Biometric attendance for Higher Education Secretariat staff in Odisha

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Higher Education Department has issued an order directing its Secretariat staff to register their biometric attendance on working days.

The department has initiated the move to ensure timely arrival of employees in the office.

Non-recording of the biometric attendance will be treated as absence of the employee, the order said.

“Every employee is required to record his/her ‘Office In’ as well as ‘Office Out’ time in the Biometric Attendance Recording Device. Non-recording of ‘Office In’ or ‘Office Out’ time shall be treated as absence from duty for that day,” the order of the Higher Education department read.

The department has asked the employees to come to office by 10 am and be present for a minimum duration of 7 hours and 30 minutes.

However, a grace period of half an hour shall be allowed for the ‘Office In’ timing, the order said.

If an employee’s presence in the office is more than 4 hours but less than 7 hours and 30 minutes on a working day, a half day-leave will be deducted. Similarly, if the attendance is less than four hours, an one-day leave will be deducted, the order said.

“Notwithstanding this instruction, an employee may have to work beyond 5.30 pm or 7.30 hours of duty in a day in case of need,” the order added.

When an employee, not being on leave, cannot record Office In/Office Out time for genuine reasons such as being on tour, the same can be exempted by the superior authority on application by the employee concerned.