Late to office by 15 minutes will result in half day leave deduction

In a move to crack down on “latecomers,” the Centre's department of personnel and training (DoPT) has mandated that all government employees, including senior officials, must arrive at the office by 9 am, allowing a grace period of 15 minutes. They are expected to punch in by 9.15 am.

All employees, including senior officers, have been directed to use the biometric attendance system, a measure that several of them have neglected since the COVID outbreak four years ago.

“For any reason, if the employee is not able to attend office on a particular day, it should be informed in advance and casual leave should be applied for,” the circular cited by The TOI said, adding that officers will monitor the attendance and punctuality of employees in their sections.

- According to the report, staff members have been warned that failing to arrive by 9.15 am will result in the deduction of half-day casual leave.

- While central government offices operate from 9 am to 5.30 pm, junior-level employees often arrive late and leave early, causing inconvenience, especially in public-facing roles. Senior officials argue that they work beyond regular office hours, often leaving after 7 pm, and thus do not have fixed working hours.

- In 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government attempted to enforce office hours, but employees resisted, citing long commutes as challenging.

- The Aadhaar-enabled biometric attendance system was previously used to monitor punctuality until its suspension due to the pandemic. It was reinstated in February 2022.

- Last year's directive urged central government employees to return to biometric attendance, emphasising the need to address habitual tardiness and early departures seriously.

- Some employees frequently skip office or attend briefly in departments where IT-enabled faceless systems are implemented. The new policy aims to instil greater discipline but may irk employees accustomed to arriving late, even past 10 am.