Executive Certification in Sexual Harassment Prevention and Workplace Diversity

Course

Online

₹ 25,000 VAT incl.

Description

  • Type

    Course

  • Methodology

    Online

  • Duration

    3 Months

  • Start date

    Different dates available

Under the anti-sexual harassment law of 2013, every workspace must follow the guidelines mentioned under this law. One of the guidelines mentioned in this law is constituting an Internal Complaints Committee with one external member. This committee requires at least three individuals from the organization and an external expert member. The power and duties of this committee is compared to that of a civil court. While the committee members are required to undergo training sessions to understand the legal, technical and procedural elements of this position, it is usually the external expert member who should ideally shoulder the responsibility of training the rest of the committee members. This external member is required to be an expert in this law and will be advising the organization in implementation and carrying out necessary activities as prescribed under the law.

Currently the organizations are seeking out legal and NGO professionals to take charge of these responsibilities. However, these professionals come with their own areas of expertise and set of limitations that have one or more of the element missing to understand the full scope of their role as an external expert member. This program from West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) has been designed keeping in mind the gaps that are currently faced by potential external members and also preparing other professionals such as Human Resource, Consultants, lawyers, NGO workers, management professionals, CA and CS to advise organizations to implement this law in its complete essence and build safe workplaces.

Facilities

Location

Start date

Online

Start date

Different dates availableEnrolment now open

About this course

The course aims to fulfill the following objectives:
To provide the HR professionals and legal managers with a structured set of skills and knowledge components required to build a diverse workplace and implement the guidelines mentioned under the Sexual Harassment Act of 2013.
To equip CA, CS, HR and NGO professionals with the skills and knowledge required to cater to the needs required out of them as an external member on the board of Internal Complaints Committees.
To prepare business consultants, CA/CS, legal professionals to build an extension of their existing practice as a workplace diversity and sexual harassment prevention expert.

After completion of this course, you can expand your current role as a lawyer, HR professional, social worker, CA/CS, consultant and trainer into an external member on the board of Internal Complaints Committee of organizations. Your new set of responsibilities and expertise will now involve activities of advising companies on building safe work places devoid of any form of harassment including sexual harassment; training the ICC members of organizations on legal, procedural and behavioral aspects of Sexual Harassment Act of 2013; sexual harassment safety auditor for workplaces; facilitator on sensitization activities on Sexual harassment Act of 2013. This course equips you with all the necessary requirements of starting your own consultancy as a workplace diversity and sexual harassment prevention expert.

On completion of this course, you will join other industry experts and practitioner from the similar field.Your profile will be showcased on our industry practitioners portal.

Any graduate is eligible for the course. Please provide us with a copy of your graduation certificate.

This course is ideal for Lawyers, Human Resource professionals, CAs, CSs, management professionals, NGO and social workers. If you are currently part of an Internal Complaints Committee, aspire to be part of such committee, wish to work in the field of workplace diversity and sexual harassment prevention as a consultant or external expert member, then this course is for you.

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Subjects

  • Sexual Harassment Prevention
  • Workplace Diversity
  • Organisational Context
  • Prevention Laws
  • HR
  • Gender-neutral framework
  • Gender inequality prevention
  • Workplace Law
  • Audit
  • Human Rights

Course programme

MODULE I:
Understanding sexual harassment in an organisational context
Psychology of sexual harassment and participation of women in the workplace.
History of fight against sexual harassment in India
Vishakha Guidelines and the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 – comparison of compliance requirements and responsibility levels of employers and organizations
Role of employer in prevention of sexual harassment and employer's responsibilities under-sexual harassment prevention laws
Key roadblocks for organisations in implementation of 2013 Act
Relevance of the act for employees, committee members, HR personnel, in-house lawyers, accountants and secretaries
Role and tasks of a Sexual Harassment Prevention and Workplace Diversity Expert

