With the rise of the concepts of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in the workplace, the number of cases of sexual harassment has risen dramatically over time. Here comes the role of a POSH Consultant There is no punishment for this growing societal annoyance, despite the installation of different steps to prevent such activities.
Let us dive deeper into Career as a Consultant for Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) at workplace!
What is Sexual Harassment at workplace?
Sexual harassment at workplace is defined as any unwelcome sexual advance or behaviour made with the intent of intimidating a coworker or creating an uncomfortable work atmosphere. The harasser could be a senior or junior coworker. Even a non-employee, such as a vendor or consumer, might be held liable. Similarly, the victim can be either a man or a woman, and they can even be forced to be of the same gender. However, in the vast majority of cases, women are the victims and men are the harassers.
Responsibility as POSH Consultant
- Policy review and development, as well as legal awareness training for employees and top management.
- Assist in the formation of an internal complaints committee.
- Provide an ICC external member.
- Assist the organisation in maintaining legal compliance.
- Provide employees with an online learning programme.
Career as POSH Consultant
Anti-sexual harassment compliance has evolved from a checklist-based duty where the work was merely in form to a substantive task as a result of global changes such as the #metoo campaign. You can open your own consultancy firm or can find jobs in the following sectors –
- Heavy Industries
- Media
- Construction
- Legal Finance
- Media Entertainment
- Technology
- Hospitality
- Mining
- Governmental bodies
- Manufacturing
- Advertising
- Infrastructure
Global organisations and Indian businesses, especially fast-growing startups that rely on venture financing and private equity, are eager to comply because they don’t want to risk the reputational costs of non-compliance or the legal damages that might result from various types of employment lawsuits. There are many important areas where internal HR managers, external HR consultants, and lawyers can help firms implement POSH.
What is special about this career?
- Work on POSH implementation is highly specialist, involving a mix of legal, communication, training, decision-making, compliance, and administrative expertise.
- Armchair experts, activists, and misandrists are not welcome in organisations. They require a balanced viewpoint.
- A corporate lawyer may not be adequate for the job since he or she lacks the necessary specialised training (even if there is no eligibility bar under the law for a lawyer to advise an organisation or be appointed as an external member of the ICC.)
- Corporate legal firms also prefer to hire external experts for their own training, which may surprise you. They are aware that anti-sexual harassment legislation has become increasingly specialised.
Eligibility
Other than representatives for NGOs or organisations dedicated to the cause of women, any person who is experienced with matters relevant to sexual harassment can be engaged as an external member of ICCs under the POSH Act and the guidelines.
Apart from a basic understanding of sexual harassment issues, there are no technical requirements for being hired as an external member. You do not need a university degree to undertake POSH implementation work, but you will need the necessary abilities. You’ll also need to present your certificate as proof of your abilities.
Average Salary of POSH Consultant
Employees working as Legal Consultant Posh Act 2013 earn an average of 16 lakhs per year, with the majority of salaries ranging from 16 lakhs to 16 lakhs per year based on 1 profiles. Employees in the top ten percent make more than 16 lakhs per year.
Resources for POSH Consultant
Before you can become an expert in desired areas, you must first build a solid base. Before you can move on to practical teaching, you’ll need to have the right applied skills. To gain a full understanding of the domain, you can use the following tools:
- Firstly, Online Tutorials for POSH
- Online trainings and webinars for POSH Consultancy
- Also, Certification Courses from verified sources such as Vskills, Coursera, Udemy and so on.
- In addition, Online communities
- Moreover, Blogs and study material from experts in this field and many more.
Here are some examples of how you can improve your abilities:
- Freelancing
- Internships
- Apprenticeship programs
The above steps will help you to get this domain started. It’s a long way to go, however. You can take an advanced course to reach a new level of skills.
Some resources offered by Vskills
Vskills offer POSH Consultancy certification for all those interested in working in this field. This certification course covers the following topics –
- Introduction to Sexual Harassment
- Legal Framework in India
- PoSH Act 2013 Introduction
- Prevention and Prohibition in PoSH Act 2013
- Redressal of Sexual Harassment in PoSH Act 2013
- Process of Monitoring PoSH Act 2013
- Anti-Sexual Harassment Policy
- Communication and Training of Employees
- Miscellaneous
Vskills also offers free practice tests and online tutorials to supplement the learning process. You can check them by clicking on the following links –
Discover the career opportunities and other prospects of career in POSH Consultancy. Hurry up and start preparing now with Vskills.in!