HR Law Hotline
March 06, 2020
POSH Committee - Dealing with bias and conflict of interest

This article was originally published on 28th February 2020 in


The POSH Act and the rules thereunder provide that during the inquiry into a complaint, both parties should be given an opportunity of being heard. However, the POSH Act does not provide clarity about the ways to handle situations of bias or conflict of interests, if they do arise. Here are some ways to deal with such situations.

Thanks to India’s POSH Act and the #MeToo movement, India continues to see a rise in sexual harassment complaints being filed at workplaces. With that, there has also been an increase in cases brought to the courts.

Some cases have questioned the inquiry proceedings by the Internal Complaints Committee (IC) constituted by the employer. While there may be various reasons, it implies that the IC composition, the procedure followed and the inquiry report, may also be tested in the courts. The first principle of natural justice is that no one should be made judge in his own case, because it leads to a bias or conflict of interest.

For complete article, click here.

 

Disclaimer

The contents of this hotline should not be construed as legal opinion. View detailed disclaimer.

This Hotline provides general information existing at the time of preparation. The Hotline is intended as a news update and Nishith Desai Associates neither assumes nor accepts any responsibility for any loss arising to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of any material contained in this Hotline. It is recommended that professional advice be taken based on the specific facts and circumstances. This Hotline does not substitute the need to refer to the original pronouncements.

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HR Law Hotline

March 06, 2020

POSH Committee - Dealing with bias and conflict of interest


This article was originally published on 28th February 2020 in


The POSH Act and the rules thereunder provide that during the inquiry into a complaint, both parties should be given an opportunity of being heard. However, the POSH Act does not provide clarity about the ways to handle situations of bias or conflict of interests, if they do arise. Here are some ways to deal with such situations.

Thanks to India’s POSH Act and the #MeToo movement, India continues to see a rise in sexual harassment complaints being filed at workplaces. With that, there has also been an increase in cases brought to the courts.

Some cases have questioned the inquiry proceedings by the Internal Complaints Committee (IC) constituted by the employer. While there may be various reasons, it implies that the IC composition, the procedure followed and the inquiry report, may also be tested in the courts. The first principle of natural justice is that no one should be made judge in his own case, because it leads to a bias or conflict of interest.

For complete article, click here.

 

Disclaimer

The contents of this hotline should not be construed as legal opinion. View detailed disclaimer.

This Hotline provides general information existing at the time of preparation. The Hotline is intended as a news update and Nishith Desai Associates neither assumes nor accepts any responsibility for any loss arising to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of any material contained in this Hotline. It is recommended that professional advice be taken based on the specific facts and circumstances. This Hotline does not substitute the need to refer to the original pronouncements.

This is not a Spam mail. You have received this mail because you have either requested for it or someone must have suggested your name. Since India has no anti-spamming law, we refer to the US directive, which states that a mail cannot be considered Spam if it contains the sender's contact information, which this mail does. In case this mail doesn't concern you, please unsubscribe from mailing list.