Outlook Business Desk
On Thursday, Union Minister Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha that Central government employees can avail up to 30 days of Earned Leave (EL) for personal reasons, including to care for elderly parents, under existing service rules.
Member of Parliament (MP) Sumitra Balmik had asked whether Central government employees are entitled to leave for caring of elderly parents. Responding in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, Singh said that under the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972, leave can be availed for any personal reason, including care of elderly parents.
"The central Civil Services Rules, 1972 provides for 30 days of earned leave, 20 days of half pay leave, 8 days of Casual leave and 2 days of restricted holiday per annum, apart from other eligible leave, to central government employee which can be availed for any personal reasons, including that of taking care of their elderly parents," Union MoS Jitendra Singh said.
The Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972—effective since June 1, 1972—govern leave entitlements for most Central government employees. However, these rules do not apply to certain categories such as Railway employees, casual or part-time workers, and members of the All India Services, who are governed by separate regulations. In total, the rules specify 11 such excluded categories.
These rules outline multiple types of leave: earned leave, half pay leave, maternity leave, paternity leave, child adoption leave, commuted leave, study leave, extraordinary leave, and leave for work-related injury or illness, among others.
Earned leave is credited to an employee’s leave account in advance, twice a year—on January 1 and July 1—and is debited when availed. However, certain "special kinds of leave" are not debited from the leave account.
Apart from official leave types, government employees can also avail casual leave, restricted holidays, compensatory offs, and special casual leave. These are managed through executive orders issued from time to time, outside the main CCS Leave Rules.