Internal Compliance Comm

Internal Compliance Committee

The Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) is an obligation under the Act which must be adhered to by an employer of a workplace with more than ten employees as per Section 4 of the Act. The Internal Complaints Committee is the initial in-house body which must be approached for filing of a complaint relating to sexual harassment by the aggrieved women. The Internal Complaints Committee plays an important role in the functioning of the provisions of the Act and to ensure the fulfillment of its objectives. The major functions of the Internal Complaints Committee involve implementing the Policy relating to the prevention of sexual harassment, resolving complaints by the aggrieved and recommending actions to be taken by the employer.

The Act was enacted after the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of Vishaka and Others v. State of Rajasthan and Others (1997 (7) SCC 323), where the honorable court laid down guidelines relating to sexual harassment of women at the workplace, known as “Vishakha Guidelines”.

The Sexual Harassment of Women under the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act was enacted in the year 2013 with threefold purposes:

1. Providing protection to women against sexual harassment at the workplace,

2. To prevent sexual harassment

3. To provide a Redressal mechanism for complaints relating to sexual harassment at the workplace