Railway Employee Application Forwarding Procedures PDF

CHAPTER XIV FORWARDING OF APPLICATIONS FROM SERVING RAILWAY EMPLOYEES FOR POSTS OUTSIDE RAILWAYS 1401. Railway employees may be given 4 opportunities in a year to apply in response to notices of Government Departments/Public Sector Undertakings/autonomous...

CHAPTER XIV FORWARDING OF APPLICATIONS FROM SERVING RAILWAY EMPLOYEES FOR POSTS OUTSIDE RAILWAYS 1401. Railway employees may be given 4 opportunities in a year to apply in response to notices of Government Departments/Public Sector Undertakings/autonomous bodies wholly or substantially financed and controlled by Central or State Government except where holding of any such applications is considered justified in the public interest by the competent authority. Applications in response to UPSC advertisement will not be counted against the four opportunities mentioned above. Note : The authorities should interpret the term 'public interest' strictly subject to the condition that forwarding of application should be the rule rather than the exception. In taking the decision to withhold the application the competent authority has to balance the interest of the state against the necessity of causing hardship to the individual. This discretion should be applied with utmost objectivity and not mechanically. While it is not feasible to lay down the specific exhaustive guidelines for withholding of applications, some of them can be listed illustratively as follows : (i) The Railway employee is engaged on important time-bound projects and the work would be seriously dislocated if he is relieved. (ii) A railway employee is under suspension or is facing departmental proceedings/prosecution in a Court. (iii) A railway employee is applying for a post which is equivalent in status and rank. [E(NG)/78/AP/l dated 27-2-1979] 1402. Authorities competent to forward applications. Applications of staff and officers below Junior Administrative Grade may be forwarded by the General Manager or by the lower authority to whom he may further delegate these powers. When, however, the lower authority decides to withhold an application it should be done only with the approval of the General Manager or the Head of Department concerned. Applications of officers of the Junior Administrative grade and above may be forwarded to the Railway Board for disposal. [E(NG)65 RC1/86 dated 16-12-1965 and E(NG) II 73/AP/2 dated 18-5-1973]. 1403. Application for employment in a private concern. When a railway employee desires to apply for a post in a private concern he should first offer to resign or retire from railway service. For this purpose, any employment other than the employment   under   the Central Government or State Government, public sector enterprise wholly and partly owned   by   the Central Government or a State Government   or   an autonomous body wholly or substantially financed and controlled by the Central Government or a State Government will be treated as a private employment. [E(NG) 57 RC1/56 dated 21-1-1961 and E(NG) 1/84 AP/9 dated 11-4-1986] 1404. Retention of lien on selection on the basis of the forwarding of application : i. If a permanent railway employee is selected on the basis of his application for posts in other Central Government Department/Offices, his lien may be retained in the parent department for a period of 2 years. If the employee concerned is not permanently absorbed within a period of 2 years from the date of his appointment in the new post, he should immediately on expiry of the period of 2 years either resign from Railway service or revert to his parent cadre. An undertaking to abide by this condition may be taken from him at the time of forwarding of his application to other departments/offices. ii. Temporary railway servants with less than 2 years service will be required to severe connections with railways in case of their selection for outside posts. iii. When a permanent railway servant has joined a department/office where he is not confirmed within a period of 2 years due to some reasons, he may, in exceptional cases, be permitted to  retain the lien in the parent department/ office for one more year. While granting such permission, a fresh undertaking similar to the one indicated above may be taken from the railway employee. iv. Timely action should be taken to ensure extension/ reversion/ resignation of railway employees to their parent cadres on completion of the prescribed period of 2/3 years. In cases, where recalcitrant employees do not respond to instructions with the connivance or otherwise of their new employer, suitable action should be initiated against them for violating the agreement/ undertaking given by them as per (i) and (iii) above and for termination of their lien. 1405. Continuity of service on technical resignation : A permanent railway servant appointed in another Central Government Department/Office has to resign from his parent department unless he reverts to that department within a period of 2 years or 3 years in exceptional cases. Such resignations shall not be deemed to be resignation within the meaning of Rule 41(2) of Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993 for the purpose of pension. As a consequence, continuity of service benefits should be allowed to such employees in the matter of leave also i.e. the railway employee will be allowed to carry forward the leave earned by him, not only on the Railway but that earned during the temporary service or probation in the Civil Department also. 1406. The applications of railway employees for posts under State Government and their undertakings