POSH Applicability: Who Is Protected and Which Committee Receives a Complaint
Identify POSH coverage, the ten-worker threshold, contract and trainee headcount, employer complaints and the correct IC or district LC route.
Coverage is wider than the permanent payroll
The Act protects an aggrieved woman of any age, whether employed at the workplace or not. For a dwelling or house, the definition addresses a woman employed there. The employee definition includes regular, temporary, daily-wage, contract, probationary, trainee, apprentice and voluntary arrangements, whether remunerated or not.
For coverage and headcount, do not count only women, full-time staff or names on one payroll. Identify the establishment and all relevant work arrangements. A visitor or client can be protected even though she is not included as an employee in a payroll list.
| Question | Practical consequence |
|---|---|
| Is the alleged conduct sexual and unwelcome? | Section 2(n) covers physical, verbal and non-verbal sexual conduct; assess the actual allegation, not just whether there was physical contact. |
| What connects it to a workplace? | Section 2(o) includes public/private workplaces, specified institutions, employment-related visits, employer-provided transport and dwellings. |
| Is the complaint against the legal employer? | Use section 2(g), including responsibility for management, supervision and control. A reporting manager is not automatically the employer for this purpose. |
Choose the statutory receiving committee
| Situation | Route |
|---|---|
| Establishment with ten or more workers | Employer constitutes an Internal Committee under section 4; use the committee covering the relevant workplace/unit. |
| Establishment has fewer than ten workers and no IC for that reason | District Local Committee under section 6. |
| Complaint is against the employer | District Local Committee under section 6; an employer cannot make their own IC the sole route. |
| IC should exist but is missing or expired | Do not use the employer’s non-compliance to reject the complaint. Preserve receipt evidence and seek prompt assistance from the District Officer/nodal route to identify the competent process. This does not turn every missing-IC situation into an automatic section 6 small-establishment exception. |
The section 6 exception is fewer than ten, so ten is not below the threshold. Section 4 also addresses offices/administrative units at different places or levels; do not assume one head-office committee covers every unit without examining the constitution and statutory requirement. See the committee-constitution guide.
Worked routing examples
Example A — ten workers: a standalone workplace has six regular employees, two contract workers and two trainees. On these assumed facts, 6 + 2 + 2 = 10; counting only the six regular employees gives the wrong threshold result. It needs the section 4 IC route, subject to an employer-respondent complaint.
Example B — eight workers: an independent eight-worker establishment has no IC because it is below the threshold. A woman alleging workplace harassment can approach the district LC. If her complaint is against the proprietor, the employer-respondent limb also points to the LC.
Example C — manager respondent: a 60-worker company receives a complaint against a team leader who has no role constituting the legal employer under section 2(g). Merely calling that person “boss” does not automatically replace the IC with the LC; record the actual role and authority.
What to record without blocking receipt
- Acknowledge the complaint and preserve the incident/last-incident date, workplace and receipt date.
- Record the employing entity/unit, headcount basis and any contractor or trainee involvement.
- Identify the respondent's actual role, the IC constitution/contacts or relevant district LC.
- Provide help with putting a complaint in writing where required by section 9; do not insist on a proprietary form as a precondition.
- Track the section 9 three-month period and any reasoned extension up to three further months through the competent committee. Routing or portal difficulty is not a reason to discard dates.
A company may adopt a broader gender-inclusive policy, but explain which statutory route applies under this Act and which separate policy route applies. Avoid promising every policy complaint the same statutory jurisdiction.
Questions readers ask
Is the threshold ten female employees?
No. The threshold concerns workers at the establishment, not a minimum number of women. Apply the broad work-arrangement definitions and the relevant workplace/unit facts.
Does a client or contract worker fall outside protection?
No automatic exclusion applies. The Act protects an aggrieved woman at the workplace whether employed there or not and includes contract workers in its employee definition. Identify the workplace connection and competent committee.
Exact primary sources
Source text checked on 21 October 2026. Examples on this page use assumed facts and do not describe a real complaint.
- POSH Act: Sections 2(a), 2(f), 2(g), 2(n), 2(o), 4, 6 and 9; WCD PDF pp2–6
- SHe-Box Ministry FAQ: IC constitution, workplace coverage and unorganised-sector/LC questions