Penalty for Non-compliance of the Act– Section 26 of the Act provides for the penalty clause and prescribes punishment for the employer or the district officer in case of their failure to constitute the committee as per the requirement of Section 4 (1) or to take action under Section 13, 14 and 22.
This Section also prescribes punishment for the contravention and attempt or abetment to contravene the other provisions of the Act or the rules made thereunder. In such cases the employer or the district officer shall be punished with a fine which may extend to Rs. 50,000.
Further, if any employer convicted once for the offense, punishable under this Act, subsequently commits the same, he shall be liable to twice the punishment as in the first instance. The proviso states that if any other higher punishment is prescribed for the offense in any other law the court shall take due cognizance of the same while awarding the punishments.
Companies with poor POSH policies and implementations and malleable ICs were not viewed as a safe place to work. Through social media, as such cases started tumbling out, corporates realized that the need of the hour was to change with the times. Instilling confidence among employees, regarding the independence and competence of the IC is now very important.
Get Certificate in POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment). Gain knowledge on the module “Penalty for Non-compliance of the Act”.
