India: Reporting Compliance with Sexual Harassment Prevention Rules
An amendment to the rules* regarding the reporting in Annual Accounts of compliance with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redress) Act 2013 (PoSH Act), comes into effect on July 14th 2025.
The amended rules now require all companies to include in the Board Report to their Annual Accounts, in addition to the existing requirement of stating compliance with PoSH, the following information:
- the number of complaints of sexual harassment received in the year;
- the number of complaints disposed of during the year; and
- the number of cases pending for more than 90 days (the timeline for completing an enquiry of a complaint, under PoSH).
The amended rules also require the inclusion of a statement in the Board Report, that the company has complied with the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961.
In addition, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs requires companies to state the number of their female, male and transgender employees, as at the end of the financial year.
* Amending statute: Companies (Accounts) Second Amendment Rules, 2025 (Amended Rules).
This is a high level general update only. Legal advice should be obtained on specific circumstances.