Central government employees might have to work with staggered attendance & variable working hours, according to a draft framework for ‘work for home’ for the staff post-lockdown by the Personnel Ministry, said PTI reports.
As per the reports, the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) can give the work from home option to eligible officers or staff for 15 days in a year as a matter of policy. If it is implemented, work from home rules will affect around 48.34 lakh central government employees. The Personnel Ministry has also informed all government departments that the Coronavirus pandemic has necessitated several ministries to operate from home so as to maintain social distancing.
The DoPT added, “Many of the ministries or departments in Government of India have successfully managed & rendered exemplary results in combat against the ongoing pandemic outbreak amid the lockdown period by leveraging e-office and video conferencing facilities of National Informatics Centre (NIC). It was the first-of-its-kind experience in the Government of India.”
Adding to it, the central secretariat may have to continue with staggered attendance & also variable working hours for maintaining social distancing at workplace in the near future. “Thus, a broad framework for work from home is important for standardizing the operating procedure even post lockdown situation & to ensure safety and security of information, while accessing government files and information remotely from home,” said the DoPT.
Work from Home Rules for Central Government Employees
New SOPs
The ministry has finalised a new set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the CG employees to ensure smooth & seamless functioning of the government for continuity of the office works. Apart from imparting resilience in the ecosystem even post lock down situations. The CG employees will be provided with the logistic supports in the form of laptop or desktop by the respective ministries or departments.
As per the draft guidelines, “Ministries might use the inventory of laptops on rotational basis for the officers who are working from home & needed such logistic support.”
The central government employees working from home may also get reimbursement for internet services that they would use while working from home.
Adding to it, “Department of Expenditure may consider reimbursement for data uses to the officers who are working from home. If required, it may issue separate guidelines in this regard.
More Protocol for all VIP Matters
The central government draft guidelines have proposed extra protocol for all VIP as well as Parliament matters that require utmost attention. “Thus, SMS alerts be sent for all these receipts and files to the next officer in the channel,” it mentioned.
E-Office Module
The draft guidelines of CG employees said, ministries or departments concerned, who are still not using the e-office module, would make endeavour for its expeditious implementation in their secretariat, attached & subordinate offices in a “time bound manner”.
E-Office Platform used by 75 Ministries/Departments
Currently, about 75 ministries or departments are actively using e-office platform, out of which 57 have achieved over 80% of their work. E-office refers to digitization or computerization of office working. But, “classified papers/files” cannot be processed while working from home.
Classified Information
According to the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs no classified information shall be handled through e-office. Thus, classified files shall not be processed in e-office amid work from home.
The NIC might evaluate the existing security protocol for remote access of classified file or information in consultation with Home Ministry & propose suitable guidelines and standard operating procedures to handle classified information in e-office. Till the time classified files shall be processed on standalone computers only as specified in the Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure (CSMOP),” the guidelines said.
The Personnel Ministry also mentioned that the officers to whom official laptops are given shall ensure that they do the official work only in official device.
