DOPT - Employment Status

[Sanjeev Goyal]

DOPAT/E/2024/0004060

09/06/2024

Reg: Employment Status.

There's considerable confusion surrounding the employment status of individuals working in Public Sector Enterprises (PSE) and Central Autonomous Bodies (CAB). While government policy dictates that employees not paid from the consolidated fund of India aren't classified as government employees, the practical reality is different. Despite not being technically government employees, those serving in CAB/PSE are treated as such in various scenarios like police verifications, medical examinations, passport issuances, tax matters, and access to several government facilities.

The Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) formulates rules for government employees, but there isn't an equivalent body for CAB/PSE. Consequently, there's a prevailing practice of assuming DOPT's rules are applicable to CAB/PSE due to the absence of alternative guidelines. This leads to interpretation issues when implementing various regulations, such as the availability of the old pension scheme or entitlements like Death cum Retirement Gratuity.

One potential solution to this confusion is to introduce a specific term for employees in CAB/PSE, such as grant employees, semi-government employees, local employees, or subordinate employees. By assigning a distinct terminology, it would clarify that rules and clarifications issued by DOPT don't automatically extend to CAB/PSE employees. This would help streamline procedures and alleviate ambiguity surrounding the applicability of regulations and entitlements for individuals working in these sectors.