The Federal Government’s Revised Leave Rules 1980—formally titled the Revised Leave Rules, 1980—set out the principal leave entitlements and procedures for civil servants of the Federal Government who fall within the rules’ scope. The supplied document is the Government of Pakistan Finance Division’s Updated Edition 2018, dated 4 May 2018. It reproduces the rules made under Section 25 of the Civil Servants Act, 1973, and brings together provisions on earning and accumulation of leave, different kinds of leave, leave preparatory to retirement (LPR), encashment, leave pay, applications, medical certificates and leave-account maintenance.
Revised Leave Rules 1980: Legal Authority, Edition Date and Application
The rules are cited as the Revised Leave Rules, 1980. The booklet reproduces S.R.O. 1313 (I)/80, made in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 25 of the Civil Servants Act, 1973 (LXXI of 1973). Rule 1 states that the rules apply to civil servants, subject to the exception for persons employed before 1 July 1978 who opted not to be governed by the 1978 revision referred to in that rule.
The booklet’s Preface says that the previous edition had been updated on 20 March 2002 and that the 2018 edition was prepared to incorporate later instructions, delete obsolete provisions and make necessary textual changes. The Preface is dated 4 May 2018. That date identifies this updated booklet; it is not the original date of the 1980 rules.
The glossary reproduces the rules’ definition of a civil servant and identifies exclusions, including certain persons on deputation to the Federation from a Province or other authority, employees appointed on contract or work-charged basis, persons paid from contingencies, and workers or workmen within the cited labour-law definitions. Accordingly, these Federal rules should not be assumed to apply automatically to every provincial, autonomous-body, contractual or other public-sector employee. The relevant service law, adoption notification and departmental instructions must be checked for the employee concerned.
How Leave Is Earned and Accumulated
Rule 2 provides that service rendered by a civil servant qualifies for earning leave, but leave is not earned during a period of leave. A period spent on foreign service may qualify where the contribution towards leave salary is paid to Government for that period.
Under Rule 3, leave on full pay is earned at the rate of four days for every calendar month of duty. A duty period of fifteen days or less in a calendar month is ignored; a period of more than fifteen days is treated as a full calendar month for this calculation. Where an employee proceeds on leave during one calendar month and returns during another, and the duty period in either incomplete month exceeds fifteen days, the credit for both incomplete months is restricted to the amount admissible for one full calendar month. The rule states that there is no maximum limit on accumulation of this earned leave.
Rule 4 provides a different calculation for employees of vacation departments. An employee who avails the full vacation may earn leave on full pay at one day for each calendar month of duty. Where the employee is prevented from taking the full vacation, the calculation follows the non-vacation department method for that year. Where only part of the vacation is taken, the rule combines the one-day-per-month basis with a proportion of thirty days based on the vacation not availed.
Leave on Full Pay and Half Pay
Rule 5 lists the maximum periods of leave on full pay that may be granted at one time in the categories shown below. It also carries a separate medical-certificate limit from the leave account over the employee’s entire service.
| Category in Rule 5 | Limit stated in the 2018 booklet |
|---|---|
| Without medical certificate | 120 days |
| With medical certificate | 180 days |
| On medical certificate from the leave account during entire service | 365 days |
The note to Rule 5 explains the treatment of certain leave converted under the earlier Prescribed Leave Rules, 1955, and says that qualifying leave taken under those rules is debited against the 365-day limit stated in Rule 5(c). Employees should therefore have their historical leave account examined before relying on the available balance.
Rule 6 allows a civil servant, at their option, to convert leave on full pay into leave on half pay. The debit is one day of full-pay leave for every two days of half-pay leave. The employee must specify the request for conversion in the leave application. The rule does not prescribe a separate maximum for half-pay leave while sufficient leave remains available through conversion in the leave account. Rule 7 requires leave to be applied for, expressed and sanctioned in days.
Carry-Forward of Earlier Leave
Rule 8 deals with leave credited on 1 July 1978 under the transition to the revised system. It provides for existing leave balances to be carried forward and expressed in terms of leave on full pay. The rule sets conversion equivalents for leave on average pay and half-average pay and directs that fractions be ignored. The accompanying leave-account instructions explain how the opening balance is to be recorded and how the account is to be recast for an employee who was already in service or was on leave on that date.
