Sexual harassment cases weaken company morale

Despite increased public awareness, sexual harassment continues to plague Indian workplaces. If left unchecked, this could be devastating not only to the lives and careers of individual employees, but also invariably weaken productivity and the morale of employees.

A survey conducted by FICCI and Ernst and Young, showed that 31% of the respondent companies were not compliant with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (after its enactment), which mandates Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) being constituted to address complaints. Non-compliance among Indian companies was 36% whereas MNCS were marginally better, standing at 25%. Also, 40% of the respondents had not started training their ICC members. Indian companies fared low with 47%; and MNCS stood at 34%.

The survey also revealed that 35% of the companies surveyed were unaware of the penal consequences for non-compliance when constituting ICCS. Surprisingly, the issue was more pronounced among MNCS with almost 38% stating their ignorance.

Forty-four percent of the respondents’ organisations had not put up information on penal consequences of sexual harassment in their offices. The SME sector fared low with 71%not displaying such warnings.

“It is the responsibility of the employer to provide a safe workspace for women. This is not only a legal obligation, but is also required for the growth of the organisation. The issue, if not taken seriously, will send a wrong message to the employees. The resulting inse- curity is likely to lead to lower job-satisfaction and turnover, hence, causing loss of valuable employees, and thus incurring economical costs,” says A Didar Singh, secretary general, FICCI.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has also stated that there is a noticeable rise in sexual harassment cases at the workplace. From 249 complaints (reported) of sexual harassment at workplaces in the year 2013, the same doubled in the year 2014 to 526 complaints.

The report, Fostering Safe Workplaces, by FICCI and EY, laid out suggestions that were important for employers to follow for effective implementation of Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.