Sexual harassment at work: what Maldivian employers must already do

A complaint of sexual harassment usually reaches a manager before anyone has looked at the law. Who should hear it, and how long do you have to deal with it? Many Maldivian employers find out the answers only when a case is already under way, and some find out that they were supposed to have set up a committee years earlier.

The Prevention of Sexual Abuse and Harassment Act (Act No. 16/2014) has applied to workplaces for more than a decade. Section numbers below follow the English translation published by the Family Protection Authority.

What counts as harassment

The Act defines sexual harassment as a sexual act done to a person without their consent (section 2). Whether conduct crosses the line is judged on how the person on the receiving end interpreted it and how a reasonable person in the community would see it, on the balance of probabilities. Section 38 gives examples, among them unwanted touching or hugging, whistling, sexual jokes and offers of work benefits in return for sexual favours.

Your duties as an employer

Every employer has to take adequate measures to keep the workplace free of sexual abuse and harassment (section 7). If an employer knew about harassment and did not act, the Act makes the employer responsible for the damage the victim suffered.

Section 8 requires the workplace to display its policy on sexual harassment openly, to make the complaint form and procedure available to staff, and to brief employees on them clearly. A policy that sits in a drawer in the HR office does not meet that test.

The internal committee

A workplace with more than 30 employees must have a committee to deal with complaints (section 17). It has three members drawn from senior management, at least one of them a woman, and people from outside the organisation may sit on it (section 18). The employer has to inform the Employment Tribunal about the committee, and failing to set one up carries a fine of MVR 5,000 (section 25).

The committee investigates complaints and has to conclude an investigation within 60 days (section 23). It can issue a written warning, suspend or demote the person found responsible, or end their employment, and the decision goes on their employment record (section 22). It is also expected to run awareness programmes for staff (section 19).

In a workplace with 30 employees or fewer, or where no committee exists, the complaint goes straight to the Employment Tribunal.

Deadlines that matter

A person who disagrees with the committee's decision can appeal to the Employment Tribunal within 180 days. If the committee takes longer than 60 days, the complainant can go to the Tribunal directly. A claim to the Tribunal cannot be brought more than 12 months after the incident (section 28), so a complaint that sits unanswered for months can end up outside the Tribunal's reach. The Tribunal can order compensation, including deductions from the offender's wages.

The changes proposed in 2026

In April 2026 the government submitted a bill to amend the Act, reported by MMTV. Among other things it would have made a written policy compulsory for every employer, with set contents: the standards expected of staff, a code of conduct for work activities, expected behaviour outside working hours and the procedure for complaints. It would also have covered harassment outside the workplace and outside working hours, and moved the duty to report a committee's formation from the Employment Tribunal to the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives.

The bill was withdrawn shortly after its first reading so that further amendments could be added. When we last checked, it had not been brought back to the People's Majlis. The duties described above are the ones in force.

Where to start

1. Count your staff. If you have more than 30 employees and no committee, form one and inform the Employment Tribunal.
2. Check that your policy is on display, that the complaint form is easy to find, and that new staff are told about both during induction.
3. Choose committee members who have the standing to deal with a complaint against a senior manager, and train them on the procedure and the 60-day limit before a case arrives.
4. Keep a confidential record of each complaint, the dates and the decision.
5. Write the policy as if the 2026 proposals were law. A clear policy covering conduct at work events and online is good practice either way, and it will need fewer changes if the bill returns.

We draft HR policies and employee handbooks, including harassment policies and committee procedures, and review existing arrangements as part of an HR audit.

This article is general information, not legal advice. For a specific case, take advice from a lawyer.