This policy “Prevention of Sexual Harassment Policy” has been framed in reference with the requirement of “Sexual Harassment of Workmen at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013” and rules framed thereunder (hereinafter referred to be as “the Act”). Accordingly, this Policy covers all the important aspects of the Act and rules framed thereunder. However, for any clarification, the respective provisions of the Act and rules shall prevail over this Policy.
Our Company is committed to provide a work environment that ensures every employee is treated with dignity and respect and afforded equitable treatment. The Company is also committed to promote a work environment that is conducive to the professional growth of every employees and encourages equality of opportunity. The Company will not tolerate any form of sexual harassment and is committed to take all necessary steps to ensure that its women employees are not subjected to any form of harassment.
This Policy applies to all categories of employees of the Company,
including permanent management and workmen, temporaries, trainees
and employees on contract at its workplace or at client sites. The
Company will not tolerate sexual Harassment, if engaged in by
clients or by suppliers or any other business associates. The
workplace includes:
i. All offices or other premises where the Company’s business is
conducted in the ordinary course.
ii. All company-related activities performed at any other site away
from the Company’s premises.
iii. Any place visited by the employee arising out of or during the
course of employment including transportation provided by the
employer for undertaking such journey.
According to Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention,
Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, Sexual Harassment includes any
one or more of the following unwelcome acts or behavior (whether
directly or by implication) namely:-
• physical contact and advances; or
• a demand or request for sexual favour; or
• making sexually coloured remarks; or
• showing pornography; or
• any other unwelcome physical, verbal or non-verbal conduct of
sexual nature; The Sexual harassment is “an unacceptable conduct of
a sexual nature, or other conduct based on sex abuse affecting the
dignity of men or women at work”. Sexual harassment will generally
be unwanted, unreasonable or offensive or it may be a combination of
all three. It may cause the employee who is being harassed to feel
threatened or humiliated. It may interfere with the employee’s job
performance, undermine job security or create a threatening or
intimidating working environment. Although, the word “harassment”
has connotations of repeated conduct, an employee can be harassed by
a single act. Sexual harassment can consist of several different
types of behavior, some of which are more obvious than others. This
list is not exhaustive but, for example
• Sexual harassment can take the form of gestures or leering,
• Sending letters,
• Gifts or offensive publications or the use of pin-ups.
• Unwanted jokes, gestures, offensive words on clothing, and
unwelcome comments and repartee.
• Touching and any other bodily contact such as scratching or
patting a coworker's back, grabbing an employee around the waist, or
interfering with an employee's ability to move.
• Repeated requests for dates that are turned down or unwanted
flirting.
• Transmitting or posting emails or pictures of a sexual or other
harassment-related nature.
• Displaying sexually suggestive objects, pictures, or posters.
• Playing sexually suggestive music.
Alternatively, sexual
harassment may consist of spoken comments, including unwanted
propositions, jokes of a sexual nature, questions or comments of a
sexual nature or the suggestion that an employee’s career can be
advanced by bestowing sexual favors (or alternatively that an
employee’s career will be damaged if they do not accede to sexual
requests). A third sort of sexual harassment involves physical
contact including “accidental” contact, or deliberate patting,
fondling or groping.
The Company has constituted an Internal Complaints Committee (“ICC”) in accordance with the Section 4 of the Act. The Committee is constituted at all administrative units or offices for redressal of sexual harassment complaint (made by the victim) and for ensuring time bound treatment of such complaints. The constitution of ICC has been approved by the Board of Directors in their meeting held on June 17, 2024. Following are the members of the committee:
| Name | Role |
|---|---|
| Mrs. Neeru Saini | Presiding Officer |
| Mrs. Pooja | Member |
| Mr. Uday Jagannath Shetty | Member |
| Ms. Shweta Singh | Member |
At the time of inquiry, Minimum 3 members including Presiding Officer shall be present. The group shall include the Presiding Officer and at least three members, one-half of whom shall be women.
a) Any employee who feels and is being sexually harassed directly or
indirectly may submit a complaint of the alleged incident to any
member of the Committee in writing with his/her signature within 3
Months of occurrence of incident. Internal Complaint Committee may
extend the time limit for a reasonable cause.
b) Complaint shall be submitted in six copies along with supporting
documents and the names and address of witnesses.
c) If complaint cannot be made in writing Committee shall provide
reasonable assistance to employee for making complaint in writing.
d) If the aggrieved employee is unable to make complaint then any of
her legal heir may make a complaint on his/ her behalf.
e) The committee shall send one copy of complaint to the respondent
within a period of 7 days and respondent shall file his reply within
a period of 10 days.
f) The committee at the request of aggrieved employee shall take the
steps to settle the case through conciliation without involving any
monetary settlement as a basis of conciliation and where the
settlement has been arrived, no inquiry shall be conducted.
g) In case, respondent is an employee, the committee shall, proceed
to make an inquiry in accordance with the provisions of service
rules applicable to the respondent or other prescribed rules and in
case of domestic worker, the local committee shall forward the
complaint to the police within 7 (Seven) days for registering the
case under Indian Penal Code, 1860, except for those cases which has
been arrived for settlement as mentioned in point (f) above.
h) The inquiry shall be completed within a period of 90 days.
i) The committee shall provide a report of findings to the employer
within 10 days of completion of inquiry and also to the concerned
parties and opportunity of being heard shall also be given to them.
j) If allegation against the respondent has been proved, the
committee shall recommend to the employer:-
• to take adequate action for sexual harassment as a misconduct in
accordance with the provisions of the service rules applicable to
the respondent;
• to deduct, notwithstanding anything in the service rules
applicable to the respondent, from the salary or wages of the
respondent such sum as it may consider appropriate.
