Habitual latecomers to be penalised, warns Centre

Move follows regular complaints from public

Habitual latecomers in Central government offices will face disciplinary action, the government warned on Monday.

The fresh instruction comes against the backdrop of regular complaints by the public about encountering empty chairs when they reach offices to get their grievances addressed.

“Habitual late attendance is viewed as conduct unbecoming of a government servant and disciplinary action may be taken against such a government servant. Punctuality in attendance is to be observed by government servants at all levels,” a memorandum issued by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) stated.

The latest order noted that Rule 3(1)(ii) of CCS (Conduct) Rules, 1964, stipulates that every government servant shall at all times maintain devotion to duty.  It also said instructions had been issued from time to time on the need to observe punctuality by government servants. The government offices start work at 9 am and officially close at 5 pm.

In November, the government had issued instructions to debit half-day casual leave for employees who are reaching offices late. 

The DoPT had said that half-a-day’s casual leave would be debited for each day of late attendance, but late attendance up to an hour on not more than two occasions in a month, and for justifiable reasons may be condoned by the competent authority. 

“Early leaving is also to be treated in the same manner as late coming,” the November order had said. The Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System, an initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is installed in almost all Central government offices in Delhi.

At present, 1,30,264 government employees in 532 offices have been registered. In November, 62,571 employees in 300 offices were registered with the biometric portal.

An analysis of biometric data showed that 64,578 employees were present on duty on Monday. Officials said some people do not regularly register their attendance through biometric device though government has been insisting that they do so.