Quick answer: Yes. The POSH Act defines “employee” to include trainees, apprentices, contract workers, probationers and volunteers, and a woman can complain “whether employed or not”. The Act has no clause that ends her right to complain when she leaves the job. The real limit is time: the complaint must be filed within 3 months of the last incident, extendable by up to 3 more months.
Who counts as an “employee” under the POSH Act?
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (Act No. 14 of 2013, dated 22 April 2013) defines “employee” very widely. Section 2(f) covers a person employed at a workplace “for any work on regular, temporary, ad hoc or daily wage basis”, hired “either directly or through an agent, including a contractor, with or, without the knowledge of the principal employer”, “whether for remuneration or not, or working on a voluntary basis or otherwise”. It expressly “includes a co-worker, a contract worker, probationer, trainee, apprentice or called by any other such name”.
The person who complains is the “aggrieved woman”. Under section 2(a)(i), in relation to a workplace, that is “a woman, of any age whether employed or not”. She does not have to be on your payroll at all.
Who is covered, at a glance?
| Who | Can she complain? | Where the Act says so | What to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Permanent, temporary, ad hoc or daily-wage staff | Yes | s.2(f): “regular, temporary, ad hoc or daily wage basis” | The time limit |
| Probationer | Yes | s.2(f) names “probationer” | The time limit |
| Intern, trainee, apprentice | Yes | s.2(f): “trainee, apprentice or called by any other such name”; “for remuneration or not” | “Intern” is not in the Act; the label does not matter |
| Contract or outsourced worker | Yes | s.2(f): “through an agent, including a contractor”, “contract worker” | Covered even without the principal employer’s knowledge |
| Volunteer | Yes | s.2(f): “working on a voluntary basis or otherwise” | Unpaid status is no defence |
| Ex-employee | Not barred by the Act, if within time | s.2(a): “whether employed or not”; s.9(1) time limit | 3 months from the last incident, plus up to 3 months for recorded reasons |
Can an intern file a POSH complaint?
Yes. The Act never uses the word “intern”, but section 2(f) covers a “trainee, apprentice or called by any other such name”, “whether for remuneration or not”. Unpaid and stipend interns both fall inside that wording. Section 2(o)(v) also makes “any place visited by the employee arising out of or during the course of employment”, including “transportation by the employer”, part of the workplace, so a client visit or a company cab is covered too.
Can a contract or outsourced worker file a complaint, and with whom?
Yes. A housekeeping worker, guard or data-entry operator supplied by an agency is an “employee” of the workplace where she works (s.2(f)). Under section 9(1) she complains in writing to the Internal Committee “if so constituted”, or otherwise to the Local Committee. Section 6(1) sends complaints to the Local Committee where an Internal Committee “has not been constituted due to having less than ten workers or if the complaint is against the employer himself”.
In practice, the committee where she works is the usual forum. In a Calcutta High Court case decided on 31 August 2026, a contractual Data Entry Operator at a CID office complained to that office’s Internal Committee. Her contract status did not decide the case; the time limit did, as explained below.
Can an ex-employee file a POSH complaint after leaving the job?
No clause in the Act ends a woman’s right to complain when she resigns, is terminated or finishes her contract. Section 2(a) covers a woman “whether employed or not”, and the three-month clock in section 9(1) runs “from the date of incident” or, for a series of incidents, “from the date of last incident”. It does not run from her last working day.
Leaving does not pause the clock either: if she complains four months after the last incident, the committee must deal with the delay first. The orders below are High Court orders on close facts, not a Supreme Court ruling.
What have the courts said about complaints after the woman left?
Delhi High Court, W.P.(C) 4063/2023 (order of 24 May 2024). The complainant “used to work” at a private company in Noida. By the time the case was heard, the company had wound up, and a Local Committee found it had no Internal Committee. A director she named objected on maintainability and limitation. The court held that the winding up “does not mean that the complainants would be left remedy less”, and that it “is no ground not to proceed further with the complaint”. It directed the committee to proceed under the Act, but did not rule on limitation and made no observations on the merits.
