Stepping up of pay of seniors promoted prior to 31.12.2015- Agenda Point-7

The issue of Stepping up of pay of seniors promoted prior to 31.12.2015 has been included in the agenda points for the Standing Committee Meeting of NCJCM

Stepping up of pay of seniors promoted prior to 31.12.2015 getting lesser basic pay than the juniors promoted after 01.01.2016

Item No.7

Stepping up of pay of seniors promoted prior to 31.12.2015 getting lesser basic pay than the juniors promoted after 01.01.2016

After the implementation of Ministry of Finance / Department of Expenditure OM dated 31st July, 2018 wherein it is clarified

“that in case an employee is promoted or granted financial upgradation including upgradation under the MACP scheme on 1st January or 1st July, where the pay is fixed in the Level applicable to the post on which promotion is made in accordance with the Rule 13 of the CCS(RP) Rules, 2016, the first increment in the Level applicable to the post on which promotion is made shall accrue on the following 1st July or 1st January, as the case may be, provided a period of 6 months’ qualifying service is strictly fulfilled. The next increment thereafter shall, however, accrue only after completion of one year”.

Due to the above benefit of granting the 1st increment within 6 months after promotion it has been observed that an anomaly was caused to the senior employees in the same category promoted prior to 31st December, 2015 is getting lesser Basic Pay than those who are promoted on or after 01.01.2016 due to the benefit availed by the junior in accordance with the Department of Expenditure OM dated 31.07.2018.

Similar anomaly has happened in the case of Service Personnel in the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence / Department of Military Affairs has taken up the matter with Defence Finance and Ministry of Finance and the MOD vide Letter referred above dated 26.09.2022 have now issued the clarification for stepping up of the pay of the senior at par with the junior as under :-

(a) DNI is an inherent part of pay as duly clarified by Ministry of Finance, while defining equal pay vide Ministry of Finance Letter 1(14)-III/89 dated 16th June, 1989.

(b) Accordingly, Ministry of Finance has applied the same rule in the extant anomaly noticed in VII CPC. It has now been clarified that after 01st January, 2016, in case a junior who is drawing less / same pay as a senior, starts drawing more Basic Pay after six/ months of his promotion due to DNI provision extended in VII CPC, pay of such senior shall be stepped up, equal to junior’s pay w.e.f. 01st January, or 01st July as the case may be.

The above benefit of stepping up of pay the senior employees who are promoted prior to 31.12.2015, at par with the junior’s promoted after 01.01.2016 has not been extended to the Central Government Employees. This is a discrimination, since any instruction related to Pay Commission Anomalies are equally applicable to the Civilian Employees also. Therefore, it is requested that the DOPT and Department of Expenditure may kindly arrange to issue instructions as already issued to the Service Personnel for stepping up of pay of the seniors who were promoted prior to 31.12.2015 at par with the junior’s promoted after 01.01.2016.

Source : NCJCM Staff Side Agenda Points