etc. may be forwarded subject to the provisions of para 1404 and instructions issued from time to time and within the limit laid down for forwarding applications for outside posts. (Authority:- Railway Ministry s letter No. E(NG)I/2006/AP/2 dt. 30.3.2006) 1406-A. Forwarding of applications for posts advertised by Central/ Public Sector Undertakings/ Central Autonomous Bodies : Applications of Railway servants in response to press advertisement for posts in Central Public Enterprises/Autonomous Bodies may be forwarded with a clear understanding with the Railway servants that in the event of their selection for the post applied for they will sever their connections with the Railways before joining the Public Sector Undertakings/ Autonomous Bodies. There is no question of retention of lien in such cases. A Railway servant selected on the basis of his application with proper permission for post in Central Public Enterprises/Central Autonomous Bodies will be required to give his/her technical resignation before his/her relief from Railway service. The Railway servant may thereafter be relieved to take up appointment in the Public Sector Undertaking/ Autonomous Body. The relieving order should indicate the period within which the official should join the Public Sector Undertaking/ Autonomous Body. Normally this period should not be more than 15 days. This period may be extended by the competent authority for reasons beyond the control of the official. Necessary notification/ orders accepting the resignation of the Railway servant from Railway service should be issued from the actual date of his/her joining the Public Sector Undertaking/Autonomous Body. The period between the date of relieving and the date of joining Public Sector Undertaking/ Autonomous Body can be regulated as leave of the kind due and admissible and if no leave is due, by grant of extra ordinary leave. In case he/she is not able to join the Public Sector Undertaking/Autonomous Body within the period allowed by the competent authority, he/she should report back to the parent office forthwith. 1407. Permission for applying for posts advertised by International Organisations/ Foreign Governments: Railway servants may apply in response to open or public advertisement of vacancies by the International Organisation and Foreign Government's with the prior permission of the cadre controlling authority concerned. In rare cases, when the time available for submitting the application is short, a Railway servant may send his application to the concerned agency in advance with a copy to his cadre controlling authority and this may be confirmed or withdrawn subsequently depending on the decision of the authority. The cadre controlling authorities would consider each case only from the point of view of whether the Railways servant could be spared or not, no other general considerations should be applied in taking a decision in the case. A Railway servant may be permitted to apply in response to a public advertisement even if he has completed the permitted number of years he can spend in international/ foreign assignment in his career. However, in such a case, he would have to resign or take retirement from Government service on selection. A Railway servant applying for an international assignment in response to public advertisement will not be given the status of "official nominee" for the assignment. Correspondence relating to the grant or denial of permission will be between a Railway servant concerned and the cadre controlling authority/ Government and latter will not correspond with the international organisation/ foreign Government on the subject. [Authority: No. E(NG)I-96/AP/2(2) dated: 16.8.99] 1408. Forwarding of   applications   from   railway employees to U.P.S.C. The Railway employees who wish to appear at the competitive examination conducted by UPSC or wish to apply for posts, recruitment to which is proposed to be made by selection through UPSC may submit their complete applications in the prescribed form direct to UPSC. They should, however, immediately inform the Head of their office/ department   giving details of   the examination/posts for which they have applied requesting him to   communicate his Permission to the Commission directly. In case the Head of Office/Department considers necessary to   withhold   the requisite permission,   he should inform the Commission within 30 days of the closing date for the receipt of the applications. In   case   no   such communication   is received from the   Head of Office/Department, it shall   be presumed by   the   Commission   that   there   is   no objection on the part of the employing department to   the candidature of   the Government   employees in question to be considered by the Commission. [E(NG) II/79/AP/2 dated 31-1-1979]. 1409. Issue of 'No Objection Certificate' for registration of name with the   Employment Exchange. Permanent railway employees and railway employees with more than 3 years service are allowed to register their names with the Employment Exchange for a higher post under the Govt/Public Sector Undertakings/Autonomous bodies on production of a 'No Objection Certificate'   from   their   employers.. 