Company board report to have details of sexual harassment complaints, compliance with maternity benefit rule

The corporate affairs ministry on Thursday amended rules to stipulate that from next month, a listed company’s board report will have to include details of the number of complaints of sexual harassment received and disposed of in a year, and its compliance with legal provisions relating to maternity benefits.

The move, experts said, will foster gender equality and justice at the workplace and help female employees.

In a notification, the ministry said the board report will also have to flag the number of sexual harassment cases pending within the company for more than 90 days.

Currently, on the issue of sexual harassment, the board report includes only a statement on the company’s compliance with provisions of constituting an internal complaints committee under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

The changes, part of the Companies (Accounts) Second Amendment Rules, 2025, will be effective from July 14, it said.

The board report is a comprehensive document that captures both financial and non-financial information, and aims to inform stakeholders about the overall financial position of the company and its operation and scope of business. This is usually prepared at the end of a fiscal year.The board report contains details such as the company’s steps for energy conservation, tech adoption and foreign exchange earnings and outgo. among other things.Sandeep Jhunjhunwala, partner at Nangia Andersen LLP, said the amendments “demonstrate the importance laid by the regulators on safety, dignity and welfare of women at the workplace”.

Such disclosures would “foster a culture of increased compliance, thus compelling organisations to proactively uphold the ethical standards”, he said, adding that it would “reinforce the principle of substantive equality”.