7th CPC Recommendations on Encashment and Accumulation of Earned Leave

7th Pay Commission Recommendations on Encashment and Accumulation of Earned Leave

Is any Proposal for Accumulation of Earned Leave beyond 300 days under consideration?

No. The existing provisions of the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 with regards to medical emergencies for Government servants, are considered adequate.

The above information was given in a written reply by Minister Shir Jitendra Singh in Lok Sabha on 5 February 2020.

Earned Leave Accumulation Limit Rules for Central Government Employees

• Carrying forward of Earned Leave by Defence Industrial Employees on transfer
• Maximum of 300 Days Leave Allowed to Encash at the time of regular Retirement for Central Government employees

“The recommendations in relation to pay of both the civilian and defence forces personnel will also lead to a significant increase in the pay drawn and therefore in the total amount of leave encashment available for an employee.

Therefore raising the present ceiling of 300 days is not recommended by the Commission”.

Earned Leave : Presently 30 days EL per annum is granted to Civilian employees and 60 days to Defence personnel. EL can be accumulated up to 300 days in addition to the number of days for which encashment has been allowed along with LTC.

Suggestions have been made to increase the accumulation to 450 days, allow encashment of 50 percent of the accumulated EL after 20 years of service and delink encashment of leave from LTC.

A novel concept of “gifting” has been put forward, wherein employee should be allowed to ‘gift’ certain number of days of leave to one’s spouse or one’s colleague. “Vocational” staff like teachers, principals, etc. have demanded restoration of 10 days EL, which was changed to 20 days Half Pay Leave by VI CPC. Leave Encashment permitted at the time of retirement:

Central Pay Commission – Earned Leave

• 4th  Central Pay Commission – 240 days
• 5th Central Pay Commission  – 300 days
• 6th Central Pay Commission  – 300 days

# # excludes 60 days EL encashment during LTC Half Pay Leave (HPL) : Presently, government employees are entitled to 20 days of Half Pay Leave for each completed year of service, credited @10 days on the 1st of January and 1st of July every year.

There are representations that encashment of HPL should be allowed at the time of superannuation.

7th Pay Commission Recommendations

Analysis and Recommendations : The demands lack merit. Elsewhere in the report it has been recommended that 20 days HPL granted to “Vacational” staff be converted into 10 days EL. Hence, HPL will henceforth not be available to them. No change other than this is recommended

Analysis and Recommendations : In many organizations, employees are encouraged to take leave on the premise that it revitalizes them and is beneficial for the organization in the long run.

Such a system is not prevalent in the government sector in India, but substituting leave with cash is also not desirable. Hence, no change in encashment guidelines is recommended.

The Commission recognizes that Earned Leave is, as the name suggests, earned by an employee through the services rendered. Hence, it is personal to the employee and the concept of “gifting” cannot be considered.

The demand of “Vacational” staff can, however, be agreed to. Hence, it is recommended that “Vacational” staff be granted 10 days EL in place of 20 days Half Pay Leave. Other than this no other change is recommended.

More recommendations on other leave and holidays

Latest Orders Circulars on Leave Encashment

• Leave Encashment of Central Government Employees Calculator January 19, 2025
• DoPT Clarifies 10 Days Encashment of Earned Leave on LTC for CG Employees August 9, 2024
• Encashment of Earned Leave alongwith LTC – Clarification issued by Dopt June 13, 2023
• CG employees retired during the period from Jan 2020 to June 2021: Calculation of Gratuity and Leave Encashment September 9, 2021
• Pending payment of encashment of Earned Leave and Half Pay Leave for BSNL VRS Retirees October 19, 2020
• Immediate settlement of pending issues in respect of retired employees under BSNL VRS 2019 September 11, 2020
• Payment of leave encashment in respect of VRS-2019 optees whose Vigilance clearance is withheld May 9, 2020
• Leave encashment to officers appointed on contract in various posts under Government – DoPT June 21, 2019
• Clarification in respect of encashment of Earned Leave to reemployed pensioners – DoPT July 4, 2017
• Cabinet approved leave encashment up to 180 days to Defence personnel April 19, 2017
• 7th Pay Commission Report on Leave Encashment of EL December 12, 2015
• IBA Clarification on Paternity Leave, Encashment on LFC, Re-fixation of Pay and Special Allowance July 28, 2015
• One time relaxation in Rules for leave encashment during service January 12, 2015
• One time relaxation for leave encashment during service: Railway Board Order December 24, 2014
• Timely payment of dues of encashment of leave to Government servants retiring on attaining the age of superannuation… October 25, 2013