While central government employees recently celebrated a bump in the maximum gratuity limit to ₹25 Lakhs under the 7th Pay Commission rules (triggered by DA touching 60%), employee federations are aiming much higher for the 8th Pay Commission.
The Staff Side of the National Council (NC-JCM) has formally submitted a groundbreaking proposal to completely overhaul retirement benefits. Pointing out that high-ranking or long-serving employees still lose out on earned gratuity due to restrictive legal caps, the unions have officially demanded that the maximum retirement-and-death gratuity ceiling be raised to ₹75 Lakh.
New Formula Proposed: In addition to raising the monetary ceiling, the JCM has proposed calculating gratuity based on 25 effective working days in a month instead of the traditional 30 days. This calculation adjustment, combined with removing the old cap of 16.5 times the basic pay emoluments, ensures that veterans with over 33 years of dedicated service receive their full financial dues.
📌 Key Takeaways for Employees:
The Demand: Raising the absolute gratuity limit from ₹25 Lakh to ₹75 Lakh.
New Calculation: Shifting the formula base to 25 effective working days to benefit employees.
Commutation Relief: Unions are also demanding the pension commutation recovery period be cut from 15 years down to 10–12 years.