When Is an Internal Committee Required?
POSH & Workplace Respect
Short answer: if your workplace has 10 or more employees, the employer must constitute an Internal Committee (IC). Below that, complaints go to the Local Committee set up by the District Officer. But a few details decide how this applies to you, and they are where organisations most often slip.
This article is general information, not legal advice.
The 10-employee line
Under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, every employer must constitute an Internal Committee by a written order. The Act sets up a Local Committee in each district to receive complaints from workplaces where an Internal Committee has not been constituted because there are fewer than ten workers.
Put simply: 10 or more means you need an IC. The Act's wording for the lower end is "fewer than ten", so a workplace with exactly ten people is on the IC side of the line, not the Local Committee side.
"Each office" matters as much as the headcount
The Act says that where an organisation has offices or administrative units at different places or at divisional or sub-divisional level, an Internal Committee is to be constituted at all of them.
So a company with a head office and three branch offices should not assume one committee in the head office covers everyone. The Act's expectation is an IC for each office or administrative unit. How to count staff across several small locations can be a genuine question, and it is one to settle with a qualified legal professional rather than by guesswork.
Who counts as an "employee"?
Probably more people than you expect. The Act's definition covers people working on a regular, temporary, ad hoc or daily-wage basis, directly or through an agent or contractor. It also includes co-workers, contract workers, probationers, trainees and apprentices, and people working on a voluntary basis, paid or not.
When you count, think beyond your payroll list. Interns, contract staff and trainees are part of the picture the Act has in mind.
When a Local Committee applies instead
A Local Committee is the route in two main situations:
- The workplace has fewer than ten workers, so no IC has been constituted.
- The complaint is against the employer.
The second point surprises many people. Even a large organisation with a well-run IC cannot expect its own IC to handle a complaint made against the employer. That is why the Local Committee exists alongside the IC.
Below 10 employees: should you still set up a committee?
The Act does not require an IC below the threshold. Some small organisations choose to name a trusted internal point of contact and a clear reporting route anyway, because a complaint can arise in a team of any size. That is a good practice and a choice, not a legal requirement, so describe it that way in your policy.
What happens if an employer does not constitute one
An employer who fails to constitute an Internal Committee can be fined up to ₹50,000. For repeated contraventions, the Act provides for a higher penalty and possible action on a licence or registration needed to carry on the business. The figure is the maximum, not a standard price, and the reputational cost of an unconstituted IC when a complaint does arrive is usually larger.
A quick self-check
You may want to ask yourself:
- Is there a written order constituting the IC, and is it current?
- Does every office or administrative unit have its own?
- Is the Presiding Officer a senior-level woman employee, and are at least half the members women?
- Has an external member been appointed?
- Has any member's three-year term run out?
- Are the committee's details displayed where employees can see them?
If you cannot answer one of these with confidence, it is worth a closer look. Our free POSH Readiness Checklist helps you spot gaps like these.
Where training helps
Constituting the committee is the start, not the finish. Members still need to understand their role, the stages of a complaint and how to stay fair and confidential. That is what a structured orientation is for. See IC/ICC Member Training, or talk to us about a POSH training programme for your teams.
Related reading: Internal Committee or ICC: What Is the Correct Term? · Role of the External Member in an IC
Information on this website is for training and general awareness. It does not constitute legal advice. Organisations should obtain advice appropriate to their facts and applicable law.
Sources: Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 and Rules, 2013 — text of the Act and Rules.