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NEW DELHI \/ MUMBAI: Recently, in a leading ecommerce company in India, a senior manager was accused of sexual harassment<\/a>.\n
\nAfter an investigation by a private forensic investigator, it was found that the manager was indeed guilty, and he was terminated along with another senior official who allegedly connived with the manager. This was not all. The company also withheld the severance package the senior manager was entitled to.
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This may be a one-off incident, but more than two years after a law on prevention of sexual harassment at the workplace was enacted in India, and after alleged incidents of harassment in companies such as Infosys and iGate, even involving its then CEO Phaneesh Murthy, India Inc<\/a> is clearly becoming more sensitive to this issue.
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\nBesides adhering to the mandatory rule of appointing special committees to look into matters of harassment, some companies are also introducing special clauses in the employment contracts that specifically mention actions the company can take in case such incidents come to light. In many cases, they include severe penalties and forfeiting ‘golden handshake.’
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\n“Most companies are introducing clauses around sexual harassment in employment contracts as this is the law of the land and would be treated as misconduct. An employee could be sacked, if proven, and all contractual benefits except provident fund could be withheld,” said Sandeep Mehta, partner with law firm J Sagar Associates.
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\nKanika Bhutani, director, fraud investigation and dispute services, at EY, said there is a trend of putting harassment clauses in the employment contracts. “We see this happening at all levels mostly as companies modify their employment contracts. The new-age ecommerce companies are also complying with harassment issues as theones that have reached a certain scale have larger number of employees,” she said.
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Godrej<\/a> Industries and its associate companies inserted clauses around harassment in a set of documents that their employees are expected to sign at the time of joining along with clauses around IT and security around two years ago.
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\n“We fortified existing clauses and introduced new ones on harassment as we felt people must know and be fully aware and responsible towards the values of the organisation. This can’t be left for induction alone,” said Sumit Mitra, head of group human resource and corporate services at Godrej.
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\nSix months ago, Jindal Steel & Power introduced a compulsory certification programme on harassment in its induction programme for its 16,000 strong workforce.
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\nIndustry trackers said many companies, including MNCs and startups, are following the trend of introducing the harassment clause in contracts of senior executives.
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Atul Vora, CEO of search firm Transearch, said there’s greater awareness around harassment rules as there are strict guidelines from a legislative perspective. “Some companies do insist on building these clauses as they are more cognizant<\/a> and aware,” he said.
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\nSanjiv Sachar, senior consultant at search firm Egon Zehnder, said there is greater sensitivity around how leaders are going to be dealing with people after appointments in companies—how they address others, the words they use, and their appearances.
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\nSome experts say while companies can dismiss employees over harassment, the sexual harassment clause may not be enough to withhold benefits of employees.
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\n“While I have heard of companies putting new clauses in their employment contracts, withholding termination benefits in case of any sexual harassment complaints against the employee, I am not convinced these can be upheld in the court,” said Poorvi Chothani, founder and managing partner of Law-Quest, a law firm specialising in employment and immigration law.
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\n“These clauses could act as a good deterrent, but companies may not be able to hold back statutory benefits of the employees which are due to them on termination.”
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Tata Group<\/a>, one of the country’s oldest and most reputed conglomerates, believes its ethics and value system are good enough to prevent such incidents.
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\n“We adhere to the Tata code of conduct and the way we respond to transgression reinforces our belief in upholding it,” said NS Rajan, member, group executive council, and group chief human resources officer at Tata Sons.
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\n“Codification works when a company believes that in certain values and reinforces them, else it is just for optics. The belief and philosophy of an organisation should take precedence,” he said.
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\nIn many cases, companies are roping in private investigators to look in to harassment allegations.
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\nET view: Good First step<\/strong>
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\nDismissal without any benefits or severance pay for top executives found guilty of sexual harassment is a good step. But it is only a first step. The next step would be that once the executive has been found guilty, the firm makes the information public.
