Central government employees are supposed to receive their revised wages and allowances from the new pay commission starting the day after the previous commission ends. But in practice, it can take anywhere from months to years to implement the new pay commission wages,due to the lengthy process that involves discussions with various stakeholders and getting approvals from the highest levels of the government. Despite these delays, central government employees do receive arrears for the months they have to wait.
For example, if the 8th Pay Commission’s report is notified in June 2027, employees will get arrears for 18 delayed months. A notification at a later date will lead to arrears for a longer period. But the question remains: how much in arrears can Level 4-7 employees expect to receive based on different fitment factors?
Arrears that central government employees get in a pay commission
Most central government employees get basic pay, dearness allowance (DA), house rent allowance (HRA) and transport allowance (TPTA) as their salary components. But do they get arrears for all the components?
Arrears on basic pay in 8 th Pay Commission
The fitment factor is applied to the existing basic pay of an employee. As a result, employees get arrears on basic salary in a new pay commission. An 18-month delay means basic salary arrears for 18 months.
Arrears on dearness allowance in 8 th Pay Commission
The government announces the DA twice a year based on the consumer price index reading. Since the DA is adjusted as per rising inflation twice a year, the government doesn’t provide any arrears on it.
Arrears on HRA in 8 th Pay Commission
The government announces HRA rates in every pay commission. For the 7th Pay Commission, these rates were 8%, 16% and 24% of basic pay for Z, Y and X-category cities, but they increased to 10%, 20 and 30%, respectively, when DA reached 50% in January 2024. HRA is a percentage part of the basic salary and increases automatically when the basic pay in a new pay commission is revised. Past practices suggest that the government doesn’t provide arrears for HRA.
Also Read: 8th Pay Commission delay: Can Level 3-6 employees lose up to Rs 2.64 lakh in arrears?
Arrears on transport allowance in 8 th Pay Commission
Transport allowance (TPTA) charges are fixed in every pay commission, but they also increase with DA. For example, if an employee has Rs 1,800 as the fixed TPTA, they will get Rs 1,800+ DA (%) of Rs 1,800. Since the TPTA amount increases with every DA hike, the government doesn’t provide arrears on transport allowance.
Hence, basic pay is the component central government employees get arrears for. But how much? Let’s see estimates for Level 4-7 employees at 2.0, 2.15, 2.28 and 2.57 fitment factors, assuming that the 8th Pay Commission will be delayed for 20 months.
Estimated arrears for Level 4-7 employees at 2.0 fitment factor
| Level | Current Basic (₹) | Revised Basic (₹) | Increase in Basic (₹) | Arrears for 20 Months (₹) | Increase Multiple |
| 4 | 25,500 | 51,000 | 25,500 | 5,10,000 | 20 |
| 5 | 29,100 | 58,200 | 29,100 | 5,82,000 | 20 |
| 6 | 35,400 | 70,800 | 35,400 | 7,08,000 | 20 |
| 7 | 44,900 | 89,800 | 44,900 | 8,98,000 | 20 |
| Level | Current Basic (₹) | Revised Basic (₹) | Increase in Basic (₹) | Arrears for 20 Months (₹) | Increase Multiple |
| 4 | 25,500 | 54,825 | 29,325 | 5,86,500 | 23 |
| 5 | 29,100 | 62,565 | 33,465 | 6,69,300 | 23 |
| 6 | 35,400 | 76,110 | 40,710 | 8,14,200 | 23 |
| 7 | 44,900 | 96,535 | 51,635 | 10,32,700 | 27 |
| Level | Current Basic (₹) | Revised Basic (₹) | Increase in Basic (₹) | Arrears for 20 Months (₹) | Increase Multiple |
| 4 | 25,500 | 58,140 | 32,640 | 6,52,800 | 26 |
| 5 | 29,100 | 66,348 | 37,248 | 7,44,960 | 26 |
| 6 | 35,400 | 80,712 | 45,312 | 9,06,240 | 26 |
| 7 | 44,900 | 1,02,372 | 57,472 | 11,49,440 | 30 |
| Level | Current Basic (₹) | Revised Basic (₹) | Increase in Basic (₹) | Arrears for 20 Months (₹) | Increase Multiple |
| 4 | 25,500 | 65,535 | 40,035 | 8,00,700 | 31 |
| 5 | 29,100 | 74,787 | 45,687 | 9,13,740 | 31 |
| 6 | 35,400 | 90,978 | 55,578 | 11,11,560 | 31 |
| 7 | 44,900 | 1,15,393 | 70,493 | 14,09,860 | 36 |
However, these are just estimates; the real amount of arrears for Level 4-7 central government employees will be known only after the government notifies the rates.
