Sexual harassment complaints
Investigations under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013. Scoped, conducted, and reported within the 90-day requirement. IC-supported or independently led.
The qualification
AWI Certificate Holder (AWI-CH)
The Association of Workplace Investigators (AWI) is the professional body that sets the standard for workplace investigation practice globally. Its certificate programme — the only one of its kind, ANSI-accredited — is rigorous and examination-based. It covers the full investigation cycle: planning, interviewing, evidence assessment, credibility analysis, and defensible reporting.
Sreevidya Varma is one of a small number of AWI-CH holders in Asia, and the only independent practitioner in India.
AWI certificate programme ↗
Why it matters to your organisation
-
→
Methodology you can rely on
Every investigation follows a methodology tested against an international standard — not local convention or habit. That is not the norm in India.
-
→
Findings that survive scrutiny
When a finding is challenged in court, appellate review, or in front of the board, the AWI-CH standard is the assurance that the process was built to withstand it.
-
→
Held by the investigator, not the firm
The AWI-CH is an individual qualification. It means the person conducting your investigation has passed the examination — not that someone in the firm has.
Our investigation standard
Most investigations get filed. Some get challenged. The ones that fail were never built to survive.
The PoSH Act requires inquiries to be completed within 90 days. Most IC members have never conducted an inquiry before.
An investigation that cannot demonstrate procedural integrity: structured interviews, evidence-mapped findings, credibility assessed without bias, is vulnerable the moment it is challenged. At court, at appellate review, or in front of the board.
WORQsense produces a record, not just a report. Evidence mapped to findings. Inferences documented. Credibility assessed. The process is defensible because the methodology is built to that standard from scope-setting.
The inquiry must stand up, in court, in front of the board, and to the people it affects.
AWI Certificate Holder (AWI-CH)
Led by Sreevidya Varma, an Association of Workplace Investigators Certificate Holder (AWI-CH). The internationally recognised benchmark for workplace investigation competence. Held individually, not organisationally. awi.org ↗
Defensible process
Findings tied to evidence. Inferences documented. Credibility assessed against a structured framework. Built to survive court scrutiny, appellate challenge, and board review.
Trauma-aware methodology
The investigation itself is a site of risk. WORQsense applies trauma-aware practice throughout, from how complainants are interviewed to how evidence is sequenced, maintaining psychosocial safety for everyone involved.
What we investigate
Every inquiry built to the same standard.
Grievance investigations
Grievance Redressal Committee matters under the Industrial Relations Code 2020. Separate from PoSH, and equally requiring independent investigative capability and a structured, defensible process.
Misconduct, disciplinary & conduct matters
Workplace misconduct, bullying, harassment, disciplinary proceedings, and interpersonal conduct complaints. Independently scoped, investigated, and documented. Findings mapped to evidence, credibility assessed without assumption.
Section 10 conciliation
Before an inquiry begins, the complainant may request conciliation. Available only at the complainant's request. Monetary settlement cannot be imposed. Sreevidya Varma is an AMINZ-credentialled mediator.
India · Bangalore & Delhi
IC members know the law. Few know how to run an inquiry.
India's PoSH compliance landscape has matured in one dimension: constitution. Most organisations have an Internal Committee. Far fewer have one that can conduct a defensible inquiry.
The gap between legal compliance and investigative competence is where organisations are exposed. A constituted IC that cannot conduct a structured, evidence-based, procedurally defensible inquiry is not actually compliant. It is vulnerable.
Sreevidya Varma has been conducting workplace investigations in India since 2014. More than 300 investigations across 50+ organisations — spanning IT, automobile, FMCG, aerospace, BPO, education, and unionised environments. Based in Bangalore and Delhi. Operating virtually nationwide.
Legally compliant but procedurally deficient is still a liability.
The 90-day deadline
The Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013 requires inquiries to be completed within 90 days. There is no extension provision for IC unpreparedness.
The external member problem
The PoSH Act requires an external member on every IC. In practice, this role is often filled by someone with legal literacy but no investigative methodology training. The external member is supposed to bring rigour, not just presence.
GRC under IR Code 2020
The Industrial Relations Code 2020 mandates a Grievance Redressal Committee for covered organisations. GRC matters are separate from PoSH and require independent investigation and resolution capability.
Annual IC report obligation
Every IC must submit an annual report to the employer and district officer. WORQsense can prepare or review the annual IC report to ensure it is accurate, compliant, and defensible.
Our approach
Two lenses. One inquiry.
Every WORQsense investigation applies both lenses. The investigative lens establishes what happened. The systems lens identifies what it reveals.
Lens 01 · What happened
Investigative rigour
Proven to standard.
Structured, evidence-based interviews using the PEACE model and Mendez Principles via IMS, Australia. Trauma-aware throughout. Findings mapped to evidence, inferences documented, credibility assessed without bias.
- AWI-CH standard on every inquiry
- PEACE model, Mendez Principles, TILES System®
- Defensible in court and board review
Lens 02 · What it means
Systems intelligence
The conditions behind it.
Every WORQsense report includes a systems signals section: what the incident reveals about the structural, cultural, and leadership conditions that made it possible. For clients who want to go further, ReWireWorks takes it from there.
- System signals section in every report
- Structural and cultural risk identification
- Connection to ReWireWorks for post-inquiry work
Methodology partner
The interview is where investigations succeed or fail.
Structured, evidence-based interviews are the foundation of every defensible finding. WORQsense applies IMS investigative interviewing methodology throughout every engagement.
Global training partner
Interview Management Solutions, Australia
IMS is the specialist investigative interviewing training organisation behind the PEACE model, Mendez Principles, and TILES System® as applied in workplace settings. WORQsense contextualises IMS methodology specifically for PoSH, GRC, and employment relations settings in India and New Zealand, not adapted from law enforcement, built for this work.
PEACE model
Preparation and Planning, Engage and Explain, Account, Closure, Evaluate. A structured framework that produces reliable evidence and protects procedural integrity from first contact to final report.
Mendez Principles
UN-grounded principles for non-coercive, trauma-aware interview practice. Applied across every interview in every engagement: complainant, respondent, and witness.
TILES System®
IMS's structured interview management framework. Applied in investigations and taught in WORQsense capability programmes so IC members and HR teams can conduct interviews to the same standard.
When to engage
The situations that call for WORQsense.
A PoSH complaint has been received
The 90-day deadline is running. The IC is untested. Or the complaint involves a senior leader. Each of these changes what the inquiry needs to be.
A GRC matter requires investigation
Grievance Redressal Committee matters under the IR Code 2020 require independent investigative capability — separate from PoSH, and equally demanding of process rigour.
Internal capacity is compromised
The internal team knows the parties. Or leadership is implicated. Or the IC has never run an inquiry before. Independence is not optional when proximity is a fact.
A prior investigation is being challenged
A previous inquiry is subject to court challenge, appellate review, or board questioning. An independent assessment of process and findings is required.
Conciliation has been requested
Under Section 10 of the PoSH Act, the complainant may request conciliation before an inquiry. This requires a credentialled process. Sreevidya Varma is an AMINZ-credentialled mediator.
ERA exposure (New Zealand)
A personal grievance, dismissal, or disciplinary matter requires a defensible process under the Employment Relations Act 2000.
Every engagement starts with a conversation.
No pitch, no pressure. Tell us about the matter and we'll tell you honestly whether and how we can help.