Online Attendance vs. Manual Register: Is It Necessary Under the Shop and Establishment Act?

Hi, we are using an online attendance portal for all our employees. My point is, is it compulsory to have a manual attendance register and fill that out, as we are registered under the Shop and Establishment Act? We are processing salaries through bank transfer; no one is being paid in cash.

Biometric Attendance System

Online attendance means using a biometric process. If attendance is recorded through a biometric system, no physical signature in the attendance register is required. However, if you wish, you can ask them to sign as well.

Regards,
Pon

No, we use a web portal for marking attendance. It is accessible only through our LAN or systems that are configured for the same.

Attendance Compliance for Organizations

Every organization either has its own attendance portal or opts for a third-party attendance portal, such as a biometric system. According to labor law, every organization must maintain an attendance register for the Factory Inspector and/or for the Shops and Establishment Inspector. If no employee signs the register, then the HR department has to update it weekly or monthly to prevent any potential issues with government authorities. Therefore, it is the organization's decision whether to require employees to fill the attendance register daily or to fill it using data exported from the attendance portal for compliance purposes.

As mentioned by Ankit, it is compulsory for all establishments to maintain an attendance register, even if they have a biometric system or any other portals to record attendance. This is one of the statutory compliances that must be followed and is mandatory.

Regards,
Bharghavi

Dear Imok, you might have some idea about attendance maintenance as our seniors have guided you, but I have some doubts. How are the employees registering their presence? Are they using a swipe card attendance system or a biometric system (finger or face reading) to record their attendance? How are you uploading the data to the portal? If you provide some clarification, it will be easier for me to guide you.

Thank you.

We use our dedicated LAN network and a dedicated portal which runs only on the portal. Employees need to log in with their login ID from where they can click on their attendance portal. It's not on any physical machine, and it's secure because it can't be accessed through the internet or LAN; it can't even be accessed if the system is not registered by our IT team. It's automatically updated in records.

Please clarify if it's possible to bypass this manual attendance.

Monthly Attendance Management

Please approach your IT team to get the attendance printout for every month upon completion of the month and ensure it is neatly filed. If the employee has not logged in on a particular day, it will show as blank, and in that column, HR has to fill in with leave, on duty, absent, or sick, depending on the reason for not logging in. Once your work is completed, instruct the IT team to print out the monthly attendance and file it properly so that it can be presented to the appropriate inspecting authorities.

You can also explain the system to the inspecting authorities, and they will surely understand, eliminating the need for daily manual attendance requests.

It means there is no exception from filling the register. However, we can do this weekly, but we need to do this. Please confirm with me as I am about to send an email to all staff regarding this.

Yes, I'm okay. There is no exception from filling the register, even if it's weekly. You have to do it. You can proceed and do the needful.

Regards,
Bharghavi

Please consult your IT team and try to get the printout, then file it neatly in a folder named "ATTENDANCE REGISTER." If possible, take the printout on a weekly basis, or at least on a monthly basis, and ensure it is filed neatly. There is no need to maintain any other register.

Thank you.

You can use the online system. However, you must obtain prior permission from the Labor Office for the same. Otherwise, you are required to maintain a manual register.

Regards,
Prashant

On the above topic, I have to add that since digitization has been implemented by the Modi Central Government, one can obtain written permission from the factory inspector and just install a biometric attendance machine. There is no longer a need for a manual register to maintain daily, weekly, or monthly attendance.

Prashant K Malekar, HR

Legal provisions under Labour Laws

Legal provisions under the Labour Laws, such as the Factory Act and the Shops & Establishment Act, must be adhered to. Attendance records and leave records are required to be maintained in a specific format.

Legal provisions under Labour Laws

Legal provisions under the Labour Laws, such as the Factory Act and the Shops & Establishment Act, must be adhered to. Attendance records and leave records are required to be maintained in a specific format.