Staggered office timings and physical attendance of the officers of the level of Under Secretary or equivalent and below to be restricted to 50% of the actual strength until the end of the month or further notice in the wake of the rising cases due to COVID-19

Taking into account the unprecedented rise in COVID-19 cases in the country and to curb them, the Department of Personnel & Training (DoPT), Ministry of Personnel has issued certain/instructions guidelines for strict compliance by Ministries/Departments of the Central government. These instructions/ guidelines shall come into effect immediately and will remain in force until 30.04.2021 or until further notice.

In a Press Release released by Press Information Bureau late on 19th April, the Union Minister of State for Personnel, Dr Jitendra Singh referred to the Official Memorandum(OM) applicable to all government offices.

The various rules in effect include the physical attendance of the officers of the level of Under Secretary or equivalent and below to be restricted to 50% of the actual strength. A roster may be prepared accordingly and Secretary/HoD may regulate the attendance of officials and decide if more officials to attend office on administrative grounds. Meanwhile, all officers of the level of Deputy Secretary, equivalent and above are to attend office regularly.

The officers/staff shall follow staggered timings, to avoid overcrowding in offices such as 9.00 A.M. to 5.30. P.M, 9.30 AM to 6.00 PM and 10.00 A.M. to 6.30 P.M.

However, the officials who don’t attend office physically, as expected to be reachable telephonically and through other electronic media as they work from home. Those residing in containment zones shall continue to be exempted from coming to office till the containment zone is denotified and persons with Disabilities and Pregnant women employees may be exempted from attending office, but they shall continue to work from home, until further orders.

Physical restrictions continue to prioritize Covid-appropriate behaviour including wearing a mask, maintaining physical distancing, use of sanitiser and frequent handwashing with soap and water. Crowding in lifts, staircases, corridors, common areas including refreshment kiosk and parking areas is to be strictly avoided. Meetings are encouraged to be conducted through video-conferencing and limit the entry of outsiders to office premises. Those eligible to get vaccinated are expected to do so at the earliest.

Dr Jitendra Singh hoped that all these instructions will be followed in letter and spirit in the interest of the well-being of all the citizens and government employees and their families. He expressed hope that the State/Union Territory governments will also contemplate similar guidelines.