Rule 26 - Earned Leave Adjustment
Original Rule Text
26. Earned leave for Government servants serving in Departments other than Vacation Departments
(1)(a)
(i) The leave account of every Government servant (other than a military officer) who is serving in a Department other than a Vacation Department, shall be credited with earned leave, in advance, in two installments of 15 days each on the first day of January and July of every calendar year. (GSR No. 1422, F.No. 11012/1/77-E.IV(A) dated 21.11.1979)
(ii) When a Government servant joins a new post without availing full joining time by reasons that - [GSR No. 198 vide DOPT Notification No. 13012/12/86-Estt.(L) dated 25.03.1989]
(a) he is ordered to join the new post at a new place of posting without availing of full joining time to which he is entitled,
(b) he proceeds alone to the new place of posting and joins the post without availing full joining time and takes his family later within the permissible period of time for claiming traveling allowance for the family,
the number of days of joining time as admissible under sub-rule (4) of Rule 5 of the Central Civil Services (Joining Time) Rules, 1979, subject to the maximum of 15 days reduced by the number of days actually availed of, shall be credited to his leave account as earned leave:
Provided that the earned leave at his credit together with the unavailed joining time allowed to be so credited shall not exceed 300days. ("240 days substituted with 300 days" vide DOPT Notification No. 13026/1/99-Estt. (L), dated 18.04.2002)
(b) The leave at the credit of a Government servant at the close of the previous half-year shall be carried forward to the next half-year, subject to the condition that the leave so carried forward plus the credit for the halfyear do not exceed the maximum limit of 300 days.
Provided that where the earned leave at the credit of Government servant as on the last day of December of June is 300 days or less but more than 285 days, the advance credit of 15 days earned leave on first day ofJanuary or July to be afforded in the manner indicated under subrule
(i) of Clause
(a) of sub-rule (1) shall instead of being credited in leave accountbe kept separately and first adjusted against the earned leave that the Government servant takes during that half-year and the balance, if any, shall be credited to the leave account at the close of the half-year, subject to the condition that balance of such earned leave plus leave already at credit do not exceed the maximum limit of 300 days.
(225 days substituted with 285 days vide DOPT Notification No. 13026/1/99-Estt. (L), dated 18.04.2002) (DOPT Notification No. 11012/1/2009-Estt.(L) dated 01.12.2009) (DOPT Notification No. 13026/2/1990-Estt.(L) dated 22.10.1990)
(c)
(i) Where a Government servant not in permanent employ or quasipermanent employ is appointed without interruption of service substantively to a permanent post or declared as quasi permanent, his leave account shall be credited with the earned leave which would have been admissible, if his previous duty had been rendered as a Government servant in permanent employ diminished by any earned leave already taken.
(ii) Where a Government servant had availed of extraordinary leave since the date of permanent appointment or quasi-permanent appointment, such leave may, subject to the provisions of rule 10, be converted into earned leave to the extent it is due and admissible as a result of recasting of his leave account.
(d) A period spent in foreign service shall count as duty for purposes of this rule, if contribution towards leave salary is paid on account of such period.
EXCEPTION.- The earned leave admissible to a Government servant of nonAsiatic domicile recruited in India, who is in continuous service from a date prior to the 1st February, 1949 and is entitled to leave passage, is one-seventh of the period spent on duty and he ceases to earn such leave when the earned leave due amounts to 180 days.
(2) Subject to the provisions of Rules 7 and 39 and sub-rules (1) and (3) of the rule, the maximum earned leave that may be granted at a time shall be -
(i) 180 days in the case of any Government servant employed in India, or (DOPT Notification No. 11014/3/89-Estt.(L) dated 02.05.1991)
(ii) 150 days, in the case of any Government servant mentioned in the Exception to sub-rule (1)
(3) Earned leave may be granted to a Government servant in Class I of Class IIservice or to a Government servant mentioned in the Exception to sub-rule (1), for a period exceeding 180 days but not exceeding 300 days if the entire leave so granted or any portion thereof is spent outside India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan:
Provided that where earned leave for a period exceeding 180 days, is granted under this sub-rule, the period of such leave spent in India shall not in the aggregate exceed the aforesaid limits.
What This Means
Rule 26 of the CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972 deals with a specific situation concerning the accumulation of Earned Leave (EL). It applies when a government employee has between 285 and 300 days of EL at the end of December or June. Instead of immediately adding the usual 15 days of EL on January 1st or July 1st, these 15 days are kept separate.
Think of it as a temporary holding account. Any EL taken by the employee during that half-year is first deducted from this 'holding account' of 15 days. If there's any balance left in this 'holding account' at the end of the half-year, it's then added to the employee's main EL account. However, there's a crucial condition: the total EL balance (including what's added from the 'holding account') cannot exceed the maximum limit of 300 days. This rule ensures that employees don't lose out on their earned leave while also adhering to the maximum accumulation limit.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Key Points
- 1Applies when EL balance is between 285 and 300 days at the end of December or June.
- 2The 15 days of EL credited on January 1st or July 1st are kept separately.
- 3EL taken during the half-year is first adjusted against this separate credit.
- 4Any remaining balance from the separate credit is added to the main EL account at the end of the half-year.
- 5The total EL balance cannot exceed 300 days.
Practical Example
Ms. Sharma, a government employee, has 290 days of Earned Leave on December 31st. According to Rule 26, the 15 days of EL she would normally receive on January 1st are kept separately. In February, Ms. Sharma takes 10 days of EL. These 10 days are deducted from the 15 days held separately, leaving a balance of 5 days.
At the end of June, these remaining 5 days are added to Ms. Sharma's EL account. However, if adding those 5 days would push her total EL above 300, only enough days are added to reach 300, and the rest are lapsed. For example, if she had 298 days at the end of June, only 2 days would be added, bringing her total to 300, and the remaining 3 days would lapse.
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Cross References
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if I have exactly 300 days of EL on December 31st or June 30th?▼
If the 15 days are kept separately, can I use them for any kind of leave, like Casual Leave?▼
What happens to the unadjusted portion of the 15 days if my EL balance is already at 300 days at the end of the half-year?▼
Does this rule affect encashment of leave?▼
Where can I find the official CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972 document?▼
This explanation was generated with AI assistance for educational purposes. Always refer to the official gazette notification for authoritative text.
Test Your Knowledge
Question 1 of 3
According to CCS (Leave) Rules, 1972, Rule 26, under what condition is the advance credit of 15 days of Earned Leave (EL) on January 1st or July 1st kept separately instead of being immediately credited to the leave account?