Hajri Card Meaning in English – Complete Guide for Indian Businesses

Hajri Card Meaning in English – The Short Answer

A hajri card (हाज़री कार्ड) is a daily attendance card used by Indian employers to record whether each employee was present, absent, half-day, or working overtime. The word "hajri" comes from the Urdu / Hindi word haazri (حاضری / हाज़री) which literally means "presence" or "attendance".

So in plain English, hajri card = attendance card. It is the Indian equivalent of a timesheet — but usually simpler, daily, and historically kept on paper.

Origin of the Word "Hajri"

"Hajri" entered Hindi and many Indian regional languages via Persian and Urdu. The root form hazir (حاضر) means "present" — the same root gives the Arabic haazir. In Indian workplaces, "aaj ki hajri lagao" literally means "mark today's attendance."

Because the word is understood across Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi and Bhojpuri-speaking regions, the hajri card is the common attendance terminology on factory floors and construction sites from Mumbai to Lucknow.

What Information Does a Hajri Card Contain?

A typical hajri card has:

• Employee name and ID / code
• Month and year
• Every date of the month in a row or column
• Daily status code — P (Present), A (Absent), H (Half-day), OT (Overtime), WO (Weekly Off), L (Leave)
• Total days present at the bottom
• Total OT hours
• Supervisor signature

Where Are Hajri Cards Used?

Hajri cards are most common in:

• Factories and manufacturing units — garment, ceramics, steel, auto-parts, food processing
• Construction sites — daily-wage labour, contractors, site engineers
• Shops and kirana stores — helpers, delivery boys, cashier
• Restaurants and hotels — kitchen staff, waiters, cleaners
• Schools, coaching centres and offices — teachers, attendants, peons
• Tailoring and piece-rate units
• Workshops and service centres

Why Do Businesses Need a Hajri Card?

A proper hajri record is the foundation of honest payroll. Without it:

• You cannot pay the right monthly salary.
• You cannot prove attendance to a labour inspector.
• You cannot settle salary disputes with staff.
• You cannot calculate overtime correctly.
• You cannot justify deductions for absence or half-day.

Paper Hajri Card vs Digital Hajri Card App

Aspect	Paper Hajri Card	Digital Hajri Card App
Marking time	5–10 min daily	1–2 min daily
Risk of loss	High (fire, damage, theft)	None (cloud backup)
Salary calculation	Manual, error-prone	Automatic
Reports	Hours of compilation	Instant PDF & Excel
Tampering	Easy to alter with a pen	Full audit log
Shared view with staff	Hard	WhatsApp / login

How a Digital Hajri Card Works

In a digital hajri card app like Staff Hisab, the owner or supervisor:

1. Opens the app on phone, tablet or Windows PC.
2. Sees all employees in one screen.
3. Taps Present, Half-day, Overtime or leaves the day blank for absent.
4. The app auto-counts working days and OT hours.
5. At month-end, the app generates a salary slip with everything already calculated.

Shop owners who switch from paper to digital hajri typically recover the switching cost in the first month through fewer errors, fewer disputes, and the time they no longer spend re-copying registers.

Hajri Card – FAQ

What is the English word for hajri?

The closest English word is "attendance" or "presence". A hajri card is therefore an attendance card or attendance register.

Is a hajri card legally required in India?

Under the Factories Act, Shops & Establishments Acts, and Minimum Wages Act, employers must maintain attendance and wage registers for all workers, typically for at least 3 years. A hajri card (paper or digital) satisfies this requirement.

What is the format of a hajri card?

A standard hajri card has the employee's name, the month, a row for each date, a daily status code, totals for present days and OT, and a supervisor signature. See our attendance sheet format guide for a template.

Can I print a hajri card from Staff Hisab?

Yes. Staff Hisab auto-generates a monthly Employee Attendance Card showing every day's status, OT hours, advance and final salary. You can download it as PDF or print it on paper.