MODULE II:
Overview of Other compliance requirements and employer's duties under anti-sexual harassment law
Fulfilling the mandatory duties of employees under Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013
Fulfilling the mandatory duties of employees under Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013
Providing necessary facilities to the member of ICC
Preparation of annual reports
Communication and training for employees
Modifying employment agreements and policy in light of anti-sexual harassment law
Sample notices for display in organizational premises
Reporting and other compliances
Other statutory requirements
Consequences of violation of obligations
Non-constitution of ICC
Non-implementation the decision of the ICC
Reputation hazards for businesses in connection with sexual harassment laws
Risk mitigation of employers’ liabilities – D&O and Employment Practices Liability Insurance
Anti-sexual harassment audits
Necessity and objective of a sexual harassment audit
Professionals and officers involved in an audit and their roles
Reporting and information collection systems for audit
Components of an audit
Identification of relevant scenarios where sexual harassment at work may arise
Interviews with employees and management to understand past instances of sexual harassment cases
Evaluation of existing sexual harassment redressal mechanisms in the organisation
Understanding management stance on sexual harassment – is it consistent with the notion of the act
Methods for assessment of the skill-level of committee members
Checklists for conducting a compliance audit
How to write audit report
Suggested format for audit report

MODULE III:
Creating and implementing an anti-sexual harassment policy & standard practices
Preparatory steps in implementation
Management and employee participation / inputs to identify the needs of the organization
Explaining reputational and other risks of non-compliance and onboarding relevant officers towards legal compliance and sensitization
Developing a uniform and consistent management stance on sexual harassment
Identifying risks and objectives of the organization
Drafting a need-based sexual-harassment prevention policy
Scope of a sexual harassment prevention policy and variations
Essential elements of a sexual harassment prevention policy
What constitutes Sexual harassment?
Is sexual harassment gender neutral?
Does the policy apply to situations not contemplated by the act
Complainant's rights and remedies available
Identifying whether the sexual harassment took place in the "workplace"
Checklist for drafting a custom-sexual harassment prevention policy
Drafting policies for specific cases and other related company policies
Implementation of a gender-neutral framework
Sexual harassment policies in schools and educational institutions
Sexual harassment policies for hospitals and medical institutions
Aligning other company policies to prevent sexual harassment
Dissemination and publicity of sexual harassment policy

MODULE IV:
Sensitisation and training of employees
Knowledge components of a sensitization program - Any effective sensitization program for employees must have special information on the following topics:
What acts constitute sexual harassment?
What should you do in case you face sexual harassment? Steps for filing a complaint and reliefs.
Under which circumstances does the act accord protection to working women?
What should the defendant do in case of a complaint against him?
How to handle a complaint that is not genuine?
How should male and transgender employees deal with sexual harassment at workplace?
Implementation of workshops for sensitization
Planning a workshop
Simulation activities
How to communicate with the employees
Participative decision making at workshops
Modes of sensitisation - workshop, intranet or video-conferencing
Content generation for sensitization – case studies
Evaluation techniques and frequency
Provision of take-away information kit andsample presentations

MODULE V:
Setting up ICC capacity building programs (for ICCs)
Constitution of ICC
Establishing ICC and selection of members
Identifying suitable external member of the ICC
Terms of engagement with external members
Challenges in creation of ICC
How to conduct meetings and hearings
ICC’s compliance obligations under the act
Compliance obligations of ICCs
Record keeping obligations
Maintenance of confidentiality
Implementation monitoring – how to ensure the organization complies with ICC’s recommendations
Employer’s duties with respect to ICC
Developing handbook for ICC members
Interface between the employer and ICC
Independence of ICC
Role of different organisational actors in tackling sexual harassment
Pre-complaint employee counselling
Creating an effective complaints mechanism

MODULE VI:
Decision-making process by the ICC -
Procedure and timelines for the ICC to decide a sexual harassment complaint
Filing complaint
Reply by the accused
Settlement
Interim measures and how to identify appropriate interim measures
Enquiry process
Recommendation
Natural justice principles
Decision-making process
Notice for hearing
Oral hearing
Presentation of evidence
Recording the deposition of witness
Examination and Cross-examination
Inquiry-related powers
Powers as a Civil Court
Cooperation of employer
How to enforce attendance, issue summons and attachment
Guidelines on quantifying penalties
How to evaluate evidence
Final reliefs, how to write orders and reports
How to handle frivolous complaints
Handling sexual harassment complaintsin government departments and public sector bodies

MODULE VII:
Advanced topics in workplace diversity Gender Neutral Workplaces, Workplace Harassment and Ensuring Workplace Diversity
Framework for gender-neutral implementation of the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013
Workplace discrimination and harassment - Indian law and standards in government and private enterprises
International standards, best practices and laws
Voluntary systems to protect employees from workplace harassment and discrimination

Executive Certification in Sexual Harassment Prevention and Workplace Diversity

₹ 25,000 VAT incl.