PoSH complaints are rising at India's biggest companies. What small employers should learn

On 19 September 2026, Business Standard, citing an Economic Times analysis, reported that companies in the Nifty 50 index recorded 1,327 complaints under the PoSH Act in FY26, up 4.6% from 1,269 the year before. Excluding two companies without comparable data, complaints have now risen for two consecutive years: 6.3% in FY25 and 5.2% in FY26.

The headline sounds like bad news. The experts quoted in the coverage read it differently, and their reading is the useful part for anyone running HR at a company with 15, 50 or 300 people.

What the numbers say, and what they do not

A rise in reported complaints is not the same as a rise in harassment. Several experts quoted in the reporting attributed the increase partly to greater awareness of the law and to more confidence that a complaint will be acted on. One described it as "a sign of greater trust in the system". Another credited the mandatory annual sensitisation that large companies run.

Two other points from the coverage deserve attention:

• Complaints are increasingly digital. Harassment over messaging apps, email and social media has become more prominent, particularly since hybrid and remote work became normal.
• More complaints involve peers. The coverage noted an increase in complaints between colleagues at the same level, not only between a senior and a subordinate. That makes evidence and context harder for an Internal Committee to assess.

The same reporting also pointed at the gap. Large listed companies have to disclose PoSH data, so their numbers are visible. Smaller companies and the informal sector, in the words of one advocate quoted, face significant gaps: weak mechanisms, missing designated officers in some districts and limited access to redressal.

The lesson for a small employer is not "complaints are rising, brace yourself". It is closer to the opposite: a company that receives zero complaints a year is not necessarily a safe company. It may be a company where nobody believes reporting is worth the risk.

The law has not changed. Your exposure has

None of this reporting reflects a change in the Act. The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 still asks the same things of every employer, and our PoSH basics for small companies walks through them. In brief:

• Every employer with ten or more workers must constitute an Internal Committee, with a senior woman as Presiding Officer, at least two employee members and one external member, and at least half its members women.
• A complaint is generally to be made within three months of the incident, extendable for recorded reasons.
• The inquiry is to be completed within ninety days.
• Employers must display the consequences of sexual harassment and the IC's composition, organise awareness programmes, and support the committee with what it needs to function.
• An employer who fails to constitute an IC or to comply with the Act can be fined up to ₹50,000, with higher penalties for repeat contraventions.

What has changed is the context. Employees, particularly younger ones, know the Act exists. Digital harassment leaves evidence that did not exist a decade ago. And the visibility of large-company numbers makes it harder for anyone to argue that PoSH is a big-company concern.

Why small companies get this wrong

The failure modes in small companies are predictable:

1. The IC exists only on paper. It was constituted once, the external member's term lapsed, two members have since left, and nobody noticed.
2. Nobody has been trained. IC members who have never handled an inquiry make procedural mistakes that can undo a fair outcome.
3. The policy is a PDF nobody has read. Employees do not know who the IC members are or how to reach them.
4. Peer-to-peer and digital cases are not anticipated. Policies written around manager-and-subordinate scenarios do not prepare anyone for a complaint about messages in a team chat group.
5. The founder is the escalation path. In a small company, the person complained about can be close to, or be, the decision-maker. That is exactly when an external member and the Local Committee route matter.

A checklist for this quarter

1. Audit the IC today. Confirm every member is still with the company, terms have not expired, the external member is properly appointed, and at least half the members are women. Replace anyone who has left.
2. Train the IC. Members should understand inquiry procedure, natural justice, confidentiality and timelines before a complaint arrives, not after.
3. Update the policy for digital and peer cases. State explicitly that conduct over work chat, email, video calls and social media is covered, and that complaints against peers are handled the same way as complaints against seniors.
4. Make the IC findable. Names, contact details and the complaint route should be on the notice board, the intranet and in the onboarding pack.
5. Run awareness sessions. Annual at minimum, and for every new joiner as part of onboarding.
6. Get acknowledgements. Ask every employee to confirm they have read the policy. It helps them, and it is evidence that you did your part.
7. Keep the annual report on schedule. The IC's annual report and its forwarding to the District Officer are statutory, even in a year with no complaints.
8. Separate PoSH from other channels. If you also run a grievance or whistleblower channel, make sure it points PoSH complaints to the IC rather than handling them itself.

Where ZekoHR fits

Software cannot make a workplace safe; people and process do. What it can do is take the paperwork friction out of the parts that are easy to neglect. In ZekoHR you can publish your PoSH policy as an organisation document and see who has acknowledged it and who has not, and add PoSH awareness to your onboarding templates so no joiner skips it. ZekoHR's grievance and whistleblower module supports named and anonymous reports for concerns such as fraud or retaliation; PoSH complaints belong with your Internal Committee under the Act's own process, and your policy should say so. Our piece on why private companies need a whistleblower policy explains how the two channels sit side by side.

Sources

• POSH complaints at Nifty 50 firms rise 4.6% in FY26 as awareness grows (Business Standard, 19 September 2026)
• The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (India Code)
• SHe-Box portal (Ministry of Women and Child Development)

This article is general information, not legal advice. Obligations under the PoSH Act and state rules can vary with the facts of each workplace; confirm your obligations with a qualified professional.