Special Disability Leave for Central Government Employees

Special Disability Leave for Central Government Employees
7th Pay Commission Recommendations

It is admissible to civilian employees when disabled by injury intentionally or accidentally inflicted or caused by or in consequence of the due performance of official duties or in consequence of official position held. Full pay is admissible for the first 120 days and half pay thereafter. The leave may be combined with any other kind of leave due and admissible, provided the total period of leave does not exceed 24 months.

There are demands to remove the ceiling limit of 24 months–the duration of leave may be left to the discretion of doctor and full pay paid for the entire period.

Analysis and Recommendations

There are three different kinds of leave admissible to civilian/defence employees which are granted for work related illness/injuries–Hospital Leave, Special Disability Leave and Sick Leave. It is an established worldwide practice that employees who suffer illness/injuries that are attributable to/aggravated in the course of their duty need to be adequately compensated. However, due to the inherent difference between the nature of duties of civilians and uniformed forces, a distinction needs be made in the level of compensation provided. Having said that, there is some similarity in the risks faced by different uniformed forces, and consequently parity amongst them may be considered as far as this leave is concerned.

The following is, therefore, recommended:

1. Hospital Leave, Special Disability Leave and Sick Leave should be subsumed in a new Leave named Work Related Illness and Injury Leave (WRIIL).

2. Full pay and allowances will be granted to all employees during the entire period of hospitalization on account of WRIIL.

3. Beyond hospitalization, WRIIL will be governed as follows:

a. For Civilian employees, RPF employees and personnel of Police Forces of Union Territories: Full pay and allowances for the 6 months immediately following hospitalization and Half Pay only for 12 months beyond that. The Half Pay period may be commuted to full pay with corresponding number of days of Half Pay Leave debited from the employee’s leave account.

b. For Officers of Defence, CAPFs, Indian Coast Guard: Full pay and allowances for the 6 months immediately following hospitalization, for the next 24 months, full pay only.

c. For PBORs of Defence, CAPFs, Indian Coast Guard: Full pay and allowances, with no limit regarding period.

4. In the case of persons to whom the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 applies, the amount of leave salary payable under WRIIL shall be reduced by the amount of compensation payable under the Act.

5. No Earned Leave or Half Pay Leave will be credited during the period that employee is on WRIIL.