7th Pay Commission: Overtime pay discontinued for most government employees
What's the story
According to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry, the government has decided to discontinue overtime pay for most Central government employees, except operational staff who are all non-ministerial non-gazetted Central government employees directly involved in smooth operation of the office. The move comes after the 7th Pay Commission made recommendations in this regard. Here's more on it.
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Cases where overtime allowance is allowed
"OTA should be paid only when his/her senior officer directs the concerned employee(s) in writing for staying back in office to attend urgent nature of work," said the Personnel Ministry in a statement.
Justification
The Department of Expenditure clarifies the basis of the decision
The Department of Expenditure clarified that given the consistent rise in levels of compensation for government employees over the years, the 7th Pay Commission's recommendation to discontinue overtime pay for all Central government employees, other than operational staff and industrial employees, had been accepted by the government. All ministries, departments, and attached and subordinate offices of the government have been instructed to implement it.
Other details
Overtime allowance rates haven't been revised
The administrative wings of all ministries and departments have been asked to prepare a list of operational staff, clearly detailing reasons for inclusion of a particular category of staff in the list of operational staff. Additionally, grant of overtime allowance is to be linked to biometric attendance of employees. Overtime allowance rates for operational staff hasn't been revised, and will follow 1991 standards.