'No Objection Certificate' in such cases may be granted subject to the following conditions : (i) the railway employee should register only for a post higher than the one he is holding under the Govt. In cases of doubt as to whether the post for which a permanent employee intends to register his name with the Employment Exchange is higher than the one he is holding under the Govt. the decision of the Head of Office/Department shall be final. (ii) On being selected for appointment by the Govt. Department/Public Sector Under taking/Autonomous bodies for the higher poet, he may be treated as on deputation/Foreign service for a period one year only. On the expiry of this period, he should either revert to the parent department or resign his post under the Railways. (iii) Once an employee has reverted to the parent department after spending a year outside, he should not be allowed a 'No Objection Certificate' to register his name once again for a period of at least 2 years. [E(NG) III/70/AP/1   dated 22-2-1971]. 1410. Refund of cost of training and enforcement of bond-money in respect of railway employees who secured employment elsewhere on the basis of their duly forwarded applications "(i) Non-gazetted   Railway employees who have received training at Railway expense whether in the form of an ' induction training ' or in a specific avocation may be exempted from refunding the cost of training in the event of their selection to other posts under the Central or State Govt. or in Public Sector undertaking / Autonomous Bodies wholly or substantially owned/financed /controlled by the Central Government or a State Govt. However, a fresh bond should be taken from such employees to ensure that they serve the new employer for the balance of the original bond period. The Railway Administration with whom the employee has executed the original bond, may at the time of forwarding of his application (and if it is not possible, before his release) for another post, may write to the department/organisation under whom the employee intends to take up another appointment, intimating them about the bond obligation of the individual and clarifying that in the event of his selection for the new post, his release will be subject to the condition that the new department/organisation obtains from him a fresh bond binding him to serve them for the balance of the original bond period and in case he fails to serve the new department/organisation, or leaves it before completion of the original bond period, for a job, where exemption from bond obligation is not available. The proportionate bond money should be realised from the individual and refunded to the Railway Administration, with whom he had originally executed a bond. The Ministry/Department/Organisation where the person a newly employed, should also duly intimate the original Ministry /Department /Organisation, the fact of a fresh bond having been executed by the person concerned. (Authority Board's letter No. E(NG) I-89/AP/5 dated 25-6-98) (ii) Exemption from recovery of the training expenses in terms of this para includes payments made to an individual in the shape of training allowance or stipend. The instructions are not restrictive but cover all aspects of training including Apprenticeship. It is also clarified that exemption from recovery of expenses applies to all types of expenditure direct or indirect including payments made as training allowance or stipend. (iii) These instructions   also   apply to   cases where a railway employee has been selected for   a post/service (other than Private employment) for which he had applied before joining the Railway, with whom he had executed a bond. [E(NG) II/77/AP/6 dated 9-2-1979 & E(NG)I/84/AP/9 dated 11-4-1986]. (iv) Provision contained in   the above   para   are applicable to   all   the   railway employees including gazetted officers, probationers   and special   class railway Apprentices during   apprenticeship   training, probationary period and also where they are occupying working post. (c) DELETED (Vide letter no. E(NG)I-89/AP dated 12.12.2007)-acs no.198 [E(NG) II/79/AP/9 dated 3-7-79]. 1411. Transfer in the Public Interest The orders contained in the above paragraphs do not apply in the case of railway servants sent on transfer as a result of their applications for appointment having been forwarded through proper channel or when it is arranged in consultation with the Head of the Department in which they were previously employed by virtue of their special qualification and/or experience. The transfer in such a case will be treated as in the public interest, Temporary railway servants, if transferred, may be allowed to carry forward leave   on average pay at their credit. 1412. Forwarding of application of railway servants when conduct is under investigation : (i) Applications of Govt. servants for other posts should not be forwarded when disciplinary proceedings against them are contemplated whether for major or minor penalty. In other words, when the conduct of a Govt. servant is under investigation and the investigation has reached a stage at which a prima facie case can be made-out but formal charge sheet is yet to be issued, the application of such a Govt. servant should not be forwarded. Thus where the disciplinary proceedings are actually pending, the question of forwarding application does not arise. (ii) Where the case against a Govt. servant is only at the investigation stage and no prima facie case has been established against him, the controlling authority may forward his application without any comments with regard to the case against him except stipulating that the controlling authority reserves the.right not to release the official, if necessary. If by the time the offer comes, the preliminary investigations are over, the controlling authority should decide whether to relive him or detain him in public interest. [E (D&A) 75-RG6-65 dated 19-10-1978 & 19-1-1976 and E (D&A) 75-RG6-39 dated 6-10-1968] -----------------------------*********----------------------