Other Types of Leave
Extraordinary Leave (Leave Without Pay) — Rule 9
Extraordinary leave may be granted on any ground for up to five years at a time where the civil servant has completed at least ten years of continuous service. Where the employee has less than ten years of continuous service, up to two years may be granted at the discretion of the head of office. The five-year maximum is reduced by any full-pay or half-pay leave granted in combination with extraordinary leave. The rule applies to permanent and temporary employees and permits extraordinary leave to be granted retrospectively in lieu of absence without leave.
Recreation Leave — Rule 10
Recreation leave may be granted for 15 days once in a calendar year, with only ten days debited from the leave account on full pay. It is not admissible to a civil servant in a vacation department.
Leave Not Due — Rule 11
Leave not due may be granted on full pay against leave expected to be earned in the future, up to 365 days during the entire service. During the first five years of service, it may not exceed 90 days in all. It may be converted into half-pay leave. The rule requires reasonable prospects that the employee will resume duty after the leave and directs that this facility be granted sparingly to the satisfaction of the sanctioning authority.
Special Leave — Rule 12
A female civil servant may be granted up to 130 days of special leave on full pay on the death of her husband. This leave is not debited to the leave account and commences from the date of death. The rule requires a death certificate issued by the competent authority, which may be supplied with the application or separately where necessary.
Maternity Leave — Rule 13
Maternity leave may be granted on full pay, outside the leave account, for up to 90 days from the date of commencement or 45 days from the date of confinement, whichever is earlier. The rule limits this leave to three occasions during the entire service of a female civil servant, except for an employee of a vacation department, who is not subject to that restriction. For confinement beyond the third occasion, leave is to be taken from the normal leave account. Maternity leave may be granted in continuation of, or in combination with, another kind of leave that is due and admissible, including extraordinary leave. The rule also addresses how leave salary and an increment accruing during maternity leave are treated.
Disability Leave — Rule 14
Disability leave may be granted outside the leave account on each occasion, up to a maximum of 720 days, on medical advice considered necessary by the head of office. The rule concerns a civil servant, other than a seaman or a person in part-time service, who is disabled by an injury, ailment or disease contracted in the course of or as a consequence of duty or official position. Leave salary is full pay for the first 180 days and half pay for the remaining period.
Leave Ex-Pakistan — Rule 15
Rule 15 deals with leave on full pay where a civil servant specifically requests leave ex-Pakistan, proceeds abroad during leave, takes leave while posted abroad or is otherwise on duty abroad. The printed rule contains older payment and currency provisions, including a stated monthly ceiling and a limit on the period payable for leave spent abroad at one time. Because those monetary and payment provisions are dated, employees should verify later Finance Division instructions before relying on the printed amounts or payment arrangements.
Leave Preparatory to Retirement and Encashment
Leave Preparatory to Retirement (LPR) — Rule 16
Rule 16 allows a maximum of 365 days of leave preparatory to retirement. Subject to the leave available, the civil servant may take it on full pay, partly on full pay and partly on half pay, or entirely on half pay. The rule also contains a special provision for an officer in BPS-21 or BPS-22 who, on or after 19 February 1991, opts for voluntary retirement after completing 25 years of qualifying service: the LPR specified there is tied to the leave at credit on full pay or the date on which the officer reaches 60 years of age, whichever is earlier, and the provision restricts conversion of that LPR into half-pay leave.
Encashment of Refused LPR — Rule 17
Where a civil servant retiring on superannuation or voluntarily after completing thirty years of qualifying service cannot be granted LPR for reasons of public service, despite applying in sufficient time, the rule provides lump-sum leave pay in lieu of the leave refused, up to 365 days on full pay. Leave may be partly refused and partly sanctioned; compensation is then for the actual period refused, subject to the maximum. Payment may be made as a lump sum at retirement or, at the employee’s option, month by month during the period of refused leave. Rule 17 specifies that only Senior Post Allowance is included for this purpose. It also provides for a payment to the family where a civil servant dies while on LPR before completing the 365-day period, for the shortfall described in the rule.
