Certified and Customized PoSH Training for the BFSI domain in India
What is PoSH Training for Banking and Financial Sector Companies?
PoSH training is mandatory for the banking and BFSI Sector not only to comply with the requirements of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (PoSH) Act, 2013, but also to build a workplace culture rooted in safety, dignity, and mutual respect.
The financial sector consists of a large number of employees spread across different branches and locations. Most of them work late-night hours due to high pressure. It becomes critical to train all employees about what constitutes sexual harassment and how to create a safe working environment.
There is a high level of customer interaction and field visits. Such situations may lead to cases of sexual harassment, and female employees must be apprised of how to navigate through these situations.
Contractual employees, who are an integral part of the workforce, must also be educated on expected standards of workplace behaviour and the organisation’s zero-tolerance approach towards sexual harassment.
Training programs must be customized to meet the requirements of the financial sector. Real-life cases of the banking and investment sector must be included.
Equally important is the capability building of the Internal Committee (IC) members. They must have a thorough understanding of their roles, responsibilities, and legal obligations under the Act. Specialised training equips them to handle complaints sensitively, conduct inquiries in a fair and unbiased manner, uphold the principles of natural justice, and ensure compliance with statutory timelines and procedures.
A robust PoSH framework goes beyond legal compliance. It helps organisations minimise risk, strengthen employee confidence in the grievance redressal process, improve engagement, and enhance the organisation’s reputation as a safe and inclusive place to work.
Why Banks and the Financial Sector Need Specialized PoSH Training
1. High number of women employees – Banks and NBFCs hire a lot of women employees. They need to be thoroughly trained on what constitutes sexual harassment, what they can do if they face sexual harassment, how to file complaints, etc.
2. Large numbers of Gen Zs and Freshers hired – Banks and the financial sector tend to hire a lot of freshers and Gen Zs. Since they are fresh out of college, they must be apprised about how to conduct themselves professionally at the workplace. Since interns and apprentices face a lot of sexual harassment, banks and the investment sector must instill trust in the reporting mechanisms for sexual harassment complaints and ensure justice is provided.
3. Late working hours and stressful jobs – Most employees in the banking and financial sector end up working late hours due to the high pressure of targets and deadlines to be met. Such a situation may lead to the exploitation of women staff (cases of quid pro quo). For example, a manager may ask a woman reportee for sexual favours in lieu of giving her a promotion.
4. Field Visits and High Level of Customer Interaction – Many employees are involved in field visits to provide services to clients. The level of customer interaction is very high. There can be a case where the male employee misbehaves with a female client, sends her unwanted messages over WhatsApp. It can create a hostile environment for the female client. There can also be cases where a female employee is sexually harassed by the male clients. E.g., a client tried to hold the hand of a female bank employee when she went to his home to collect the cheque.
5. Late Night parties and offsite events –The financial sector often organises offsite meetings and late night parties which are often accompanied with alcohol. Drunk men may sexually harass female colleagues.
6. Lot of Business travel – Financial sector jobs often involve traveling from one location to another, hotel meetings, network events which may lead to cases of sexual harassment.
Specialized PoSH training helps Banks and NBFC s
- Understanding do and don’ts of workplace behaviour
- Distinguishing between true, misunderstood and false complaints
- Discussion of real life case scenarios of financial sector
- Foster a safe working environment
- Detailed discussion of harassment through online and social media platforms
- Reduce workplace risks
- Improve employee confidence
- Strengthen reporting mechanisms
- Protect company reputation
- Support women employees across locations
- Ensure legal requirements are met
Organizations that invest in regular awareness training often experience better employee trust, stronger workplace culture, and lower compliance risks.
Common PoSH Challenges in the Financial Sector
The finance and investment sector faces several challenges. Some of the most common situations include:
1. Widespread branch network both in urban and rural areas
The Banking and Financial Sector is spread over multiple branches in both urban and rural areas. It is tough to ensure all employees receive training irrespective of location and the quality of training is consistent across locations.
NBFC face another challenge. They do not have HR representation in all locations. Hence, it becomes tough to monitor any instance of sexual harassment Eg In Bangalore, we had received a case in an NBFC where manager had pressurised his intern to go on date with him.
2.Large number of Freshers
This sector is heavily dependent on freshers. They need to be trained thoroughly on how to behave at the workplace. They need to understand how to behave professionally with women employees. Lack of awareness of sexual harassment may lead to exploitation of women employees. Women employees also need to be apprised on whom to reach out to in case they face sexual harassment, process of filing a complaint etc. Many such cases have been reported in Delhi, Pune, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Gujarat.
3.Large number of Women employees
In Banks and NBFCs women make roughly 23 to 28% of the workforce. They need to be educated thoroughly of what constitutes sexual harassment, who they can reach out in case of any instance of sexual harassment. Eg In Hyderabad, a bank manager was sending inappropriate messages to his female team members via MS Teams Chats
4.Late working hours and stressful work environment
BFSI sector operates in a high-paced 24*7 environment were late night work schedules are normal. Employees face a stressful environment to meet the targets..
