How Do Half Pay Leave and Commuted Leave Work?

How You Earn Half Pay Leave

• Your half pay leave account is credited in advance with 10 days on 1 January and 10 days on 1 July each year (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 29(1), p. 22).
• In the half-year in which you are appointed, the credit is 5/3 days for each completed calendar month you are likely to serve (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 29(2)(a), p. 22).
• If absence or suspension is treated as dies non, your next credit is reduced by one-eighteenth of that period, up to 10 days (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 29(2)(d), p. 22).
• Fractions are rounded off to the nearest day (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 29(5), p. 23).
• Rule 29(1), as it now reads, excludes military officers and government servants serving in a Vacation Department from this half-yearly credit (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 29(1), p. 22). If you are a teacher or other vacation staff, check your leave account with your office.

Taking Half Pay Leave

• Half pay leave may be granted on medical certificate or on private affairs (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 29(4), p. 23).
• On half pay leave you get leave salary equal to half of the amount you would get on earned leave (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 40(3), p. 34). On earned leave, leave salary equals the pay drawn immediately before the leave (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 40(1), p. 34).

How Commuted Leave Works

• Commuted leave of not more than half the half pay leave due may be granted on medical certificate (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 30(1), p. 23).
• The leave sanctioning authority must be satisfied that there is a reasonable prospect of you returning to duty when it ends (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 30(1)(a), p. 23).
• For each day of commuted leave, twice that number of days is debited from your half pay leave (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 30(1)(d), p. 23).
• On commuted leave you get full leave salary, the same as on earned leave (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 40(4), p. 34).
• You can ask for commuted leave even when earned leave is due to you (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 30, Note, p. 23).
• Up to 180 days of half pay leave in your whole service can be commuted without a medical certificate for an approved course of study certified to be in the public interest (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 30(1-A), p. 23).
• If you resign or retire voluntarily without returning to duty, the commuted leave is treated as half pay leave and the extra leave salary is recovered. There is no recovery if retirement is due to ill-health or in case of death (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 30(2), p. 23).

Half Pay Leave at Retirement

• On retirement, half pay leave at your credit is encashed along with earned leave, subject to a combined limit of 300 days (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 39(2)(a), p. 30).
• To make up a shortfall in earned leave, half pay leave cannot be commuted (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 39(2)(c), p. 30).

Where to Check

Read Rules 29, 30 and 40 of the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972 in the DoPT consolidated copy updated as on 24.09.2024 (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 29, p. 22).

These rules do not apply to Railway servants (CCS (Leave) Rules 1972, Rule 2(a), p. 3). KVS, NVS and Delhi Police staff should also check their own organisation's orders.

Related Questions

Official Sources

• Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 (updated as on 24.09.2024) · Department of Personnel and Training, Government of India