Central government employees are keen to find out the arrears they might receive once the 8 th Pay Commission (8 th CPC) report is implemented. The implementation could take anywhere from a few months to over a year, as the commission is currently meeting with various stakeholders. The arrears for central government employees will depend on how long the report takes to implement and the fitment factor. The fitment factor in a pay commission acts as a multiplier for pay revision. A high or a low fitment factor can significantly impact the arrears for central government employees.
In this article, we will break down the estimated arrear amounts for Level 1-5 central government employees based on potential fitment factors of 2.0, 2.15, 2.28, 2.57 or 2.86. The actual amount of arrears will be revealed once the government notifies the 8 th Pay Commission report.
When is the 8th Pay Commission report likely to be implemented?
Some experts are expecting the implementation to start as early as March 2027, while others think it might happen after May, 2027. A section of experts believes that the 8 th Pay Commission is progressing well and could finish its work by March, 2027, allowing employees to see increased payouts from April, 2027.
However, some feel that the pay commission will take the full 18 months to prepare its report and the implementation could be pushed to after May, 2027.
When the government notified the 8 th Pay Commission in November 2025, it gave the commission a 18-month timeframe to complete its report. If it doesn’t finish its report within that time, the 8 th Pay Commission can ask for an extension of the deadline.
What can be the fitment factor for the 8th Pay Commission?
National Council – Joint Consultative Machinery (staff side) in the memorandum submitted to the 8 th Pay Commission has recommended a 3.83 fitment factor. However, experts say that it is too much and under the given circumstances, the fitment factor can’t be more than 2.57.
Manjeet Singh Patel, National President of the All India NPS Employees Federation, told ET Wealth Online that a feasible limit of fitment factor is 2.1. It means an entry-level employee, earning a basic pay of Rs 18,000, will see the pay rise to Rs 37,800 with a fitment factor of 2.1.
Who are the Level 1-5 central government employees?
As per the 7 th Pay Commission pay matrix, Level 1-5 employees are the foot soldiers of the central government workforce who look after the basic level but important work in offices. They hold posts such as multi-tasking staff, lower division clerks, upper division clerks, senior technicians, stenographers Grade C, etc.
List of Level 1-5 central government employees (As per 7th Pay Commission pay matrix)
| Pay Level | Current Basic Pay (Starting) | Typical Posts |
| Level 1 | ₹ 18,000 | Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS), Peon, Office Attendant, Safai Karamchari, Field Attendant, Khalasi, Helper |
| Level 2 | ₹ 19,900 | Lower Division Clerk (LDC) in some departments, Postal Assistant (entry level in certain cases), Store Keeper Grade-III, Constable (varies by department) |
| Level 3 | ₹ 21,700 | Lower Division Clerk (many departments), Tax Assistant (entry level), Technician Grade III, Driver Grade-II, Constable (higher pay departments) |
| Level 4 | ₹ 25,500 | Upper Division Clerk (UDC), Senior Clerk, Stenographer Grade-D, Head Constable, Junior Assistant |
| Level 5 | ₹ 29,200 | Senior Technician, Senior Assistant, Stenographer Grade-C (some departments), Assistant Store Keeper, Staff Nurse (entry level in many Central government organisations) |
8th Pay Commission arrear calculations for Level 1-5 employees
Ramachandran Krishnamoorthy, associate partner, managed services, BDO India, says that since the arrear will depend on the fitment factor and the delay in the implementation of the 8 th Pay Commission, employees can get substantial amounts in arrears. In his calculations, he shows how much estimated arrears can Level 1-5 employees get under 2.0, 2.15, 2.28. 2.57 and 2.86 in the 8 th Pay Commission.
For arrear calculations, Krishnamoorthy takes 20 months of period assuming that central government employees may start getting revised payouts from September 2027.
He multiplies the estimated increased payout by 20 to calculate arrear amounts.
20-month arrear estimates for Level 1-5 central government employees (At 2.0 fitment factor)
| Level | Current Basic (₹) | Revised Basic (₹) | Increase in Basic (₹) | Arrears for 20 Months (₹) |
| 1 | 18,000 | 36,000 | 18,000 | 3,60,000 |
| 2 | 19,900 | 39,800 | 19,900 | 3,98,000 |
| 3 | 21,700 | 43,400 | 21,700 | 4,34,000 |
| 4 | 25,500 | 51,000 | 25,500 | 5,10,000 |
| 5 | 29,100 | 58,200 | 29,100 | 5,82,000 |
20-month arrear estimates for Level 1-5 central government employees (At 2.15 fitment factor)
| Level | Current Basic (₹) | Revised Basic (₹) | Increase in Basic (₹) | Arrears for 20 Months (₹) |
| 1 | 18,000 | 38,700 | 20,700 | 4,14,000 |
| 2 | 19,900 | 42,785 | 22,885 | 4,57,700 |
| 3 | 21,700 | 46,655 | 24,955 | 4,99,100 |
| 4 | 25,500 | 54,825 | 29,325 | 5,86,500 |
| 5 | 29,100 | 62,565 | 33,465 | 6,69,300 |
20-month arrear estimates for Level 1-5 central government employees (At 2.28 fitment factor)
| Level | Current Basic (₹) | Revised Basic (₹) | Increase in Basic (₹) | Arrears for 20 Months (₹) |
| 1 | 18,000 | 41,040 | 23,040 | 4,60,800 |
| 2 | 19,900 | 45,372 | 25,472 | 5,09,440 |
| 3 | 21,700 | 49,476 | 27,776 | 5,55,520 |
| 4 | 25,500 | 58,140 | 32,640 | 6,52,800 |
| 5 | 29,100 | 66,348 | 37,248 | 7,44,960 |
20-month arrear estimates for Level 1-5 central government employees (At 2.57 fitment factor)
| Level | Current Basic (₹) | Revised Basic (₹) | Increase in Basic (₹) | Arrears for 20 Months (₹) |
| 1 | 18,000 | 46,260 | 28,260 | 5,65,200 |
| 2 | 19,900 | 51,143 | 31,243 | 6,24,860 |
| 3 | 21,700 | 55,769 | 34,069 | 6,81,380 |
| 4 | 25,500 | 65,535 | 40,035 | 8,00,700 |
| 5 | 29,100 | 74,787 | 45,687 | 9,13,740 |
20-month arrear estimates for Level 1-5 central government employees (At 2.86 fitment factor)
| Level | Current Basic (₹) | Revised Basic (₹) | Increase in Basic (₹) | Arrears for 20 Months (₹) |
| 1 | 18,000 | 51,480 | 33,480 | 6,69,600 |
| 2 | 19,900 | 56,914 | 37,014 | 7,40,280 |
| 3 | 21,700 | 62,062 | 40,362 | 8,07,240 |
| 4 | 25,500 | 72,930 | 47,430 | 9,48,600 |
| 5 | 29,100 | 83,226 | 54,126 | 10,82,520 |
