Workplace Harassment Act: Compliance Checklist and Inquiry Committee Checker
Who must be on a harassment inquiry committee in Pakistan?
Under the 2010 Act, three members, at least one of them a woman: one from senior management and one senior representative of the employees (or a senior employee where there is no union). Balochistan's 2016 Act requires five members, at least two of them women. The employer must also adopt and display the Code of Conduct and designate a Competent Authority, or face a fine of Rs 25,000 to Rs 100,000.
The 2022 amendment changed who can complain and what counts: any person can now complain, the definition of employee reaches freelancers, gig workers, interns and domestic workers, and gender-based discrimination is harassment. Punjab and KP have not adopted those changes.
Tick what is in place, describe the committee, and see the gaps, the fine and, for a complaint already received, the deadlines.
Built by Muhammad Shahzeb Anwar, MSc Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Each province's rule is from its own version of the Act; the differences are larger than most HR policies assume.
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What changed in 2022, and where
Act V of 2022 amended the federal Act. A complainant is now any person, including former employees and a parent for a minor. "Employee" covers regular, contractual, piece-rate, gig, temporary, part-time and freelance workers, students, interns, trainees, apprentices, home-based and domestic workers, paid or not. "Harassment" now includes stalking, cyber-stalking and discrimination on the basis of gender, and one incident can be enough. The Ombudsperson must decide within 90 days.
These changes apply in Islamabad and to federal bodies, and the Sindh Judicial Academy applies them in Sindh. Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have their own versions of the 2010 Act that do not contain the 2022 changes: there, the complainant is "a woman or man" and the employee definition is narrower. Balochistan has its own 2016 Act, amended in 2025 to require a woman Ombudsperson.
The committee, province by province
| Where | Committee | Non-compliance complaint goes to |
|---|---|---|
| Islamabad, federal, Sindh | 3 members, at least 1 woman | District Court, on an employee's petition |
| Punjab | 3 members, at least 1 woman | Punjab Ombudsperson |
| Khyber Pakhtunkhwa | 3 members, at least 1 woman | District Court |
| Balochistan | 5 members, at least 2 women | Ombudsperson |
Everywhere, a member who is named in a complaint is replaced for that case, outside members can be co-opted, and the fine for an employer who does not comply is Rs 25,000 to Rs 100,000.
The two routes a complaint can take
A complainant can go to the organisation's Inquiry Committee or straight to the Ombudsperson; the choice is theirs. Under the federal Act the committee sends written charges within three days, the accused answers within seven, the committee reports within thirty days, and the Competent Authority imposes the penalty within a week. A decision can be appealed to the Ombudsperson within thirty days. A complaint made directly to the federal Ombudsperson must be decided within ninety days.
What this will not tell you
This checks the formal duties and the committee's composition. It cannot tell you whether a particular complaint is harassment, whether an inquiry was fair, or what penalty fits; those need the Act, the facts and usually a lawyer. Provincial inquiry deadlines were not separately verified and are not calculated. Nothing you type leaves your browser.
Questions people actually ask
Is a harassment committee mandatory in Pakistan?
Yes. Every organisation covered by the Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010 (or its provincial version) must form an Inquiry Committee, adopt and display the Code of Conduct, and designate a Competent Authority. An employer that does not can be fined Rs 25,000 to Rs 100,000.
How many women must be on the inquiry committee?
At least one of three members under the federal, Punjab and KP versions of the Act; at least two of five members under Balochistan's 2016 Act.
Can a man file a harassment complaint in Pakistan?
Under the federal Act as amended in 2022, any person can complain. The Punjab and KP versions say a woman or man.
Does the harassment law cover freelancers and domestic workers?
Under the federal Act since 2022, yes: the definition of employee includes freelance, gig, home-based and domestic workers, interns and students. The Punjab and KP versions still cover regular and contractual employees, interns and apprentices.
How long does the inquiry committee have?
Under the federal Act, 30 days from the start of the inquiry to give its findings, after charges within 3 days and a defence within 7. The Competent Authority then has one week to impose the penalty.
Sources
Checked against the text of the law on 16 October 2026. Laws and notified rates change; if a source below has moved on, the source wins over this page.
- Protection against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2010, as amended to 2022: https://pakistancode.gov.pk/pdffiles/administratorc22e81f4add9ea3dc023086953ca2b4f.pdf
- Sindh Judicial Academy compilation of the 2010 Act with 2022 amendments: https://sja.gos.pk/assets/Updated_Laws/Protection%20against%20Harassment%20of%20Women%20at%20the%20Workplace%20Act%2C%202010%20%28Amendments%20upto%20date%29.pdf
- Punjab text of the 2010 Act: https://punjabcode.punjab.gov.pk/uploads/articles/protection-against-harassment-of-women-at-the-workplace-act-2010-pdf.pdf
- Punjab amendment Act 2021: https://punjabcode.punjab.gov.pk/uploads/articles/protection-against-harassment-of-women-at-the-workplace-amendment-act-2021-pdf1.pdf
- KP text of the 2010 Act (amended 2018, 2020): https://kpcode.kp.gov.pk/uploads/THE_PROTECTION_AGAINST_HARASSMENT_OF_WOMEN_AT_THE_WORKPLACE_ACT_2010.pdf
- Balochistan Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act 2016: https://pabalochistan.gov.pk/storage/3952/2018-10-23-12_15_43act012016.pdf
- Balochistan amendment Act 2025: https://pabalochistan.gov.pk/storage/8401/688c8a9795df1_NOTIFICATION-OF-THE-BALOCHISTAN-PROTECTION-AGAINST-HARASSMENT-OF-WOMAN-AT-THE-WORKPLACE-ACT-2025-.pdf
Cite this tool
Free to use and free to quote. If a figure here is useful in something you are writing, a link back is all that is asked.
Muhammad Shahzeb Anwar, MSc Industrial and Organizational Psychology. Harassment Act Compliance Checklist (Pakistan). Shahzeb Speaks. https://www.shahzebspeaks.com/harassment-committee-checklist-pakistan/
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Want the whole law explained, not just the checklist?
The article on workplace harassment law in Pakistan goes through what the 2010 Act requires section by section, what the 2022 amendment changed, and what an employer's policy has to say.