Ask HR for separate documents: an itemised statement and receipt for employment dues, and any proposed statement about the POSH complaint. Do not sign wording that falsely says you requested conciliation, withdrew allegations or received compensation. Under section 10, statutory conciliation requires the aggrieved woman's request and cannot be based on a monetary settlement. An accounts form is not automatically a committee-recorded settlement.
Which sentence in the form is causing the problem?
Mark it precisely. A receipt stating that a specified sum was paid is different from a declaration that no harassment occurred, all complaints are withdrawn or no proceedings will ever be brought. The document may combine several different legal acts under one signature. Ask for the calculation behind each payment and the purpose of each release clause.
Keep the original form and the covering email. If HR says the wording is "standard", ask why a POSH statement is needed to acknowledge salary, reimbursement or another separately identified employment amount. Do not infer that every payment described as full and final settlement is compensation for harassment.
How can I propose a limited receipt?
Write: "I am willing to acknowledge receipt of the itemised employment dues actually paid. I have not requested withdrawal of my POSH complaint or adopted a statement denying the incidents. Please issue a receipt limited to the listed payments and address any complaint-related proposal through the competent committee." This is proposed wording for discussion, not a guarantee that every edited release will have the intended legal effect.
If the money has not yet arrived, do not sign an unqualified statement that it has been received. Ask whether the form is an approval instruction or a receipt, and ensure its wording matches the stage. A promise to transfer later should not be recorded as a completed payment.
What if HR calls the payment a POSH settlement?
Ask for the committee reference and recorded terms. Section 10 contemplates conciliation before inquiry at the woman's request. The committee records a settlement reached and forwards it to the employer or District Officer, while supplying copies to the parties. A private HR form does not prove those steps occurred.
The statutory ban on using money as the basis of conciliation also needs to be distinguished from compensation recommended after an inquiry under sections 13 and 15. They arise at different stages and on different bases. HR should not label earned wages as harassment compensation or treat a compensation award as a price for a new denial of events.
Should I sign and write "under protest" beside my name?
Do not assume those two words neutralise the whole document. A release, acknowledgment and factual declaration can have different consequences. Obtain advice on the exact text before signing where a material right or factual account is disputed. Your objection should be explicit enough that the recipient can understand what you are refusing to adopt.
If a payment is made without your signing the disputed clause, retain the bank record and write a limited acknowledgment identifying what you understand it covers. Avoid a casual message saying "everything settled" when you mean only that one salary amount arrived.
What should I tell the committee?
Send a confidential factual note if HR is representing that you withdrew the complaint or requested conciliation. Attach the form and your correction. Ask the committee to record your actual position. If you did make a voluntary request earlier, explain that accurately rather than denying a document you signed.
Keep any employment-dues dispute in its own calculation and correspondence. The applicable payment entitlement and recovery forum depend on the kind of dues, employment facts and governing law. This answer addresses the combined document, not every possible wage claim.
The next action is a marked copy separating payment acknowledgment from complaint statements, followed by a written request for corrected documents. Preserve the versions exchanged. An accurate receipt can help resolve the accounts issue without creating a false history of how the harassment complaint ended.
Read the general POSH procedure and our answer on challenging a committee recommendation for the adjoining stages.