Govt restricts attendance for Central Government Employees to 50%

In response to the increase in Covid-19 instances, the government reintroduced limitations across all Central government offices on Monday, including limiting physical attendance of personnel below the level of under-secretary to 50% of the time, with the remaining 50% working from home.

According to an order issued by the department of personnel and training on Monday, biometric attendance, which was reinstated in November 2021 after a nearly one-and-a-half-year hiatus, has been terminated in all Central government offices with immediate effect and until further notice.

Officers at the rank of under-secretary and above, on the other hand, are required to report to work on a regular basis. To avoid overcrowding, staggered hours – from 9 a.m. to 5.30 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 6.30 p.m. – have been reinstated at Central government offices. Government personnel who work from home must be reachable by phone and email at all times.

Persons with impairments and pregnant women employees are exempt from going to work under the new DoPT directive, although they must work from home.

Officers and personnel who live in confinement zones will be exempt from reporting to work until the zones are de-notified.

Meetings must be done by video-conferencing as much as possible, and personal meetings and guests must be avoided unless absolutely required, according to DoPT instruction.

Staff across all Central government offices have been asked to sanitise their workplaces on a daily basis and wear masks, as well as wash and sanitise their hands on a regular basis and maintain social distance.