5.Exposure and safety concerns faced by the Field Executive
Field employees frequently visit client locations to deliver services, which leads to a highto high level of customer engagement. It can create situations where female field executives are sexually harassed by male clients. Eg In Gujarat, when one of the female executives went to the home of a client to collect a cheque, he touched her inappropriately.
6.Third Party Vendors
The financial and investment sector operates in a complex environment that consists of multiple third-party vendors such as insurance distributors, bancassurance and digital partners. This increases the scope of multiple exposure and cases of sexual harassment.
7. ICC Training and expertise
Most of the IC members are not legally equipped to address case of sexual harassment in a prompt, neutral and legally compliant manner.
Our PoSH Training Programs for Banks and NBFCs
We offer tailored Anti-sexual harassment training and PoSH Compliance solutions designed specifically for BFSl sector. This training specifically addresses navigating inappropriate behaviour with clients, how to prevent sexual harassment cases in a high paced, stressful environment.
What makes our training program different: –
- Program tailored for freshers and experienced employees
- Specifically designed for high-pressure, customer-focused and compliance-driven environments.
- It includes virtual harassment in detail and its various examples such as discussion on WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat etc.
- Availability of both male and female faculty for training employees
- Flexibility to teach sexual harassment in local languages such as Gujarati in Gujarat, Hindi in Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, Kannada in Karnataka, Marathi in Maharashtra, Telugu in Hyderabad etc.
- Highly trained faculty who discuss real life scenarios to reinforce the learnings
- Panel of trainers to ensure training can be provided PAN India
Training Programs for Blue collar employees
- Explaining sexual harassment in simple and vernacular language
- Sharing knowledge on how to file complaints
- How inappropriate messages over social media can lead to cases of sexual harassment
- Assuring support and safety to women staff
- Specialized modules for assembly line workers
- Punishment if found guilty under PoSH Act, 2013
Team Lead and Manager Training
Focused training for supervisor covering:
- Do’s and Don’ts for interacting with women colleagues
- How to address complaints of sexual harassment
- Prevention strategies
- Complaint handling
- Escalation procedures
- Leadership responsibilities
- Building a culture of trust and safe working environment
Internal Committee (IC) Training
Comprehensive training for IC members, including:
- Legal framework
- Understanding the difference between true, misunderstood, and false complaints
- Inquiry procedures
- Documentation
- Report writing
- Natural justice principles
- Grievance Handling
- How to ensure justice is delivered?
Train the Trainer Program for PoSH Act
- Nuances of PoSH Act
- Preamble of PoSH Act
- Compliances covered under PoSH ACT 2013
- SHe Box Registration
- Role of IC members
- Enquiry details and Protocols
- Timelines to be followed
- How to conduct Posh Training?
- Discussion of real-life cases
- Video Based Discussion
- Training conducted in small cohorts to ensure active participation and learning
- Dedicated Newsletter and WhatsApp group to reinforce learning
- Continuous support to certified participants to empanel with Proud HR services as PoSH Consultants
- ISO certified PoSH train the trainer certificate to be provided on successful completion of the program
External Member Support
- Experienced support for organizations requiring qualified external IC members.
- Handling more than 1200 cases of anti- sexual harassment
- 18 years of experience in PoSH consulting and Compliance
PoSH Compliance Audits
Review of policies, procedures, documentation, and compliance readiness.
Industries and Organizations We Have Supported
We are associated with Agrim Finance, Bank of India, NJ Invest India
Our experience includes supporting organizations across:
- Pharmaceuticals
- Mining
- Banking and NBFC (Non-Banking Financial Services Company)
- Software Industries
- Manufacturing
- Healthcare
- Engineering
- Education
- Corporate Services
- Renewable Energy and Power Generation
With experience training thousands of employees and working with leading organizations, we understand the compliance expectations and workplace realities faced by modern businesses.
Benefits of PoSH Training for Financial Sector
Effective PoSH training provides long-term value beyond compliance.
Benefits include:
- Enhanced understanding of appropriate and inappropriate behaviour
- Discussion of real-life cases for the BFSI Sector
- PoSH training in the vernacular language
- Avoid heavy penalties
- Avoid exploitation of female workers
- Improved workplace culture
- Increased employee confidence
- Understanding Grey area cases
- Better awareness of acceptable workplace conduct
- Reduced compliance risks
- Stronger employer reputation
- Improved grievance handling
- Improves productivity and employee morale
- Reduces attrition
- Enhanced leadership accountability
- Better protection for employees and organizations
- Empowerment of women employees
- Enhanced understanding of navigating client meetings and late-night parties
A proactive approach helps organizations create safer, more respectful workplaces while meeting legal requirements.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PoSH training mandatory for banks and BFSI?
How often should PoSH training be conducted?
What is ICC training?
Can PoSH training be conducted online?
Do gig workers require PoSH training?
Is training required for employees working from home?
What topics are covered during PoSH training?
Can organizations appoint an external IC member?
How long does a typical PoSH training session last?