Calcutta High Court, 2026 SCC OnLine Cal 13644 (31 August 2026). The contractual worker alleged touching between September 2021 and July 2022 and complained on 5 January 2023, more than five months after the last incident in July 2022. A Division Bench held that the period “is to be reckoned with reference to the date of the last incident”, that the Act “does not recognize mere fear or apprehension in the mind of the complainant”, and that the complaint was time-barred. The court upheld the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal’s order setting aside the committee’s report.
In neither order did the woman’s status, former or contractual, stop the complaint. In the Calcutta case, the dates did.
How does the three-month limit work in practice?
| Step | Time limit | Section |
|---|---|---|
| File the written complaint | Within 3 months of the incident, or of the last incident in a series | s.9(1) |
| Extension by the committee | Up to 3 more months, for reasons recorded in writing, if circumstances prevented her from filing | s.9(1), second proviso |
| Complete the inquiry | Within 90 days | s.11(4) |
| Employer or District Officer acts on the recommendation | Within 60 days of receiving it | s.13(4) |
| Appeal against the recommendations | Within 90 days of the recommendations | s.18(2) |
If she cannot write the complaint, committee members must give “all reasonable assistance” (s.9(1), first proviso). If she cannot complain because of physical or mental incapacity, death or otherwise, her “legal heir or such other person as may be prescribed” may (s.9(2)).
What should employers do when a former intern or contract worker complains?
- Accept and log it. Do not turn it away because she has left or came through an agency.
- Check dates first. Record the last alleged incident and the date received. If late, decide on extension and write down the reasons (s.9(1)).
- Bring the contractor in. Ask the agency for deployment records, and cover outsourced staff in your policy and training.
- Keep a tamper-proof file of receipts, notices and extension reasons, with a current address for a complainant who has moved on.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Section 2(f) of the POSH Act covers a “trainee, apprentice or called by any other such name”, whether for remuneration or not. So an unpaid intern can complain to the Internal Committee within 3 months of the last incident.
The Act does not end her right to complain when she leaves. Section 2(a) covers a woman “whether employed or not”. The limit is time: 3 months from the last incident under section 9(1), which the committee may extend by up to 3 months for recorded reasons.
No. Section 9(1) counts 3 months from the date of the incident, or from the last incident in a series. Her exit date does not restart the clock, and in one 2026 case the Calcutta High Court held that mere fear or apprehension did not save a complaint filed after the limit.
She is an employee of the workplace where she works, even if hired through a contractor without the principal employer’s knowledge (s.2(f)). She complains to that workplace’s Internal Committee, or to the Local Committee where no Internal Committee has been constituted (s.9(1), s.6(1)).
In W.P.(C) 4063/2023, the Delhi High Court held in May 2024 that a company winding up is no ground to stop the complaint, and directed the Local Committee to proceed. The court left the limitation objection undecided and made no observations on the merits.
A committee may extend the time by up to 3 months only if circumstances prevented her from filing, and must record its reasons in writing. In the 2026 Calcutta case, the High Court upheld a Tribunal order setting aside a committee report on a time-barred complaint, so decide delay first and document it.
Is your Internal Committee ready for complaints from outside the payroll?
If your POSH policy speaks only of “staff”, your committee may turn away a complaint the Act requires it to hear. Start with the free 2-minute POSH check, read the POSH FAQ for employers, or see how Manas supports Internal Committees on the POSH compliance page, where Dr. Priya Dubey Sharma, Founder & Consulting Psychologist, serves as External Member.
Sources
- The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 (Indian Kanoon)
- Section 2 of the Act: definitions (Indian Kanoon)
- Delhi High Court, W.P.(C) 4063/2023, order of 24 May 2024 (Indian Kanoon)
- Calcutta High Court, 2026 SCC OnLine Cal 13644 (SCC Times)
Plain-language guides to POSH compliance for Indian employers, based on the Act, the Rules and court rulings. POSH compliance at Manas Center is led by Dr. Priya Dubey Sharma, Founder & Consulting Psychologist, as External Member.
