Importance of Muster Roll Compliance in Office: Shop Act Requirements and Attendance Management

Dear Friends,

Kindly suggest, is it mandatory to keep the muster in the office as per the Shop Act? As we are a growing company, we have 5-6 people joining us per month, and now we have over 100 employees. Maintaining the muster is a little tedious, and even employees are not very happy to sign in and out every time.

We have currently installed an access control system that provides all sorts of reports that are sufficient for HR and Payroll.

My question is, can we completely remove the muster from the reception and rely on the access control system? Is it mandatory as per the Shop Act for us to have a muster kept for signing?

Kindly help...

Thanks,
Payal

It is compulsory under any act to have a muster roll. How can employees feel tedious and unhappy to sign the muster roll when they themselves feel very happy to sign the salary register? Make it compulsory right from the beginning; otherwise, you will lose control over it. You can introduce things only in the beginning stage; later on, it will become impossible to enforce things. Therefore, advise the employees to follow the rules of the company without any laxity.

Regards, Madhu.T.K

Dear Friend,

There are companies with more than thousands of employees, even as they maintain the registers. There are always some obligations that we have to fulfill, whether willingly or unwillingly. Moreover, there is one more option: if you can provide a system-generated attendance verified by the authorized signatory whenever asked, then you can be exempted from this obligation. However, for that, you have to obtain an exemption from the governing body (such as the labor office of that area) to use such adjustments. Some places do not require such exemptions, so you have to check whether the exemption is needed in your area.

Regards,
Pooja