Leaves are the time or durations that an employee takes off from his duties. These are the breaks from the normal working hours and routines of his service. In the Punjab government, there are several types of leaves awarded to employees e.g., casual leaves, maternity leaves, paternity leave, sick leave, leave without pay, and half-day leave, etc. The government has established some rules that ensure the balance between the work of the department and the welfare of the employees.
Leave rules for employees of the Department of Punjab.
The leave rules that are implemented by the government of Punjab for the employees are the “Revised leave rules 1981-Govt. of Punjab”. There are the following types of leaves that a government sector employee avail;
| Sr. No. | Leave | Duration | Rules |
| 1 | Casual Leave (CL) | There are 25 casual leaves per calendar year. Normally (CL) cannot exceed 10 days at a time. Under special cases, an employee gets a maximum of 15 days (CL) at a time. | The casual leaves cannot be carried forward for the next year. An employee cannot avail (CL) in his training period. In case of transfer, DDO should inform the (CL) of the employee to his new DDO. An employee should remember it cannot be claimed casual leaves as a right. |
| 2 | Earned leave | 1 per month for the vacation department. 4 per month for the non-vacation department. | This leave will be on the full salary of the official. This leave will be credited from the leave account of the official. |
| 3 | Leave on full pay /Half pay | This leave will be for the period of 120 days without medical and 180 days with medical. | This leave will be credited from the leave account. It can also be converted into half pay and there is no limit on half pay as long it is available in the leave account of the official. |
| 4 | Medical leave | This leave will be availed due to illness on the medical certificate. | A medical certificate is required to avail of this leave. This leave cannot be refused by the authority. The medical certificate should be from DHQ hospital. A fitness certificate is required for the resumption of duty from DHQ. On a fake certificate, the authority has the right to take action against the official according to PEEDA proceedings. |
| 5 | Disability leave | This leave is up to 720 days on medical advice. | This leave will be granted on the basis of medical injuries or accidents on official duty. This leave cannot be credited from the leave account and debited outside the leave account. This leave will be on full pay for the first 180 days (6 months) and half pay for the rest of the period. |
| 6 | Maternity leaves | Max for the 90 days (three times in the entire service). | Can be granted immediately before or after childbirth. Not debited from leave account. No need to provide a fitness certificate. |
| 7 | Paternity leaves | Max for the 07 days (two times in the entire service). | Can be granted immediately before or after childbirth. Not debited from leave account. No need to provide a fitness certificate. |
| 8 | Recreation leaves | 15 days (once per financial year) | These leaves are only for the non-vacation department. |
| 9 | Special leaves | 130 days (For widows on the death of their husband) | This leave will be on full pay leaves. This can be granted to the widow on the death of her husband. This cannot be debited from the leave account and not credited from the leave account. Need to provide a death certificate from a competent authority. |
| 10 | leaves not due | 365 days (entire service) | This leave will be on full pay against earned leaves. This will not be more than 90 days in the first 5 years of regular service. This leave may be converted into half pay. May be granted to the satisfaction of the authority. Not for the temporary or contact service employees. |
| 11 | Study leaves. | According to course duration. | According to course instructions by the institutions. Only eligible for those who have a minimum of 5 years of regular service. Not granted within the 3 years of the date of superannuation. Not debited from leave account. Initially granted for 1 year and later on extended by the provision of the progress of official. This leave will be on 75 % of full pay for M. Phil and full pay for Ph.D. This leave can be extended for a period of two years. |
| 12 | Extraordinary leaves (EOL) | 2 years for less than 10 years of service 5 years for more than 10 years of service | These leaves are also called leaves without pay. If the leaves are granted beyond 5 years and the name of the employee will be placed in the static list. |
| 13 | Ex Pakistan leaves | Relative to the job nature of official | When the official will be posted abroad. The leave pay of the employee will be in foreign currency. |
| 14 | Quarantine leaves | Nature of the epidemic situation | These are extra casual leaves and not debited from the leave account. These will be on the recommendation of the medical officer |
| 15 | Leave preparatory to retirement | 365 days before one year of retirement | Also called LPR. This leave will be awarded on full pay. If the official does not avail of this opportunity the officer will be paid a salary for 365 days. |
Note:
Sanctioning authority: Immediate officer (having grade 16 or above for grade 4 and for other employees of the next officer of high rank.
Reference:
- Revised leave rules 1981-Govt. of Punjab