DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

The Haryana Government has notified the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Rules, 2025. These rules have been notified under sub-section (1) of Section 10 of the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Act, 2024 (17 of 2024).

With this notification, the services of thousands of contractual employees working in various departments, boards, corporations, and authorities across the state have been secured. According to the notification issued by Chief Secretary Sh. Anurag Rastogi, to be granted the status of a "secured employee", a contractual worker must have completed at least five years of service by August 15, 2024, and must have received wages for a minimum of 240 working days in each of those years.

Even if an employee worked in both higher and lower posts within the same year, the service will be counted, provided wages were received for 240 days. Notably, employees who were earlier appointed to regular posts but lost their positions due to the cancellation or revision of merit lists by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission will have their prior regular service also counted toward the five-year eligibility, excluding any break period between regular and contractual service. Service rendered in different departments or government-controlled bodies will also be considered collectively.

However, any person who has married someone while their spouse is still alive or has remarried during the lifetime of their spouse will not be eligible for service protection under this Act.

The government may grant exemption in such cases only if it is satisfied that the marriage is permissible under applicable personal law and other valid grounds exist.

Wherever a corresponding post is easily identifiable, the government organization will create a "supernumerary post" (extra post) effective from August 16, 2024, for the protected employee. If a matching post is not available or the designation is different, then the concerned organization will propose the creation of such a post, including designation, pay scale, required qualifications, and job description.

The govt will approve this proposal within 90 days in consultation with the Finance Department, after which the protection order will be issued. If the number of protected employees in a department is high, the list will be sent to the government for adjustment in other departments as needed. The appointing authority will have the power to transfer secured employees anywhere within or outside Haryana in public interest.

For determining remuneration, the minimum of the functional pay level approved at the time of sanctioning the supernumerary post will be increased by 5%, 10%, or 15%, as applicable. The final amount will be rounded off to the nearest hundred, ignoring fractions below 50 and rounding up if the fraction is 50 or above.

Secured employees will be eligible for annual increments once a year in their functional pay level. The increment date will be either January 1 or July 1, provided the employee has completed at least six months of qualifying service before that date.

The first increment will be due on July 1, 2025 upon fulfilling eligibility. These employees will also be entitled to Dearness Allowance (DA) at par with regular employees from January 1, 2025. They will continue to receive casual leave and medical leave as before. Women protected employees will now be eligible for two casual leaves per month, up to 22 days in a year as compared to the previous 10 days.

Additionally, a service book will be prepared for each protected employee by the concerned department. Until separate rules are framed, protected employees will be governed by the Haryana Civil Services (Government Employees' Conduct) Rules, 2016 and the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment & Appeal) Rules, 2016.

(editor@dailyworld.in)