TL;DR Sexual harassment related complaints form a significant portion of workplace complaints in BRSR disclosures, with reporting rising sharply in recent years and concentrated among a small set of large companies. While reporting has increased, a notable share of cases remains unresolved at year-end, raising questions about grievance redressal effectiveness.

Context

Recent allegations involving the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) facility in Nashik have raised concerns about workplace safety and corporate accountability. The case involves complaints from multiple female employees alleging sexual harassment, exploitation, and intimidation, covering the period 2022 to 2026. There are also allegations that some accused colleagues engaged in religious coercion. According to media reports, at least nine First Information Reports (FIRs) have been filed, and several individuals have been arrested. A Special Investigation Team is currently investigating the case. The situation has drawn attention to potential gaps in the facility’s Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) framework, leading to government review and an internal inquiry by company leadership.

In this context, we examine corporate data on complaints filed by employees and workers, specifically focusing on sexual harassment cases reported by employees and workers among leading companies, based on their Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) submissions.

Who compiles this data?
This analysis relies on Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting (BRSR) filings, which include data on the number of complaints related to working conditions, as well as the percentage of plants and offices assessed for safety practices. Mandated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), these disclosures require the top 1,000 listed companies in India by market capitalisation to compile and publicly report workplace safety and grievance metrics annually, alongside other parameters. 

Where can I download clean & structured data related to this?

Clean, standardised, structured, and ready-to-use datasets based on these BRSR reports are exclusively available on Dataful. The collection contains year- and company-wise datasets on financial, environmental, social and governance performance of these companies.

For this story, BRSR: Year- and Company-wise Number of Complaints Received, together with Percentage of Plants and Offices assessed, on Working Conditions and Health and Safety Practices has been used.

Key Insights

• Principle 5 of BRSR emphasises that businesses should respect and promote human rights. Under this principle, complaints made by employees and workers related to sexual harassment, as well as other workplace issues such as child labour, forced labour, wage-related grievances, discrimination, and similar concerns, have to be reported by the companies.

• Of all complaints reported under Principle 5 between April 2020 and June 2025, wage-related complaints account for 62.3% of the total, far exceeding any other category. Sexual Harassment (14%), other human rights issues (7.6%), and discrimination (6.6%) make up comparatively smaller shares.

• Child labour and forced or involuntary labour account for a very small share relatively. Notably, 900 of the 902 child labour complaints are reported by Coal India Limited (482 in 2024-25 and 418 in 2023-24), indicating a high concentration in a single company. The remaining 2 cases were reported by United Spirits Limited.

• According to available reports covering the said period, a total of 10,006 complaints of sexual harassment were reported by employees and workers, with at least one complaint reported in 476 companies.

• A total of 22 companies reported 100 or more cases, collectively contributing more than 48% of the total. Wipro Limited recorded the highest number with 543 cases, followed by ICICI Bank Limited with 401 cases and Tata Consultancy Services with 347 cases. Together, these three companies accounted for 13% of all reported cases during the period.

• Across some of these high-reporting companies, the trend in complaints of sexual harassment reported shows a clear upward trend over time, with a marked increase from 2022-23 onwards and peak or near-peak levels in 2024-25.

• Many of these reported complaints remain unresolved at the close of each financial year. For example, in 2024-25, Infosys reported a 30% pendency rate (31 of 103 cases), and TCS (23 of 125 cases) and Wipro (36 of 195 cases) reported 18%.

Why does it matter?

The recent allegations at the TCS Nashik facility bring attention to how companies are ensuring safe workplaces beyond formal compliance. The BRSR data shows a clear rise in reported sexual harassment complaints, which may reflect greater awareness and willingness to report. At the same time, a large share of these complaints is concentrated among a few major companies, and some cases remain unresolved at the end of each year. Taken together, these point to a gap between reporting and resolution. It raises important questions about how mechanisms like POSH are being implemented, and whether they are leading to timely action and accountability.

Key Numbers

• Total sexual harassment complaints: 10,006 (Apr 2020 – Jun 2025)

• Share of sexual harassment complaints: 14% of all Principle 5 complaints

• Companies reporting ≥1 case: 476

• Top 22 companies’ share: 48%+ of total complaints

• Top 3 companies’ share: 13% (Wipro: 543, ICICI Bank: 401, TCS: 347)

• Pendency (2024–25): Infosys 30%, TCS 18%, Wipro 18%