KATHMANDU, Dec 20: Government employees have long had a habit of arriving late and leaving before office hours end. Fed up with this behavior, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MoHA) implemented an ‘office time’ rule starting Wednesday. According to the MoHA's Human Resource Administration Division, it will mark employees as absent if they arrive more than 15 minutes late after office hours begin.
The MoHA has long implemented an e-attendance system for employees. Starting Wednesday, it set the e-attendance device to operate for only 15 minutes after office hours begin at 10 am. The device automatically turns off at 10:15 am. Similarly, the device will only operate after 4 pm for evening attendance, with no time restrictions. Around 200 employees work at the Ministry of Home Affairs. Following the implementation of the office time rule, about 60 employees were marked absent on Wednesday and Thursday. Employees who arrived at 10:16 am were also marked absent.
PUNCTUALITY
Ministry sources reported that employees marked absent on Wednesday and Thursday included officials ranging from undersecretaries to office assistants. The administration division printed and recorded the names of all these employees. Sources revealed that 10 section officers and 3 undersecretaries were marked absent. An employee of the Human Resource Administration Division stated that the ministry will gradually implement this system in other offices. The system will also extend to offices outside Kathmandu.
"We will implement this system in offices with e-attendance starting this January. We also plan to gradually introduce the system to offices without e-attendance," said the employee. The employee explained that the "office time" rule was enforced to ensure ministry employees follow time regulations and maintain discipline. "We implemented this system due to the increasing number of employees arriving late or leaving before office hours," the employee added. "We will not back down from this. We will implement it at all costs."
The National Vigilance Center periodically inspects government offices to monitor whether employees arrive on time. The center does not take action against employees who are absent during office hours. Instead, it recommends disciplinary action to the secretaries or heads of the concerned ministries, offices, and agencies.
However, these recommendations are rarely implemented. The heads of the concerned offices protect the employees recommended for action by the center. In addition to monitoring the employees' punctuality, the center also inspects whether employees wear the prescribed uniforms. It recommends departmental action against employees who fail to follow the dress code.
