Leave Rules for Government Servants

Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972

• These rules are officially termed the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972.
• They took effect on June 1, 1972.
• They apply to government servants appointed to civil services and posts related to Union affairs, unless stated otherwise.
• The rules do not apply to railway servants, casual, daily-rated, or part-time employees, those paid from contingencies, workmen in industrial establishments, members of All India Services, locally recruited staff in foreign Indian establishments, contract employees (unless specified), individuals with special constitutional provisions, those under Fundamental Rules or Civil Service Regulations, or those on deputation from State Governments for a limited time.

Definitions

• Administrator: Means an Administrator of a Union Territory.
• Audit Officer: Refers to the Accounts and Audit Officer overseeing the Government servant's office, regardless of the official title.
• Authority competent to grant leave: The entity listed in Column (3) of the First Schedule, authorized to approve the specific leave type listed in Column (2) of the same Schedule.
• Completed years of service/one year's continuous service: Continuous service for a specified time under the Central Government, including duty and leave (including extraordinary leave).
• Date of retirement or date of his retirement: The last day of the month in which a Government servant reaches retirement age.
• Department of the Central Government: A Ministry or Department of the Central Government, including the Planning Commission, Department of Parliamentary Affairs, President’s Secretariat, Vice-President’s Secretariat, Cabinet Secretariat, and Prime Minister’s Secretariat.
• Disability: "Specified disability", "benchmark disability" and "disability having high support needs" as defined in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (49 of 2016).
• Foreign service: Service where a Government servant's pay comes from a source other than the Consolidated Fund of India, a State, or Union Territory.
• Form: Refers to a form included in the Second Schedule of the rules.
• Government servant in quasi-permanent employ: An officer declared eligible by the Union Public Service Commission, appointed to a temporary position expected to become permanent after three years of service, or as defined under the Central Civil Services (Temporary Services) Rules, 1965.
• Government servant in permanent employ: An officer holding a substantive or provisionally substantive permanent post, holding a lien on a permanent post, or who would have held a lien but for its suspension.
• Head of Mission: Includes Ambassador, Charge d' Affaires, Minister, Consul-General, High Commissioner, or any authority declared as such by the Central Government where the Government servant studies or trains.
• Military Officer: An officer of the Armed Forces who is Army, Navy or Air Force.
• Vacation Department: A department which regular vacations are allowed, during which Government servants are permitted to be absent from duty.

General Conditions

• Leave cannot be claimed as a right.
• Leave may be refused or revoked due to public service needs, but the type of leave cannot be altered without the employee's written consent.
• Medical leave cannot be denied or revoked without consulting the Medical Authority, whose advice is binding.
• Leave claims are governed by the rules in effect when the leave is applied for.
• Dismissal, removal, or resignation cancels any leave balance, except as in Rule 39.
• Applying for a different government post through proper channels does not cause leave to lapse if resignation is required.
• Reinstatement after dismissal or removal allows prior service to count toward leave.
• Re-employed retirees may count previous service toward leave if past service counts toward pension.
• Leave may be commuted into another type if admissible when granted, but this is not an employee right.
• Requests for commutation must be made within 30 days of rejoining duty after the relevant leave spell.
• Commutation is subject to leave salary adjustments; excesses must be repaid, and arrears will be paid out.
• Extraordinary leave granted for medical reasons may be retrospectively commuted to leave not due, following Rule 31.

Combination and Maximum Duration of Leave

• Unless specified, different types of leave may be combined or taken consecutively.
• Casual leave, being unrecognized as formal leave, cannot be combined with other leave types.
• Leave of any kind is capped at a continuous period of five years.
• Absences exceeding five years, excluding foreign service, result in deemed resignation unless the President determines otherwise.
• A reasonable explanation opportunity must be provided before invoking the resignation clause.
• This rule does not apply to leave due to medical certificate related to a disability.

Restrictions & Permissions on Employment and Service

• Government servants cannot undertake outside service or employment (including private professional practice) while on leave, including preparatory leave to retirement, without prior approval.
• The President's sanction is required for service or employment outside India.
• The appointing authority's permission is needed for service or employment within India.
• Government servants on leave, other than preparatory to retirement, are generally not permitted to take up any other service or employment.
• In exceptional cases, the Government servant may be temporarily transferred from their parent office or may have to resign from their current appointment.
• Government servants on leave preparatory to retirement cannot take up private employment but may take up Public Sector Undertaking employment.
• If a Government servant on preparatory leave is needed before their retirement date, the unexpired portion of leave is canceled if they return to duty.
• Leave canceled is encashable as per Rule 39(2).

