[AS PASSED BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBL4

Billto amend thc Protection against llarussment afwomen at the Workploce Act,2010

Wheteas \l is expedient to amend the Protection against Harassment ofwomen at the Workplace Act 2010, 0V of 2010) for thc purposes appearing
hereinafter;
It is hereby enactcd as followsi-1,

Short title and commencement [1) This Act shall be called theProtection against Harassment of women at the Workplacc [Amendment) Acl
2022.

(2)
2.

lt shall come into force at once

Amendment of section 2, Act IV of 2010,- In the said Act, in section 2,(o)In clausc (e), for the words "a woman or man", the words "anyperson" shall be substituted and after the word "harassment", theexpression "and shall include a former employee who has been
removed or dismissed from service or has resigned, and a parent
or guardian where the complainant is a minor" shall be inserted;(b)forclause(0, the followingshall be substituted, namely:''(0"employce" includes a rcgular, contractual,piece-rate, gig, temporary, part-time, freelance
employee whether employed through exprcss or
implicd contract on daily, weekly, montlly or hourly
basis, and shall include a student, a performer, anartist, a sportspcrson, an intern, trainee, a domesticworker, a home-based workcr or an apprentice

whethcr working for remuneration or not, or
whether working on a voluntary basis or otherwise";[.)in clause (g), in sub-clause (vi), the word "and" at the end
shall be omittcd and after sub-clausc (vii), the following
sub-clauses shall be added, namely:-lviii) person discharging any contractual obligations withrcspcct to his employees and expressly or impliedly
procures the scrviccs or labour of persons whethcr
as freelancers or part-time employecsi(ix) a person who owns or manages an online orcustomcr to customer or business to customer or
any othcrvirtual or rcmote business; and[r)in relation to a dwelling place or house, a person or ahouschold who employs or benefits from theemploymcnt of home-based workers, irrespectivc of

the number, timc pcriod or type of such worker
employed, or the nature of the employment or
activities performed by the homc-based workcr;";

idl

for clause (hl, thc following shall be substituted namely:-"(h) "harassmcnt"means:ti)

any unwclcome

sexual advance, request

for sexual favours, stalking or cyber stalking or

othcr verbal, visual or written communicationor physical conduct of a sexual nafure orsexually demeaning attitudcs, including any
gestures or expression conveying dcroSatory

connotation causing interference with work

performance or creating an intimidating,hostile or offensive work environment, or theattempt to punish the complainant for refusal

tocomplytosuch a request or is made a
condition for cmplo,,rnenti or3(iDdiscrimination on basis of gender, which may
or may not be sexual in nature, but which may
cmbody a discriminatory and prejudicial mind-

set or notion, rcsulting in discriminatory
behavior on basis of gender against thecomplainant;"(e)

for clause [k), the following shall bc substituted, namelyr-"[k) "ombudsperson" means theOmbudspcrson

appointed under Section 7;"

and elscwhere in Act IV of 2010, for the word
"Ombudsman" the word "Ombudsperson" shall besubstitutedj(0in clause 0), for the phrase "Companies Ordinance, 1984(XLVIl of 1984)" the phrase "Companies Act,2017 (Act No.

XIX of 2017)" shall be substitutcd and after the word
"institution", occurring at the end, the words 'or online
busincss' shall be inserted;G)

for clause (n), the following shall be substituted, namelyi-"(n) "workplace" means the placc of work or any place

where services are rendered or pcrformed byprofessionals, including educational institutions,gigs, concerts, studios, performance facilities, courts,

highways, sporting facilitics and rymnasiums, andshall include any building, factory, open area or alarger gco$aphical area. whcre the activities of theorganization or of employer are carricd out andincludes any situation that is linked to work or
activity outside thc office.",3

Amcndment ofsection 4, Act lV of 2010.- In thc said Act, in section 4,-(")

in sub section (2), at the end ofthe sentence the full stop

shall be omitted and following phrase shall be added
namely: -", and, wherc applicablc, apply appropriate child-scnsitiveprocedures.";

4tl,)

in sub-section [4J, after the word "penalties", occurrlng at
the end, the, and words ",as applicable" shallbe inserted;[.]in sub-section (4) in clause (ii], in sub-clause (dJ, the word"a[d" at the end shall be omitted and after sub-clause (d],the following sub'clause [e) shall be added, namely:-"Ie) suspension or cancellation of a professional liccnse"td)

in sub-scction (4) in clause (ii), the existing sub-clause [e)shallbe rc-numbercd as clause (Q.

