IREC Rule No.526: Leave On Half Average Pay (LHAP)

526.  Leave On Half Average Pay (LHAP):-

(1)   (a)   A railway servant, permanent or temporary including the one who is serving in a railway school, shall be entitled to Leave on Half Average Pay of 20 days in respect of each completed year of service.

[Authority: RBE No.46/2009, No.E(P&A)I-2008/CPC/LE-10, 06.03.2009 and, RBE No.57/2011, No.E(P&A)I-2008/CPC/LE-8, 04.05.2011, ACS No.116]

Forward reference RBE No. 64/2019

(b)   The leave due under clause (a) may be granted on medical certificate or on private affairs.

(c)   The amount of leave on half average pay that can be availed of in one spell irrespective of its being combined with any other kind of leave or not shall be limited to 24 months.

(2)   If a railway servant is on leave on the day on which he completes a year of service, he shall be entitled to half pay leave without having to return to duty.

(3)   The Leave on Half Average Pay will be credited to the leave account of a Railway servant on 1^st January and 1^st July each as indicated below;

 (i) The account of Leave on Half Average Pay of every railway servant shall be credited with Leave on Half Average Pay in advance, in two installments of ten days each on the first day of January and July of every calendar year.

[Authority: RBE No.46/2009, No.E(P&A)I-2008/CPC/LE-10, 06.03.2009 and, RBE No.57/2011, No.E(P&A)I-2008/CPC/LE-8, 04.05.2011, ACS No.116]

Forward reference RBE No. 64/2019

(ii)    The leave shall be credited to the leave account at the rate of 5/3 days for each completed calendar month of service which the railway servant is likely to render in the half-year of the calendar year in which he/she is appointed.

(iii) The credit for half-year in which the railway servant is due to retire or resigns from service shall be allowed at the rate of 5/3 days per completed month up to the date of retirement resignation.

(iv) When a railway servant is removed or dismissed or dies while in service, credit of leave on half-average pay shall be allowed at the rate of 5/3 days per completed calendar month up to the end of calendar month preceding the calendar month in which the railway servant is removed or dismissed from service or dies while in service.

(v) Leave on half-average pay under these rules may be granted on medical certificate or on private affairs provided that in the case of railway servants, not permanently employed, no leave on half-average pay shall be granted unless the authority competent to grant leave has reasons to believe that the railway servant will return on its expiry, except in the case of a railway servant who has been declared completely or permanently incapacitated for further service by a medical authority.

(vi) While calculating the completed months of service the month may be rounded off to the next higher if it exceeds more than 15 days.

For Example – if a railway servant has completed a year’s service as on 11^th May 1986, he may be given the benefit of LHAP from May since it exceeds 15 days to December 1985 for 13 days viz. 5/3 X 8 = 13½.

(vii) Where a period of absence or suspension of a Railway servant has been treated as ‘Dies-Non’ in a half year, the credit to be afforded to his half pay leave account at the commencement of next half-year, shall be reduced by one-eighteenth of the period of ‘Dies-Non’, subject to a maximum of ten days.

[Authority: RBE No.100/2003, No.E(P&A)I-2003/CPC/LE4, 19.06.2003, ACS No.88]

(viii) While affording credit of half pay leave, fraction of a day may be rounded off to the nearest day.

Explanation:

Sub-clauses 7 & 8 under Sub-rule (3) of Rule 526 of Indian Railway Establishment Code, Volume-I have been incorporated with the President’s approval effective from 04.07.1987. Incorporation of these Rules have been necessitated due to amendments made by the Department of Personnel & Training in the Central Civil Services (Leave) Rules, 1972 vide their Notification No.13014/1/87Estt.(L), 17.07.1987. It is certified that retrospective effect given to these rules will not adversely affect any employee to whom these rules apply.

Railway Ministry’s Decision:

It is not necessary that a railway servant should return to duty before availing of half-average pay leave which he has earned during this spell of leave. As the half-average pay leave becomes due on completing a year’s service which term include extraordinary leave, the leave account can be credited with the amount of such leave, as soon as it is earned. If a railway servant, who is already on leave, subsequently applies for an extension of leave, his application can be treated as a fresh application for leave and in such circumstances there is no objection to the grant of half pay leave in continuation of the leave already granted to him. There is also no objection to the grant of such leave during a spell of leave already granted to a railway servant provided he submits his application or formally requests for the conversion of the leave already granted to him into half pay leave. In such cases it will be necessary to revise the original leave account and subsequent leave will have to be granted according to the amended leave accounts.

[Authority: No.E(G)56-CPC/LR/8, 13.01.1958]