statute in the organization
• Questioning techniques, Reporting Methods

• Understanding Compliance –Parameters and Procedures
• How are Organizations and Management likely to be penalized for non-compliance
• Responsibility and liability of Employers, management and supervisors in ensuring that every employee is informed and sensitized of the tenets of POSH.
• Employee engagement and compliance regarding organizational conduct rules pertaining to POSH
• Impact of Posh compliance and breach on organization and employee growth and image.
• POSH Audit as a safety net for Organizations, management and supervisors in the event of a complaint of sexual harassment.

Academic Question on this Topic

Management (MBA) question on this topic:

Q) In your organization, ‘Smart Solutions & Services’, a midsize IT services company, all the mandatory requirements for compliance to “Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Protection, Prohibition, Redressal) Act 2013 have been put in place. You are Head of Marketing, with 11 people reporting to you directly and indirectly. What according to you are the five critical practices / initiatives / processes you need to genuinely implement to ensure that you are providing a safe working environment to all your women employees.

Q. How does one manage and combat sexual harassment in companies? What factors must be taken into consideration’?
From the size of the company, to the severity of the incident, sexual harassment requires human resource management methods that are victim-friendly, effective, and quick. On another dimension, a healthy and women-friendly culture is required among employees that disincentivizes sexual harassment. For large companies, the concern is usually mitigated by multiple HR professionals employed to create policies and
practices that both prevent and manage sexual harassment in the workplace. A smaller number of employees does not
decrease the occurrence of sexual harassment — in some ways, small firms are more susceptible. There are concerns with smaller companies of the cost of hiring HR professionals and the effectiveness of sensitization sessions. According to the 991 amendment to Title VII, compensatory and punitive damages can be claimed through intentional discrimination. Further, as per the U.S. Supreme Court, when there is the existence of a supervisor, any hostile work environment with discrimination in the form of tangible employment action is the liability of the employer.

studymumbai

StudyMumbai.com is an educational resource for students, parents, and teachers, with special focus on Mumbai. Our staff includes educators with several years of experience. Our mission is to simplify learning and to provide free education. Read more about us.