PTI, GANGTOK, JULY 12, 2024 : The Sikkim government declared the second and fourth Saturdays of every month as a holiday for its employees. In a circular issued by the Department of Personnel on Thursday, the state government said it would give additional time to the employees to rest. 

The government also asked its employees to strictly comply with the working hours, from 10am to 4.30 am. 

“It has been seen that many government employees report for duty very late in the morning and leave office much before the scheduled time in the evening. This hampers the implementation of development-oriented policies and programmes. 

Reporting late also causes undue harassment to the public who visit offices regularly for official works,” it said. 

“Considering this, it is hereby ordered that all government employees should report for duty latest by 10 am and should remain in their respective offices till 4.30 pm,” it added. 

Half-day casual leave would be deducted if an employee is found to have reported after 10.30 am or left the place of duty before 4.30 pm without valid official reasons, the circular said. 

It also asked departmental heads to undertake surprise checking of the attendance of the employees.