President of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Mohamed Mujuthaz has stated that even though the Civil Service Act was amended to include a 30 minute buffer for government staff who are unable to make it to work on time for various reasons, staff can only head home from work after making up the time they spent outside in the office.

In a special interview given to Mihaaru News, Mujuthaz said they want to establish an environment where civil staff can work happily without much restraint.

While highlighting the buffer time was introduced with that in mind, Mujuthaz said the buffer time is meant for the days civil service staff cannot make it to the office on time because of situations that may arise, allowing the adjustment of work times without any additional permission.

"The implementation of the buffer time allows staff to arrive at a more relaxed time instead of arriving specifically at the given time. I believe the buffer time will allow for significant progress as the buffer time takes traffic, taking their children to school and other such instances into account," said the President of the CSC.

According to Mujuthaz, even though some political parties may think the buffer time is an issue, it will work as a major point of ease for staff and institutions.

He went on to give details about this, stating even though official working hours begin at 8:00am, arriving at 8:01am means they are late, which results in a salary reduction for the month.

"For example, if staff are to arrive at 8:00am but arrive at 8:01am, it counts as being late," said Mujuthaz while gesturing to what has been happening.

Another thing Mujuthaz highlighted was staff being unable to wake up on time the following day due to them working late on important office matters the night before, causing them to call out of work.

Mujuthaz said even though staff are supposed to call out of work due to illness, some staff have done so because they were unable to wake up and to see to other matters.

"In other cases, the staff member wakes up at 8:05am due to them tending to office matters late into the night, causing them to wake up late. If they worked on office matters, many staff tend to call out of work because they were unable to wake up on time. They are only supposed to do this if they are sick. However, staff call out of work because they were not able to wake up," said Mujuthaz.

"The staff make the simplest choice after taking into account the cut in pay due to oversleeping, steps that may be taken against them because of it and such, with the choice being to call out of work."

With the buffer time however, Mujuthaz said even if staff were to wake up as their shifts were about to start, it would allow them to get to work on time.

"This presents the opportunity for those who wake up at 8:05am to get to work on time by 8:30am. This is a concession for the office as a whole. The staff are able to get to work and tend to their tasks."

Even if such a concession has been given, staff are to work the six hours they are supposed to from the time they get to the office.

Mujuthaz stated that if a staff member gets to work at 8:10am, the buffer time rule states their work day will end at 2:10pm, and if they get to work at 8:30am, their work day will end at 2:30pm.

"Official working hours begin at 8:00am. If the staff member gets to the office at 8:30am, they have to make up that time of half an hour. Meaning, if the staff member gets to the office at 8:10am, their work day will end at 2:10pm. They will need to make up for that time," as was said by Mujuthaz.

According to the amendment to the Civil Service Act, if any staff shows up to work after the 30 minute buffer, they will be considered late.

However, some civil service employees are exempt from this. This includes staff responsible for opening and closing the office, staff on shift duty, people who work at mosques and employees who provide services directly to the public during official working hours.

The amendment also reads that the only way civil service employees can be exempted from this is by an institution making a submission to the Civil Service Commission (CSC).