Application Process & Accountability

• All leave applications or extensions must use Form 1 and be submitted to the competent authority.
• If the applicant is unable to submit an application due to disability, application is submitted by other assigned guardians or family members.
• A leave account in Form 2 must maintained for every Government servant by the Audit Officer for gazetted staff and by the Head of Office for non-gazetted staff, except where allowances are managed by the Head of Office.
• No leave can be granted until the leave account authority confirms its admissibility.
• Leave sanction orders must show the balances of both earned and half-pay leave.
• If an admissibility report is expected to be delayed, leave can be provisionally sanctioned for up to 60 days based on available information.
• Provisional leave is subject to verification by the leave account authority with adjusted sanctions issued if needed.
• Audit Officers may issue provisional leave salary slips for up to 60 days for Gazetted Government servants upon request.
• An undertaking for recovery of leave salary is required for leave preparatory to retirement or cash payments in lieu of leave.

Circumstances Affecting Leave Grants

• Leave cannot be granted to employees facing dismissal, removal, or compulsory retirement.

Medical Leave and Requirements

• Medical leave applications require specific medical certificates: Form 3 for Gazetted officers and Form 4 for non-Gazetted employees.
• Gazetted officers must use certificates from a Central Government Health Scheme doctor, a Government Hospital, or an Authorized Medical Attendant.
• Non-Gazetted staff must use Form 4 from a CGHS doctor, a Government Hospital, or an Authorized Medical Attendant.
• In specific hospitalization cases, authorized doctors from recognized private hospitals are acceptable.
• If away from CGHS area, CGHS Gazetted beneficiaries need a certificate from an Authorized Medical Attendant.
• If away from CGHS area, non-Gazetted beneficiaries need a certificate from an Authorized Medical Attendant or a Registered Medical Practitioner.
• The certificate should clarify the illness's nature and duration or be rejected, or processed in an area where the employee falls ill or would be receiving treatment.
• For Government servants with disabilities, the Medical Authority must certify in Form 3-A the nature, extent, and origin date of the disability or need for service incapacitation.
• The Medical Authorities must provide a certificate of disability under defined conditions for government employees.
• Granting leave is not automatic; medical certificates must be submitted to the leave-granting authority for review.

Other Conditions

• The leave-granting authority may seek a second medical opinion from a Civil Surgeon or Staff Surgeon.
• It can also waive medical certificate production for leaves not exceeding three days, but these are not considered medical leave.

Leave for Unlikely Return to Duty

• If a Medical Authority reports no reasonable prospect of return to duty, the concerned Government servant doesn't necessarily have to be refused leave.
• Limited timeframe leave may be extended not exceeding twelve months if the Medical Authority is indefinite.

Commencement, Combination, and Recall

• Leave usually starts on the day charge is transferred and ends the day before charge is resumed, unless specified otherwise by the set rules.
• Holidays can attach to leave, and if the employee certifies being medically unwell, the holidays can be added to begin the leave on Sundays, provided certain conditions are followed.
• Holidays that occur either right before the leave of a medically certified and unwell employee are allowed to automatically join the other days off.
• Recalling an employee from leave is treated as compulsory.
• For recalls within India, the time is considered on duty, with applicable travel allowance and continued leave salary.
• For recalls from outside India, voyage time counts as duty, with applicable leave salary and free passage,
• Return from leave is not permitted before the leave's end unless approved.
• Leave preparatory to retirement cannot be revoked unless the authority can re-appoint from preparatory leave.

Regulations Concerning Duty and Salary

• Employees must provide a fitness certificate before resuming duties after medical leave
• A Medical Board provides the certificate for the approval of a Gazetted officer
• A registered practitioner provides the certificate for non-Gazetted employees with the employing authority's approval
• The employee is not entitled to the post held before going on leave
• Employees must report to specified authorities
• The authority specifies the time and terms to resume services
• All government servants must be available to work light duty as required
• Unauthorized absence after leave expiry results in salary deduction and leave debit, with possible disciplinary actions
• Earned leave is credited in advance in two installments each year for department members other than Vacation Departments.