4.

Amendment of sectlon 5, Act IV of 2010,- In the said Act, in section 5, insub-section (11 in clause (b), for the word "documcnt", the words "documentaryaudio or video evidence" shall be substituted.

5,Amendment of section B, Act IV of 2010.- In the said Act, in section 8, -[")

in sub-scction [1), for the word "employee", thc word"complainant" shall bc substjtuted; and(b)after sub-section (51, the following sub-section shall beadded, namely:-"(6) The ombudsman shall decide a case or appeal, as thecase may be, within a period ofninety days,".

6.

Amendment of section 9, Act IV of 2010.- In the said Act, in section 9,after thc full stop at the end, the expression "The Prcsident or the Governor, as

the case may bc, shall dccide such representation within ninety days" shalladded.

7.

Amendment of Schedule, Act IV of 2010,- In the said Act, in theSchedule,-(A) in the first paragraph, in clause (ii), for the definition of"harassment", the following definilion shall be substituted, namelyr -;"[ii]"harassmcnt"means(,

any unwelcome sexual advance, request for sexual
favours, stalking or cyber stalking or othcr verbal,
visual or written communication or physical conductof a sexual nature or sexually demeaning attitudes,
rncluding any gestures or expression conveying
derogatory connotation causing interfcrcnce withwork performance or creating an intimidatin&
hostile or offensive work environment, or theattcmptto punish the complainant for refusal tocomplyto sucha request or is made a

condition for employment; or(i,discrimination on basis ofgender, which may or may

not be sexual in naturc, but which may embody
discriminatory and prejudicial mind-set or notion,

rcsulting in discriminatory behavior on basis ofgender against the complainant;Provided that a single incident hai,ing the effect of making aperson uncomfortable or creating a sense of fear or panic at theworkplace is also harassmcnt,"
iB)

for Explanation (bl under clause (ii), the following shall be
substituted, namely: -"[b) Creating a hostilc cnvironment
Any unwclcome scxual advance, request for sexual favors,or other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature, whichinterferes with an individual's work pcrformance or creates anintimidating, hostile, abusive or offensive work environmenti or
any discrimination on basis of gender, which may or may not besexual in nahrre, but which may embody a discriminatory andprejudicial mind'set or notion resulting in discriminatory behavior
on basis ofgcnder.

6

The R?ical "hostile environment" claim, in general,
requires finding of a pattern of offensive conduct howevcr, incases where the harassment is particularly severe, such as in cases

involving physical contact or gender-based discrimination, a single
offensive incident will constitute a violation."tcl

in clause (xi), after the full stop at the end, thc following shall be
addcd, namely: -"Filing countcr-blast suits for defamation etc. are also retaliation.
Thc Ombudsman or lnquiry Committee, as the casc may be, should

takc notice ofthis in its proceedings."

Statement ofOhiects and Reasons
This proposcd amcndment aims to facilitatc increased participation ofwomen in
the workforce by removing the lacuna prcsent in the existing law. lt broadens
thc ambit and scope of thc law to including certain profcssions and employment
modcls that the current law does not exprcssly mention. Through theseamcndments protcction from harassment shall bc provided to peoplc chgaged in
all types of work - formal and informal. The Amendment Bill will also provide
clarity with respect to diffcrcnt kinds of harassment that take place at theworkplace.
This purpose of this amcndment is to fulfill Pakistan's Constitutional obligations

to its citizens and to glarantee them their dignity and prcvention of
discrimination on the basis of sex in their professions and to achievc the goal ofincreased women participation ofwomen in the workplace.
This Billsccks to achieve the aforcsaid objectives.

[Dr. Shireen M. Mazari)