Extraordinary Leave (EOL): Implications on Increment, Pension, Career
EOL is the leave category employees use when nothing else is available. Unlike EL or HPL, EOL has consequences. Here is what those consequences actually are.
Extraordinary Leave is the leave of last resort. EL exhausted, HPL exhausted, no medical certificate to commute, but the absence still has to happen. That is when EOL is invoked. Unlike other leave categories, EOL has real downstream consequences. Some are well known (no pay during EOL); others are less well known (effect on increment, pension, career progression).
What EOL is
EOL is governed by Rule 32 of the CCS (Leave) Rules 1972. It is sanctioned only when no other leave is admissible or when the employee specifically asks for it. EOL is granted without pay. Maximum EOL during entire service is 60 months (5 years), with sub-limits: 24 months for higher studies, 36 months for any non-medical reason, 60 months for prolonged illness with prescribed certification.
Effect on pay, increment and pension
Pay: Not admissible during EOL. Basic pay, DA, HRA all stop.
Increment: Non-medical EOL does not count as qualifying service for increment. Six months of non-medical EOL pushes the next increment date by six months. EOL on medical grounds (with prescribed certification) is treated as qualifying service and the increment is granted on its normal date.
Pension: Under CCS (Pension) Rules, qualifying service excludes non-medical EOL. So 12 months of non-medical EOL reduces qualifying service by 12 months. Medical-grounds EOL counts in full.
Leave balance: EOL itself does not draw down EL or HPL. But fresh EL accrual is suspended during non-medical EOL.
The medical-grounds distinction
The medical-grounds basis for EOL is not a formality. It has tangible financial consequences across pay (no change), increment (preserved), and pension (preserved). When applying for EOL on medical grounds, attach the certificate from the authorised medical attendant and request specifically that the period be treated as qualifying service for increment and pension. Get the sanction order to confirm this treatment in writing.
Detailed treatment of EOL during study leave (24 months sub-ceiling), EOL during deputation overseas, and the regularisation process when EOL is granted retrospectively for unauthorised absence will follow in a forthcoming update.
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