Police verification must for outsourced employees

Tribune News Service

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Chandigarh, August 16

The state government has made character verification must for the employees to be engaged under the outsourcing policy in different departments.

The decision would be applicable for engagement of the persons under Outsourcing Policy (Part-1) and Outsourcing Policy (Part-2) and go a long way in instilling transparency and uniformity in the contractual appointments.

“The persons engaged under these two policies should be issued identity cards by the department concerned only after police clearance about their character and antecedents,” an order of the Chief Secretary to the administrative secretaries, heads of the departments, managing directors of the boards and corporations and deputy commissioners said.

Meanwhile, the service providers, through which these employees are employed, shall recommend only those persons whose police verification/clearance about their character and antecedents had been obtained.

A senior officer said the decision had been taken as the contractual employees perform the duties and functions of the regular employees for all intents and purposes. Since they are part of the decision-making process of the government, the police verification had been made mandatory on the pattern of the regular government employees.

Currently, the contractual employees recruited through outsourcing policy perform important official functions in view of the shortage of staff in all major departments. Under the Outsourcing Policy (Part-1), “keeping in view the emergence of new areas in the field of effective governance and due to technological advancements, the state government outsourced certain services that are of supporting nature to its functioning”. There are usually no regular sanctioned posts for performing these outsourced services.

Similarly, under the Outsourcing Policy (Part-2), employees can be engaged for an initial period of six months or till regularly appointed persons are appointed on vacant Group C and D posts in public interest.

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BOX: No sensitive postings for outsourced staff

The order made it clear that the charge of the sensitive or financial dealing posts should be assigned to the officials working on a regular basis only and not to the contractual or persons engaged under the outsourcing policy.