By the SightShield team · · 3 min read
Why principal employers track contract workers
Many factories, warehouses, hospitals, IT parks and construction sites depend on workers supplied by contractors — housekeeping, security, loading, production support and construction trades. The contractor bills for manpower and hours; the principal employer pays. Without reliable attendance, bills cannot be verified, overtime is disputed, and absent workers may be billed as present.
Under India’s labour codes in force since November 2025, which brought the earlier contract labour law into the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, principal employers also carry responsibilities towards contract workers on their premises, including in some cases ensuring wages are paid. Accurate attendance records support that.
What a good system records
- Each worker’s identity, linked to their contractor.
- In and out times at the gate, by face or fingerprint.
- Shift, department and work location.
- Overtime hours, calculated against agreed rules.
- Daily headcount by contractor, matched against the contract.
Stopping proxy attendance
Card systems are easily misused: one worker swipes several cards. Face recognition at the gate stops this, and liveness detection prevents photos being used. Combine it with turnstiles so every worker must pass the reader, and CCTV at the gate for spot checks.
Stopping buddy punching →Reports that matter
| Report | Used for |
|---|---|
| Contractor-wise daily headcount | Checking manpower supplied against the contract |
| Worker-wise monthly attendance | Verifying contractor bills and wages |
| Overtime by worker and contractor | Approving overtime claims |
| Late and early exits | Discipline and shift planning |
| Muster roll export | Statutory records and audits |
Reconciling contractor bills
- Agree with each contractor that bills will be based on the system’s reports.
- Share a weekly headcount report so differences are caught early.
- Match monthly worker-wise hours against the bill line by line.
- Approve overtime only where it appears in the system and was authorised.
- Keep the reports with the paid bill for audits.
Safety and induction
Linking attendance with safety makes sites safer: workers can be allowed through the gate only after completing safety induction, and access to hazardous areas can be limited to trained workers. In an emergency, the attendance list shows which contract workers are on site.
Onboarding and exit
Enrol contract workers when they join, with ID verification, and remove their biometric data when they leave the site — both good practice and a data protection requirement. A temporary enrolment process at the security cabin keeps short-term workers from bypassing the system.
Records under the labour codes
The Code on Wages requires employers to maintain registers covering persons employed, muster roll and wages, and the rules allow these to be kept electronically. Retention periods and formats depend on the applicable central or Karnataka rules; check with your compliance advisor and make sure your attendance software can export what they need.
Attendance records and the law →Quick answers
Can contract workers use the same machines as our staff?+
Yes. The software tags each person by employer or contractor and reports them separately.
Can contractors see their workers’ attendance?+
Many systems allow limited contractor logins or scheduled reports for reconciliation.
How do we handle short-term workers?+
Enrol them at the security cabin on arrival and remove them when the job ends.
Face or fingerprint for labour?+
Face recognition is usually better: fingerprints of manual workers are often worn or dirty, and face is touch-free.
Does the principal employer have any duty for contract workers’ wages?+
Under the labour codes, principal employers can have responsibilities towards contract workers, including in some cases ensuring wages are paid. Take advice on your specific situation.
Can the system block workers whose contractor licence has expired?+
Many systems can deactivate all workers of a contractor at once, for example when a contract ends.