Swiggy Introduces Sexual Harassment Redressal Policy For Women Delivery Executives

Food delivery major Swiggy has introduced a new sexual harassment redressal policy for its women delivery executives as they are not covered under the ambit of Indian laws that cover such incidents at workplaces.

In a blog post on Wednesday (November 16), Swiggy said its policy was aligned with the Sexual Harassment of Women at Work Place (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, also known as POSH Act.

“Internal studies have shown that many delivery executives aren’t even aware of the contours of sexual harassment or misconduct and that there are means to address it,” the food delivery major said. Swiggy added that the policy will cover how sexual misconduct is reported and how it can be acted upon.

The food delivery app has included several new features in the delivery executive apps for ensuring the safety of women delivery executives.

“Through the sexual harassment redressal policy, we are taking a proactive step in building awareness and accountability among various stakeholders in the community. We believe these efforts will stop incidents from happening and also encourage women delivery executives to recognise and report incidents with the faith that action will be taken,” said Mihir Shah, head of operations at Swiggy.

How Does The Policy Work?

The app has an SOS button that connects executives to an ambulance, the local police station or the Swiggy helpline as need be. Further, female delivery executives have the option to decline deliveries if they deem an area to be unsafe, no questions asked.

“This process gives us intel to continuously map and avoid unsafe neighbourhoods, especially for women delivery executives. Our tech team is currently working on a solution to make sure that no woman delivery partner is assigned to potentially unsafe locations,” said the food delivery major.

In the event of sexual misconduct, women delivery executives can reach out to Swiggy’s Emergency SOS number for support. “After providing emergency assistance, should she want Swiggy to conduct an investigation, She can lodge a complaint with our on-ground team,” the blog post added.

The food delivery major described the implementation of the new policy according to the various touch points a female delivery executive would cover during a typical work cycle.

If the perpetrator is a Swiggy employee, it becomes a POSH case since the employee is bound to the company. However, if the perpetrator is a restaurant partner, customer or fellow delivery executive, Swiggy has set up an internal committee to investigate the incidents.

Once the committee completes its investigation, it will help women delivery executives in submitting a complaint to the police, while also supporting the authorities in their investigation.

Swiggy added that it is working on a solution to ensure that if the harassment occurs at a customer’s location after the initial investigation is done, no other female delivery executive is ever assigned to that customer. 

Further, the customer’s number will be highlighted so that a female executive is not assigned even if the customer changes location. If the offence is grievous, Swiggy noted, the customer will be permanently removed from the app.

The delivery platform is educating its staff and restaurant partners, while it is working on a way to educate customers on the matter simultaneously.

Swiggy’s sexual harassment redressal policy comes when there have been several reports of misconduct at Indian startups and companies working in the country. The anti-sexual harassment advisory Complykaro.com states that 97% of Indian companies are not even aware of the POSH Act. 

According to the data compiled by the advisory on the BSE 100 listed companies, these companies registered 759 cases in FY22, up from 595 in FY21.

Earlier this year, video content major ScoopWhoop was embroiled in a controversy after one of its cofounders was alleged to have sexually assaulted an employee.