Government employees who regularly show up late have been confronted with a new mandate. The Department of Personnel and Training under the central government has mandated that all employees, including senior officers across the country, must be present in the office no later than 9:15 AM and mark their attendance. Employees are expected to reach the office by 9:00 AM, with a grace period of fifteen minutes to mark their attendance.
All employees have been cautioned that if they do not reach the office by 9:15 AM, a half-day of casual leave will be deducted. The circular stated, “If for any reason an employee is unable to attend the office on a particular day, it should be informed in advance and casual leave should be applied for.” Officers have been instructed to monitor the attendance and punctuality of all employees in their section.
Senior officers have expressed concerns, noting that they do not have fixed office hours as they leave after 7 PM. Additionally, they argue that post-COVID, with access to electronic files, they often end up working from home, including on holidays and weekends.
