PoSH in Co-Working Environment
                     PoSH is Possible 
in Co-Working 
Environment!
About PoSH
The POSH Law – Prevention of Sexual Harassment – is a sexual harassment law introduced 
to protect women against sexual harassment at the workplace. The POSH Laws cover 
prevention, prohibition, and redressal of cases of sexual harassment of women. These laws 
apply to all types of employers – companies, partnerships, and sole proprietorship firms – 
irrespective of the number of employees, size of the business, and other factors. However, 
companies with more than 10 employees have greater compliance requirements.
Non-compliance does attract monetary penalties and repeated instances could lead to 
cancellation of license and registration for running a business. To ensure compliance, a 
Director’s report must include confirmation that the company has ensured 
POSH compliance.
Co-Working Spaces
Co-working spaces, to simply put are shared workspaces 
and can be used by individuals or even companies who 
need additional office space for a short time. Co-working 
spaces usually offer a range of amenities such as desks, 
private cabins and meeting rooms, pantry, wi-fi, and a lot 
more.
The big draw for such spaces is the feel of a community 
and being able to engage with many different people while 
offering freedom and flexibility. Cost is another major 
advantage since one can choose between fee structures 
ranging from daily to monthly options. Typically 
freelancers, start-ups, smaller teams, and even 
entrepreneurs are the main clientele for such spaces.
Sexual Harassment in 
Co-Working Places
The use of co-working spaces has seen a sharp rise over 
the years, and has brought with it a spate of questions, 
issues and, challenges regarding sexual harassment, who 
is responsible to prevent it, and how does one deal with 
such cases. Given that this is a new and evolving model of 
working in an office, it is the employers who would be held 
liable for any instances of sexual harassment.
Additionally, individuals occupying these spaces would be 
liable for such inappropriate behaviour. The co-working 
space is also required to have an PoSH Committee and 
should a woman be sexually harassed while at the co-
working space, she has the option to file a complaint with 
the IC of the co-working space.  The risks and instances of 
sexual harassment are more pronounced in co-working 
spaces since there could be a vendor causing the nuisance, 
or an independent contractor or even visitors of other 
companies occupying the co-working area.
How to prevent it?
In all instances, including the perpetration of sexual 
harassment by a third party employee, the employer’s IC or the IC 
of the co-working space (depending on where the woman files the 
complaint and also on whether the employer has an IC) would 
have to handle the matter. Of course, the complainant always has 
the option to file a criminal complaint with the police, since sexual 
harassment is a criminal offense as well.  
 
It becomes critical for employers and individuals renting the co-
working space to know how to prevent such acts and also what 
they need to do if such an accusation is brought to the fore. 
Understanding and learning the POSH policies of the co-working 
offices before occupying the space is essential. Such knowledge 
will help the employer to ensure that the employees comply with 
the policies and behave appropriately.
Sexual harassment must be placed under the zero-tolerance 
policy and strict punitive action taken (post inquiry) if such 
behaviour does take place. This would be true, as mentioned, 
even for vendors and third-party employees working with a 
company.
How to prevent it?
What must be remembered is that each instance of sexual 
harassment would be unique, and hence both parties involved 
must be spoken to before making any decision. Confidentiality, 
sensitivity, and integrity are paramount when dealing with such 
cases, to ensure that no one is falsely accused and punished, and 
also that the perpetrator does not escape punishment. This would 
also include reporting the incident to the person/company owning 
the co-working space and gain access to any closed-circuit 
camera footage to ascertain the incident. 
 
It is also the responsibility of the employer to ensure that the 
person reporting the incident (could be different from the actual 
victim) and the victim as well as witnesses (if any), are protected 
from any retribution and retaliation by the person against whom 
the complaint is lodged. Employers could seek advice to gain 
proper guidance on how to action the case and prevent any risk of 
further litigation.
Always Remember
It must be remembered that both men and women can fall prey 
to sexual harassment, and either a woman or a man can be the 
perpetrator. Even a person of the same sex as the victim could 
be the harasser. As mentioned, each person must remain aware 
of policies surrounding sexual harassment, and these policies 
must be clearly communicated and periodically reiterated by 
the employer.
People must understand that any such incidents must be 
reported immediately to the IC, even if the person is not the 
victim. Anyone making the complaint must know that they 
would be heard, not ridiculed and there would be no retaliation, 
especially if the perpetrator is someone from the higher ranks in 
the organization. Employers and ICs must ensure that such 
complaints are dealt with immediately and if the person is 
found guilty, strict action including immediate dismissal from 
the company is put into place. 
Always Remember
Sexual harassment is a serious matter and employers must 
take cognizance of every complaint. The rank and stature 
of both the harasser and victim must never be a decision 
making factor since the decision would not remain 
unbiased. Employers and those responsible for ensuring 
POSH compliance must remain abreast with changes in 
laws and in the workplace, such that they take action 
immediately and objectively.
Harassment of any kind (especially sexual) can take place 
anywhere, at any time, and anyone can be a victim – 
prevention of sexual harassment is therefore both a 
collective and individual responsibility. Let’s make co-
working and co-existing fun!
As we are faced with various discrimination and/or 
harassment issues facing our organizations, paying 
close attention to the above will help us be more 
effective as human resources professionals. 
For more information visit: 
https://www.mud.co.in/posh/
Thank You!