What a muster roll contains
The layout is a grid: one row per worker, one column per day of the month, with codes such as P, A, L, H, WO in each cell, and totals at the right for days present, leave, weekly offs and overtime hours. The header carries the establishment's name and address, the contractor's name and licence number if applicable, and the wage period. Under the Contract Labour rules and most state Shops and Establishments rules, the register also carries the worker's designation, father's/husband's name and date of joining.
The Ease of Compliance rules issued in 2017 allowed several central registers to be merged into combined forms, and many states permit a 'muster roll cum wage register' that carries attendance and wage columns side by side. Check which form your state prescribes; the muster roll format in Excel follows the common combined layout.
- Serial number, name, designation, date of joining
- Daily columns for the wage period with P/A/L/H/WO codes and OT hours
- Totals: days worked, leave, weekly offs, overtime
- Signature or thumb impression columns where the rules require them
- Contractor name and licence number for contract labour
Where the term is used in India
Three settings use the word constantly. Contract labour: the contractor maintains the muster roll and the principal employer must be able to inspect it; the Contract Labour Act and the OSH Code both mandate it. MGNREGA: the muster roll is the document on which wage payments to rural workers are based, which is why the word is familiar across rural India. Government and PSU establishments: casual and daily-rated staff are literally called 'muster roll employees'.
In factories and offices the same document is often called the attendance register. The legal function is identical; the distinction is mostly vocabulary. For the difference in practice see that entry.
Retention and the digital muster roll
Retention periods are set by the applicable rules and vary; central Contract Labour rules have required registers to be preserved for three years after the last entry, and several state Acts specify their own periods. Keep the register for the longest period that applies to you. Registers may be maintained electronically provided they can be produced on demand, which most inspectors now accept.
A digital muster roll generated from verified punches solves the two problems paper never could: it cannot be backdated without a trace, and it cannot show a worker present who never punched. It also produces the wage register automatically, since paid days flow directly into it. See contract labour attendance and muster roll and the digital muster roll software page.
Row 17, Ramesh K, helper, joined 03 Feb 2025. September: 22 P, 4 WO, 2 A, 1 H (national holiday 2 Oct falls outside the month), 1 L (casual). Totals: 24 paid days (22 P + 1 L + 1 H), 4 weekly offs, 2 absent, 6 OT hours. Wage register draws 24 paid days at the notified semi-skilled daily rate plus 6 OT hours at twice the hourly rate.
Attend Mitra generates a monthly muster roll from verified punches for each site, department or contractor, exports it as PDF or Excel in a printable register layout, and carries the same paid-day totals into the salary register so the two documents never disagree.