Centre asks government employees to attend office on all working days without exemption

• Government employees shall follow staggered timings to avoid over-crowding in offices/workplaces, the official order, dated February 13, said

• Government employees residing in containment zones shall be exempted from coming to offices till the containment zone is denotified, the order said

New Delhi: In the aftermath of the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and improvement in recovery rates, the Centre has asked government employees at all levels to attend office on all working days without exemption. The official order, dated February 13, follows a previous memo issued on October 7, 2020, wherein orders regulating the attendance of Central government employees were issued. "The Government servants at all levels are to attend office on all working days without exemption to any category of employees," the order, accessed by PSU Watch, said.

It, however, added that government employees shall follow staggered timings to avoid over-crowding in offices/workplaces as decided by the heads of departments.

Government employees in containment zones exempted from coming to office

According to the order, government employees residing in containment zones shall be exempted from coming to offices till the containment zone is denotified. "These officers/staff who are residing in the Containment Zone shall work from home and shall be available on telephone and electronic means of communications at all times," it added.

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Biometric attendance will continue to be suspended until further orders, and meetings will continue to be conducted over video/digital medium, the order said. It added that personal meetings with visitors, unless absolutely necessary in public interest, are to be avoided. The government has also advised all offices to ensure strict compliance of instructions issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on regular sanitization, cleaning of work places, maintenance of social distancing norms, wearing of masks and health and hygiene practices.

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