Stepping up of pay of Head Clerks at par with Senior Clerks who were upgraded on the recommendation of Fifth CPC as Head Clerks

1.            Pursuant to the issue of Board’s letter dated 17.8.98, an anomaly arose in as much as those Sr.Clerks who were in receipt of special pay and promoted as Head Clerks prior to 01.01.1996 were fixed at a lower stage as on 1.1.96 vis-à-vis those Sr. Clerks in receipt of special pay but promoted as Head Clerk after 1.1.1996.

2.         In view of the above, the matter has been examined in Board’s office and it has been decided that in accordance with Note 1 below Rule 8 of  RSRP Rules,1997, the pay of Head Clerks ( grade Rs.1400-2300) may be stepped up at par with Senior Clerks ( grade Rs.1200-2040) in receipt of Spl. Pay of Rs.70/- who, on the recommendation of Fifth CPC were upgraded as Head Clerks and placed in the same scale of Rs.5000-8000 w.e.f. 1.1.1996. The benefit of stepping up of pay, wherever admissible, will be allowed only in cases where the promotion was on a regular basis and from the date the junior employee started drawing more pay than his senior.

3.         The stepping up of pay in these cases will be subject to the fulfillment of the conditions of natural principles viz. (i) both senior and junior employees belonged to the same cadres in the lower and higher posts and their scales of pay in the two posts were also identical; (ii) the senior employee was drawing equal or more pay than junior in the lower post; (iii) the senior employee was promoted earlier than his junior; and (iv) the next increment of such a senior will be drawn on completion of the required qualifying service from the date of re-fixation of pay.

4.         Further, the stepping up of pay will not be allowed in the following cases:-

a)    where an employee, even though senior was not found suitable for appointment to the identified posts of Senior Clerks carrying special pay;

b)    where the Sr. employee declined to accept deployment/appointment  or was appointed at a later date than the junior to the identified posts for whatsoever reasons whereby he draws less pay than the junior, in such cases senior cannot claim stepping up of pay at par with junior;

c)    where an employee was away outside the cadre at the time when his junior was appointed to the identified post;

d)    where a senior proceeds on extra ordinary leave which results in postponement of date of next increment in the lower post, consequently he starts drawing less pay than his junior in the lower grade itself. He, therefore, cannot claim pay parity on promotion;

e)    where the employee has been promoted to the post of Head Clerk against quota reserved for SC/ST/OBC/Sports etc. even before becoming eligible for the identified post carrying special pay;

f)     where junior gets more pay due to additional increments earned on acquiring higher qualifications or on sports account; and

g)    where a senior was appointed later than the junior in the lower post itself whereby he is in receipt of lesser pay than the junior, in such cases also senior cannot claim parity in the higher post though he may have been promoted earlier to the higher post.