k) In case, the complaint is found to be false, the Complainant
shall, if deemed fit, be liable for appropriate disciplinary action
by the Management but a mere inability to substantiate a complaint
or provide adequate proof need not attract action against the
Complainant.
l) If the Complainant was aggrieved from the recommendation made by
Committee to employer then he/she may prefer appeal to the appellate
authority notified under clause (a) of Section 2 of the Industrial
Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946.
m) The Committee will maintain a register to endorse the complaint
received by it and keep the contents confidential, if it is so
desired, except to use the same for discreet investigation.
n) The Committee will hold a meeting with the Complainant within
five days of the receipt of the complaint, but no later than a week
in any case.
o) At the first meeting, the Committee members shall hear the
Complainant and record her/his allegations. The Complainant can also
submit any corroborative material with a documentary proof, oral or
written material, etc., to substantiate his/ her complaint. If the
Complainant does not wish to depose personally due to embarrassment
of narration of event, a lady officer for lady employees involved
and a male officer for male employees, involved shall meet and
record the statement.
p) Thereafter, the person against whom complaint is made may be
called for a deposition before the Committee and an opportunity will
be given to him/ her to give an explanation, where after, an
“Enquiry” shall be conducted and concluded.
q) In the event, the complaint does not fall under the purview of
Sexual Harassment or the complaint does not mean an offence of
Sexual Harassment, the same would be dropped after recording the
reasons thereof in writing.
a) The Internal Committee shall in each calendar year prepare an
annual report and submit the same to the employer which shall have
following details included in its annual report:-
• number of complaints filed during the financial year;
• number of complaints disposed of during the financial year;
• number of complaints pending for more than 90 days;
• number of workshop or awareness programme against sexual
harassment carried out; and
• nature of action taken by the employer.
The following disclosure shall be made in corporate governance
report forming part of annual report in respect to sexual
harassment:-
• number of complaints filed during the financial year
• number of complaints disposed of during the financial year
• number of complaints pending as on end of the financial year.
a) The Committee shall immediately proceed with the Enquiry and
communicate the same to the Complainant and person against whom
complaint is made.
b) The Committee shall prepare and hand over the Statement of
Allegation to the person against whom complaint is made and give
him/ her an opportunity to submit a written explanation if he/ she
so desires within 7 days of receipt of the same.
c) The Complainant shall be provided with a copy of the written
explanation submitted by the person against whom complaint is made.
d) If the Complainant or the person against whom complaint is made
desires any witness/es to be called, they shall communicate in
writing to the Committee the names of witness/es whom they propose
to call.
e) If the Complainant desires to tender any documents by way of
evidence before the Committee, she/ he shall supply original copies
of such documents. Similarly, if the person against whom complaint
is made desires to tender any documents in evidence before the
Committee she/ he shall supply original copies of such documents.
Both shall affix her/ her signature on the respective documents to
certify these to be original copies.
f) The Committee shall call upon all witnesses mentioned by both the
parties.
g) The Committee shall provide every reasonable opportunity to the
Complainant and to the person against whom complaint is made, for
putting forward and defending their respective case.
h) The Committee shall complete the “Enquiry” within reasonable
period but not beyond three months and communicate its findings and
its recommendations for action to the HR . The report of the
committee shall be treated as an enquiry report on the basis of
which an erring employee can be awarded appropriate punishment
straightaway.
i) The HR will direct appropriate action in accordance with the
recommendation proposed by the Committee.
j) The Committee shall be governed by such rules as may be framed by
the Supreme Court orders or any other legislation enacted later on.
a) The Committee may recommend to the HR Head action which may
include transfer or any of the other appropriate disciplinary
action.
b) The management shall provide all necessary assistance for the
purpose of ensuring full, effective and speedy implementation of
this Policy.
c) Where sexual harassment occurs as a result of an act or omission
by any third party or outsider, TPC shall take all steps necessary
and reasonable to assist the affected person in terms of support and
preventive action.
d) The Committee shall analyze and put up report on all complaints
of this nature at the end of the year for submission to HR Head.
e) In case, the Committee finds the degree of offence coverable
under the Indian Penal Code, then this fact shall be mentioned in
its report and appropriate action shall be initiated by the
Management, for making a Police Complaint.
The Company understands that it is difficult for the victim to come
forward with a complaint of sexual harassment and recognizes the
victim’s interest in keeping the matter confidential. To protect the
interests of the victim, the accused person and others who may
report incidents of sexual harassment, confidentiality will be
maintained throughout the investigatory process to the extent
practicable and appropriate under the circumstances.
The contents of complaint, the identity and addresses of the
aggrieved woman, respondent and witnesses, any information relating
to conciliation and inquiry proceedings, recommendations of the
Internal Committee and the action taken by the employer shall not be
published, communicated or made known to the public, press and media
in any manner.
All records of complaints, including contents of meetings, results of investigations and other relevant material will be kept confidential by the Company except where disclosure is required under disciplinary or other remedial processes.
The Board of Directors on its own and/ or as per the recommendations of the Internal Complaint Committee may amend this Policy, as and when required. In case of any recommendation(s), clarification(s), circular(s), etc. issued by the relevant authorities, not being consistent with the provisions of this Policy, which are extracted from applicable provisions of the Act, Companies Act, 2013, SEBI (Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements) Regulations, 2015 or applicable provision of any other acts or rules, to the extent it may be applicable to our Company, then such amendment(s), clarification(s), circular(s), etc. shall prevail upon the provisions hereunder and this Policy shall stand amended accordingly from the effective date as laid down under such amendment(s), clarification(s), circular(s), etc. However, to bring the effects of such amendments(s), clarification(s), circular(s), etc. Committee may recommend such changes in this Policy to the Board of Directors for their approval in the meeting of the Board of Directors.
This policy adopted by the Board of director in their meeting held on June 17, 2024