Stepping up of pay of Seniors getting less pay than juniors

Recent Office Memorandum issued by DOPT for stepping up of pay of Senior Employees at par with junior employees who are getting more pay than seniors on account of ACP:

Check the following Office Memorandum issued by DOPT in this issue

ACP- Govt allows stepping up of of pay of Senior Employees at par with Junior Employees if by virtue of ACP junior employee drawing more pay (OM No: 35034/1/97-Estt.(D) dated 04.10.2012)

The Tribune in its latest release explains this stepping up of pay as follows

Removing certain anomalies in its career progression scheme, the Central government has ordered stepping up of pay of employees in cases where a senior is getting lower emoluments than his junior.

The disparities had arisen between employees who came under the scheme before 2006 and those who got benefits between 2006 and 2008 consequent to the implementation of the Sixth Central Pay Commission (SPC).

Orders issued by the Department of Personnel and Training earlier this month state, “It has been decided to allow stepping up of pay in such cases where the senior, but for the pay revision on account of the SPC, would have continued to draw higher pay”.

A large number of Central government employees will be financially benefited by this order. The employees affected had taken up the matter with the government and the anomalies committee, following which the issue was examined by the Department of Expenditure.

The government’s Assured Career Progression Scheme (ACPS), which granted two financial upgrades on completion of 12 and 24 years of regular service to employees who did not get promotion in the existing grade, was applicable up till August 2008.

It was replaced in September 2008 by the Modified Career Progression Scheme. As the revised pay scales under SPC were applicable with effect from January 2006, those employees who received benefits under ACPS between 2006 to 2008 got financial upgrade in the revised scales. Consequently, senior employees who got benefit under ACPS prior to 1996 began drawing lesser pay than their juniors.

The new order stipulates that for pay to be stepped up under the scheme, the junior and senior employee should belong to the same cadre and the posts in which they have been promoted or upgraded should be identical. Further, the senior employee should have been drawing equal or more pay than the junior before receiving ACPS benefits.