Earned Leave Specifications

• Fifteen days will be credited on both January 1 and July 1 of every calendar year
• Joining a new post without an allotted time due to being ordered, the maximum number of days you can have is 15 days
• Unused joining times get credited as earned income
• Credits together are not to exceed 300 days
• Leave credits get carried forward, and will not exceed 300 days
• Earned income cannot be less than 285 days
• Government Servants on permanent jobs get credit for income that would have been permissible

Extra Rules for Credit

• Foreign duties count for purposes of this rule
• Granting leave requires following all Rules
• Maximum leave is capped at certain days
• The earned leave is admissible to non-Asiatic employees
• It requires continuous service from a specific date
• Vacation Department Members have a different set of rules and earned leave terms.
• Vacation Department Members also get their salaries as applicable to their leave terms.

Government Servants Retiring Or Resigning Terms

• Monthly salary is applicable as normal
• When a Government servant is due for service to be removed from the office, their leave gets a set allotment
• Days can be adjusted or marked off for days an employee is dismissed

Government Leave Modifications

• Leave gets split at the start of the new year
• Credit can be adjusted for employees in the service
• Medical or special circumstances can provide additional flexibility
• The explanation for any alterations of leave gets marked and noted respectively.

Vacation Departments

• Applies to any employee there is an adjusted annual salary
• Additional income may be awarded depending on specific clauses
• "Year" gets described as active duty
• Governments get awarded for a particular portion of vacation.

Holiday Leave Rules

• Vacation can be conjoined or used in addition with other kinds of allotted leaves
• Vacation also is not to exceed amounts that are labelled and applied

Standard Half Pay Rules

• Half-pay for all staff gets allotted at the start of each year/all events and actions get marked in writing
• A person being in service get allotted time as normal - salary at retirements are marked the same
• A certain allowance then counts as salary/dies non counts as its own.
• Departmental leaves are all payable given the employee is eligible.

Commuted Leave Conditions

• Maximum 180 days for half-pay
• The leave itself is only for certified and approved authorities only
• Salary stays consistent with the previous/commuted time periods to consider and grant leave for.
• If a salary is applicable the employee must pay the salary in the respective given time.
• The authority can grant if all stipulations are present.

Leave not Due

• Retirement times change certain periods
• Pay can get altered for sick leave or certain alterations which are mentioned within clauses

Extraordinary Leave

• Conditions can be specified
• Pay during this time alters the dates or years
• Relaxations alter conditions and other times which are specified in order

Conditions which Alter Extra Flexible Circumstances

1. Any extra government order that can be certified
2. Rules are in place and have conditions set such as this is an important factor
3. The time is allotted respectfully as well.
4. If extra leave gets conjoined it gets followed by the given periods respectfully.
5. There is respective power given when commuting.

Vacation Stipulations

• Certain stipulations can be modified respective to an agency having a new rule set during a period in time.
• Bond periods apply with particular alterations.

Specific Medical Details

• An allocated time is granted for service or medical reasons/a bond acts as conditions for any kind of rule with a service.
• This service must comply to remove an officer's duty that comes with a period to alter their respective leave/ the officer is subject to these terms after the explanation is given in order.

How to apply for Leave

• All applications must follow a certain procedure in the right measure in order/times must get allotted in particular and this action requires an exact period.
• It also alters depending on a given official/an application is also allotted under its corresponding set time.

Leave Salary Rules

• Set in place for service in order for the action to remain valid.
• Advance time gets granted as long as it follows the previous rule mentioned prior to the previous point.
• There is a set pay during the terms which allows salary for any leave allotted/certain factors prevent an employee from pay which impacts duties before granting salary.

Standard Leave Rules

• For maternity, female or single Government servants have leave which does have a set term
• Certain stipulations have a time for special purposes such as miscarriage which can account for 45 extra days
• Paternity also includes a special action for surrogate or adoptive conditions.

Conditions Regarding Care Situations

• One main goal is in accepting of a good number that promotes health practices such as time and special conditions
• There is additional access with a fixed salary/certain factors account for certain special circumstances

Sickness and Injury

• In special needs circumstances it is to follow a code or conduct which is laid out by an act.
• Additional injury factors alter conditions and any allotted injuries that may apply.

This lesson covers various leave rules applicable to government servants in different scenarios, including temporary transfers, permanent appointments, and military officers. It also addresses the applicability of specific DOPT notifications and the definition of a 'Head of Mission'.