Pregnant women, disabled staff with Centre exempted from attending office

Pregnant women officials and staff as well as employees with disability of the central government will be exempted from attending office during COVID-19 lockdown.

This was disclosed by the Minister of State for Personnel Jitendra Singh, who said a circular to this effect has been issued.

Singh said pregnant women employees who are not already on maternity leave will also be exempted from attending office. Persons with disabilities are also to be given similar exemption from attending office.

Government servants who have underlying comorbidities and were undergoing treatment for these ailments before the lockdown, may, as far as possible, be exempted upon production of medical prescription from treating physician, a separate circular said.

As per the new guidelines issued for COVID-19 lockdown, pregnant women and people with co-morbidities are not allowed to step out of homes. They have been directed to stay at home, as they are susceptible to the virus infection.

On Monday, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) had issued guidelines about functioning of offices under the central government. It said it will function with just around half of its staff during COVID-19 lockdown 4.0 but biometric attendance system will continue to remain suspended.

All officers in the rank of Deputy Secretary and above would be attending office while only 50% of staff below the rank of Deputy Secretary will be attending work till May 31. The rest of the staff will work from home and should be available over phone, according to an order issued by Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).

"All Heads of Department shall also ensure that the 50% of officers and staff who attend office observe staggered timings," it said. The first batch of staff would work from 9 AM to 5:30 PM, the second from 9:30 AM to 6 PM and third from 10 AM to 6:30 PM.

So far, only 33% staff below the rank of Deputy Secretary were allowed to come to office while all senior officers were coming to workplaces.