Authority to Refuse LPR — Rule 18
Rule 18 states that LPR should ordinarily not be refused. It identifies the authorities empowered to refuse or recall an employee from LPR according to the employee’s BPS level and provides that those powers cannot be delegated. The rule also requires proposals to refuse LPR for officers in BPS-17 and above to be submitted to the relevant appointing authority with detailed justification at least three months before the officer is due to proceed on leave.
Encashment of LPR — Rule 18-A
Rule 18-A allows a civil servant, fifteen months before the date of superannuation or thirty years of qualifying service, on or after 1 July 1983, at the employee’s option, to encash LPR by undertaking in writing to perform duty in lieu of the whole period of 365 days or the shorter period actually due and admissible. The rule includes a deemed-option provision where the employee does not exercise the option within the specified period. It also contains later amendments relating to Officers on Special Duty and the treatment of encashment.
Sub-rules added in 2012 provide for encashment up to 365 days for civil servants retiring on or after 1 July 2012, subject to leave being available at credit. The text also extends the provision to employees of autonomous and semi-autonomous bodies under the administrative control of the Federal Government where those bodies have adopted the basic pay scales scheme and these rules in toto. If leave is granted during the encashment period on account of ill health supported by a medical certificate or for performance of Hajj, the cash compensation is reduced by the leave pay for the period granted. The rule requires the employee’s option to be submitted to the competent leave-sanctioning authority for formal sanction.
Rule 18-A(6), inserted by the 2012 amendment, states that leave pay for LPR encashment is computed on the basis of pay and allowances reckonable towards pension as shown in the employee’s last pay certificate. This is distinct from the wording in Rule 17, which specifically refers to Senior Post Allowance for the lump-sum payment for refused LPR.
In-Service Death or Permanent Incapacity — Rule 19
Where a civil servant dies in service or is declared permanently incapacitated for further service by a Medical Board while still in service, Rule 19 provides for a lump-sum payment equal to leave pay for up to 365 days from the leave at credit. Payment is made to the family as defined for family-pension purposes or, as applicable, to the civil servant. Only Senior Post Allowance is included in the leave pay for this lump-sum calculation. The 2018 booklet records the amendment replacing the earlier 180-day wording with 365 days through S.R.O. 11(KE)/2013 dated 18 February 2013, deemed effective from 1 July 2012.
General Conditions: Applications, Overstay and Return to Duty
Reasons for leave — Rule 20: An employee need not state the reasons for leave if the leave is due and admissible. Leave applied for on a medical certificate is not to be refused on that basis, although the competent authority may obtain a second medical opinion through a civil surgeon or Medical Board.
Commencement and end of leave — Rule 21: Leave may commence on the day after the employee hands over charge and end on the day before the employee resumes duty, without requiring a forenoon or afternoon indication.
Recall from leave — Rule 22: The rule provides travel fare and admissible daily allowance in specified cases where an employee is compulsorily recalled from leave spent away from headquarters with the personal approval of the head of office. It distinguishes compulsory recall from an optional return.
Overstay — Rule 23: Unless leave is extended by the head of office, absence after the sanctioned leave ends attracts no remuneration for the period of absence. In addition, double the period of overstay is debited to the leave account, with any debit beyond the existing balance adjusted against future leave. Disciplinary action may also be taken.
Choice and combination of leave — Rules 24 to 26: A civil servant may apply for any type of leave that is due and admissible; it should not be refused merely because another type of leave could be taken. Different types of leave may generally be combined with joining time or other admissible leave, but LPR cannot be combined with another kind of leave. An employee cannot return to duty before the sanctioned leave expires without permission from the authority that sanctioned it.
Handover and resumption of charge — Rules 27 to 29: The rules address leave where a post is abolished, handover of charge before proceeding on leave and assumption of charge after return. An employee in Grade/BPS-16 and above must sign a charge relinquishment report when handing over charge. On return, the employee reports to the authority that sanctioned the leave and assumes the post to which directed.
