Government Employees Will Not Get Recreation Allowance Arrears After Pay Fixation, Finance Ministry Gazette Says
Government employees will not receive any extra or arrears amount of the rest and recreation allowance because of pay fixation after the new pay structure is implemented. Once an employee has drawn this allowance, there will be no scope to claim new arrears later even if the basic pay rises because of pay determination. The Ministry of Finance has issued a gazette with clear instructions on the matter.
The gazette was issued by the Finance Division of the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday (11 November) and was published on Thursday (12 November). Dr Md Ferdous Alam, joint secretary of the Finance Division's Regulation-3 branch, signed the gazette. The gazette says the instruction will take effect immediately.
The gazette states that this instruction will apply to eligibility for the rest and recreation allowance during the period when the step-based pay scale takes effect under the Government Job (Pay and Allowances) Order, 2026 — that is, from 1 July 2026 to 30 June 2027.
Under a Finance Division rule issued on 20 March 1989, a government employee receives, as this allowance, an amount equal to the basic pay drawn in the month in which the employee goes on rest and recreation leave. The gazette says the same rule will be followed in implementing the new pay structure.
The notification clarifies that the allowance will not be calculated on the basis of the pay determined through implementation of the step-based pay scale and pay fixation under the new pay structure. Instead, the employee will be entitled to exactly the amount of basic pay actually drawn in the month of going on leave.
As a result, once an employee has drawn the rest and recreation allowance, the employee will not receive any arrears or extra amount against the earlier allowance even if the basic pay later increases because of pay fixation.
