To address tardiness, the Centre’s Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has instructed employees across the country, including senior officers, to reach the office by 9:15 am and mark their attendance on the biometric system. According to a report, staff members have been warned that if they fail to arrive on time, they will lose half a day of casual leave.
Employees have been instructed to use the biometric attendance system instead of the register-based system. “If an employee cannot attend the office on a particular day, they should inform in advance and apply for casual leave,” the circular stated, according to the media report. Most staff members have not been using the biometric system since the Covid outbreak four years ago.
The DoPT has instructed senior officers to monitor the attendance and punctuality of employees in their sections.
Although Central government offices are open from 9 am to 5:30 pm, staff members are notorious for arriving late and leaving early, even in departments that serve the public, causing inconvenience to people.
We Work Beyond Fixed Office Hours, End Up Working On Holidays Too, Say Government Officials
Senior officers, however, argue that they often work beyond their fixed office hours. They complain that, with office files available electronically since Covid, they frequently end up working from home, including on holidays and weekends.
Soon after assuming office in 2014, Modi government introduced the Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance system to enforce office timings. This system was paused during the Covid outbreak but was resumed in February 2022.
The latest circular has warned government officials of action against “habitual late coming and early leaving of office.” The move is expected to improve efficiency in government functioning.