Diwali Gift: Centre announces ad-hoc BONUS for THESE employees; details here

File Photo

New Delhi: Ahead of the Diwali festival and on the Dhanteras, presents and bonuses are pouring down on the Central government employees. The Union Government announced non-productivity linked bonuses (also known as ad-hoc bonuses) as a huge cheer for the Central government employees.

The Centre has approved the payment of an ad hoc bonus for the fiscal year 2021–2022, which is equal to 30 days of payment. In a document released on October 6, 2022, the Department of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance, announced the grant of this incentive. Employees who are not covered by a productivity-linked incentive programme receive a non-productivity-linked bonus. ()

All Group B non-gazetted employees and Group C central government personnel will receive the non-productivity linked bonus. ()

The DoE stated in the official memorandum that the monthly emoluments calculation cap for ad-hoc bonus payments will be Rs 7,000. Adjudicated incentive payments are also available to qualified members of the central paramilitary forces and the armed forces.

Additionally, it will be extended to UT administration personnel who follow the central government emoluments pattern and are not covered by any other bonus or ex-gratia programmes.

The amount of the ad-hoc bonus will be determined by average emoluments or a computation ceiling, according to the Centre's memorandum (whichever is lower). The average annual salary will be divided by 30.4, and the number of bonus days given to the employees will be multiplied to determine the amount of ad-hoc bonus for a day.

To be eligible for payment under these orders, an employee must have been employed as of March 31, 2022, and they must also have provided at least six months of continuous service throughout the year 2021–2022.

Additionally, eligible employees will be entitled to pro-rata remuneration for periods of continuous service during the year ranging from six months to a full year, with the qualifying period measured in terms of the number of service months (rounded off to the nearest number of months).

The DoE states that casual workers will be eligible for the ad-hoc bonus if they have worked in offices six days a week for at least 240 days annually for three years or more (206 days annually for three years or more in the case of offices following a five-day workweek).