Most people remember their first POSH session as a slide deck and a signature on an attendance sheet. That is a missed opportunity. Done well, POSH training is one of the few hours in a working year when an organisation tells every employee, out loud, what kind of place it intends to be.
So what should a corporate POSH training programme include? Here is the framework we use at Jijiwisha Society.
1. The law, explained in human language
Employees need to understand the POSH Act, 2013 without legal jargon:
- What counts as sexual harassment under Section 2(n): physical contact and advances, a demand or request for sexual favours, sexually coloured remarks, showing pornography, and any other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature.
- The circumstances the Act treats as harassment, such as implied promises of preferential treatment, threats about employment, or a hostile work environment.
- What "workplace" means. It goes well beyond the office, covering places visited in the course of work and transport provided by the employer.
- Who is covered: permanent staff, contract workers, trainees, interns and others working at the workplace.
2. Real scenarios, not definitions
People do not learn boundaries from definitions. They learn them from situations they recognise: a late-night message from a manager, a "joke" in the team WhatsApp group, an off-site where the drinks flow, a client who will not take no for an answer. Good training uses Indian, sector-specific scenarios and asks participants to decide what they would do.
3. The complaint process, step by step
Everyone should leave knowing:
- Who the Internal Committee members are, and how to reach them.
- That a written complaint can be filed within three months of the incident, extendable by a further three months where there is sufficient cause (Section 9).
- That conciliation is possible at the request of the aggrieved woman, but no monetary settlement can be its basis (Section 10).
- That the inquiry must be completed within 90 days, and that confidentiality is protected by law (Section 16).
- That retaliation against a complainant or witness is itself misconduct.
4. A separate track for managers
Managers are often the first people a complainant approaches, usually informally. They need to know what to say and what not to promise, how to escalate to the IC, how to avoid retaliation and how to protect the team while an inquiry runs. A short, separate manager module is one of the highest-value additions to any programme.
5. The bystander's role
Most harassment is witnessed by someone. Training should give colleagues safe, practical options: interrupting, checking in, documenting and supporting a complaint.
6. An assessment that tests judgement
A quiz on section numbers proves very little. A short scenario-based assessment shows whether people can apply what they learned. It also gives the employer evidence that the training happened and was understood. Our own tools, POSH Compass and POSH Sentinel, make this assessment easy to run and provide certification and digital records.
7. A format that fits the workforce
The right format depends on who you are training:
| Audience | Format that works | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Office teams | Live session, in person or virtual, 90 to 120 minutes | Discussion changes behaviour; questions surface real issues |
| Large or distributed workforce | Online module plus live Q&A | Consistent reach with a human touch |
| Shop floor, field and frontline staff | In-person, in the local language | Literacy, language and device access vary |
| Senior leadership | Short closed-door briefing | Covers liability, tone from the top and the employer's duties |
We deliver POSH training in several languages and formats.
How to tell if it worked
Track three things after each round: assessment scores, the number of employees who can name an IC member when asked, and whether informal concerns start reaching the IC earlier. A rise in complaints after good training is often a sign of trust, not of a problem.