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\nThis will ensure that the executive does not get to move to another position of power only to violate the law again. This will also ensure that the victim’s career is not stymied in the industry, as well as protect other persons who could potentially become victims\n\n<\/body>","next_sibling":[{"msid":50854806,"title":"Spectrum sale: Vodafone may skip 700MHz on pricing","entity_type":"ARTICLE","link":"\/news\/spectrum-sale-vodafone-may-skip-700mhz-on-pricing\/50854806","category_name":null,"category_name_seo":"telecomnews"}],"related_content":[],"msid":50844993,"entity_type":"ARTICLE","title":"India Inc getting more sensitive to sexual harassment issue","synopsis":"Some experts say while companies can dismiss employees over harassment, the sexual harassment clause may not be enough to withhold benefits of employees.","titleseo":"telecomnews\/india-inc-getting-more-sensitive-to-sexual-harassment-issue","status":"ACTIVE","authors":[{"author_name":"Anumeha Chaturvedi","author_link":"\/author\/479226491\/anumeha-chaturvedi","author_image":"https:\/\/etimg.etb2bimg.com\/authorthumb\/479226491.cms?width=100&height=100&hostid=268","author_additional":{"thumbsize":true,"msid":479226491,"author_name":"Anumeha Chaturvedi","author_seo_name":"anumeha-chaturvedi","designation":"Assistant Editor","agency":false}},{"author_name":"Sachin Dave","author_link":"\/author\/479239123\/sachin-dave","author_image":"https:\/\/etimg.etb2bimg.com\/authorthumb\/479239123.cms?width=100&height=100&hostid=268","author_additional":{"thumbsize":true,"msid":479239123,"author_name":"Sachin Dave","author_seo_name":"sachin-dave","designation":"Senior Editor","agency":false}}],"Alttitle":{"minfo":""},"artag":"ET Bureau","artdate":"2016-02-04 09:48:30","lastupd":"2016-02-04 09:49:40","breadcrumbTags":["Enterprise IT","sexual harassment","Cognizant","Tata Group","Godrej","India Inc"],"secinfo":{"seolocation":"telecomnews\/india-inc-getting-more-sensitive-to-sexual-harassment-issue"}}" data-authors="[" anumeha chaturvedi","sachin dave"]" data-category-name="" data-category_id="" data-date="2016-02-04" data-index="article_1">
新德里和孟买:最近,在印度的一个领先的电子商务公司,被指控的高级经理性骚扰。私人法医调查员的调查之后,发现经理确实有罪,他终止与另一位高级官员涉嫌纵容的经理。这不是所有。该公司还保留了高级经理有权遣散费。
这可能是一次性事件,但两年多后预防工作场所性骚扰的法律颁布在印度,和性骚扰指控事件后公司印孚瑟斯和制药等,甚至包括其当时的CEO Phaneesh没吃,印度公司显然对这个问题越来越敏感。
除了遵守的强制性规则任命专门委员会调查问题的困扰,一些公司也引入特殊条款雇佣合同中特别提及该公司可以采取行动,以防此类事件。在许多情况下,它们包括严重的处罚和损失退职金。
“大多数公司引进条款在性骚扰雇佣合同,因为这是法律的土地,并将被视为不当行为。一个员工可能会被解雇,如果证实,所有合同的好处除了公积金可以保留,“Sandeep Mehta说,与律师事务所合作J Sagar同事。
Kanika同事、导演、欺诈调查与纠纷服务,在是说,有一种趋势的骚扰雇佣合同的条款。“我们认为这发生在所有水平主要是公司修改他们的雇佣合同。新时代的电子商务企业也遵守骚扰问题这方面已达到一定规模有较大数量的员工,”她说。
高德瑞治产业及其关联公司插入条款在骚扰一组文件,预计员工签署加入的时候连同周围的条款和安全在两年前。
“我们强化现有条款和引入新的骚扰我们觉得人知道,必须充分认识和负责任的对组织的价值。这不能独自去感应,”苏米特Mitra说戈德雷吉集团人力资源和企业服务。
六个月前,金达莱钢铁和电力引入强制认证计划在骚扰其感应计划为其16000员工。
isuppli表示,许多公司,包括跨国公司和初创企业,跟随趋势的引入高管的骚扰在合同条款。
猎头公司的首席执行官Atul Vora Transearch说,有更大的意识骚扰规则有严格的指导方针从立法的角度来看。“一些公司坚持构建这些条款认识到知道,”他说。
桑吉夫•萨查尔猎头公司亿康先达的高级顾问说,有更大的敏感性如何领导人任命后会和人打交道的公司他们解决其他人,他们使用的话,他们的外表。
一些专家说,公司可以解雇雇员在骚扰,性骚扰的条款可能不足以扣留员工的好处。
“虽然我听说过公司将新的雇佣合同的条款,拒绝终止福利的任何性骚扰投诉的员工,我不相信这些可以支持在法庭上,“说Poorvi Chothani, Law-Quest的创始人和合伙人律师事务所专门从事就业和移民法。
“这些条款可以作为一种良好的威慑,但公司可能无法阻挡法定福利的员工将在终止。”
塔塔集团,一个国家的最古老、最著名企业集团,认为其道德规范和价值体系足够优秀来防止这样的事件。
“我们坚持塔塔的行为准则,我们应对犯罪的方式加强了在坚持我们的信念,“NS Rajan说,成员,集团执行委员会,塔塔集团首席人力资源官的儿子。
“编纂工作当一个公司认为在某些价值观和强化,其他只是光学。一个组织的信仰和哲学应该优先考虑,”他说。
在许多情况下,公司在私家侦探拉运性骚扰指控。
等观点:良好的第一步
解雇没有任何好处或遣散费高管有罪的性骚扰是一个很好的一步。但这只是第一步。下一步将是,一旦执行而被判有罪,该公司让公众的信息。
这将确保执行不得移动到另一个位置的权力只有再次违反法律。这也将确保受害者的职业不是阻碍,以及保护其他的人可能会成为受害者
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