Leave Accounts and Leave Pay
Rule 30 requires a civil servant’s leave account to be maintained as part of the service book and assigns continuing accounts-office responsibility for accounts previously maintained by those offices. The booklet includes a leave-account form and instructions for recording duty periods, leave earned, leave taken, leave not due, overstay debits and the resulting balance. Employees can also use the EmployeesDesk Leave Calculator to help calculate and review their leave record. Check the result against the official service-book leave account and the applicable rules before relying on it.
Rule 31 states that leave at credit lapses when a civil servant quits service. This rule should be read together with the separate provisions on LPR encashment and lump-sum payments; it does not remove the need to determine whether a specific payment is admissible under those provisions.
Under Rule 32, leave pay on full pay is the greater of (a) the average monthly pay earned during the twelve complete months immediately before the month in which leave begins, or (b) the rate of pay drawn on the day immediately before leave starts. For half-pay leave, the two amounts are halved and the greater is used. The rule also provides entitlement to leave pay at a revised rate where a general pay revision or annual increment occurs during the period of leave.
Departmental, Seaman, Non-Continuous and Quarantine Leave
Departmental leave — Rule 33: This is a special provision for specified employees drawing pay in Grades 1 to 9 in the National Pay Scale and serving in the Survey of Pakistan or another department notified by the Finance Division. It applies where services are temporarily not required and other leave, apart from leave not due, is not admissible. The rule sets out conditions for subsistence allowance, recess periods, extensions and combination with other leave.
Seamen’s sick and disability leave — Rules 34 and 35: These provisions apply to specified officers, warrant officers or petty officers serving on a Government vessel. They set separate limits and conditions for sick leave and for disability arising while performing duty, including medical certification and conditions concerning the cause of disability and the vacancy.
Non-continuous establishments — Rule 36: An employee in a non-continuous establishment may be granted earned leave and disability leave under the stated conditions, but not other kinds of leave under this rule. The balance of earned leave is carried forward when an employee transfers between continuous and non-continuous establishments.
Quarantine leave — Rule 37: Quarantine leave is treated as extra casual leave, outside the leave account. The period recommended by the authorized medical attendant is treated as duty, with full pay and allowances of the post held when the employee proceeds on leave. A substitute is normally not employed unless service requirements make this necessary and the head of office records reasons in writing.
Sanctioning Authority, Medical Certificates and Related Leave — Rules 38 to 40
Rule 38 generally requires an application for leave or extension to be made to the head of the office; the head of office applies to the next-higher administrative authority. The application should state the leave due and admissible. An audit report is not required before leave is sanctioned. Medical leave applications must use the prescribed certificate from an authorized medical attendant or other registered medical practitioner. A civil servant granted leave on medical certificate must produce the prescribed fitness certificate before returning to duty.
The rule also sets out factors for prioritizing applications where all leave requests cannot be sanctioned at the same time in the interest of public service: how many applicants can be spared, whether an applicant was previously recalled compulsorily from leave, and whether an applicant previously had to adjust the timing of leave.
Rule 39 applies the provisions on hospital leave and study leave contained in the Fundamental Rules and Supplementary Rules, subject to the Revised Leave Rules. Rule 40 empowers the Federal Government to relax all or any of the provisions in a case of hardship, provided the relaxation is not less favourable to a benefit available to a civil servant under the rules.
Forms and Appendices Included in the Booklet
The 2018 booklet is 34 pages and includes practical forms and reference material in addition to the main rules. These include a medical certificate for leave or extension (Form I), a medical fitness certificate for return to duty (Form II), the leave application form (Form III), the leave-account form, explanatory instructions for maintaining the leave account, an index and a glossary. The application form records the employee’s post, department, pay, allowances, type and duration of leave, relevant rule, previous leave, controlling-officer recommendations, admissibility certification and sanctioning-authority orders. Its note identifies an audit-officer report field for Government servants in Grade-16 and above.
Important Note on the 2018 Edition and Later Instructions
This article explains the Finance Division’s Updated Edition 2018; it should not be read as confirmation that no later notification, amendment, judicial decision, departmental adoption order or service-specific instruction has been issued. The booklet itself records several amendments by date, including the 2012 changes to LPR encashment and the 2013 amendment to Rule 19. The amount and currency provisions printed in Rule 15 are also older text and should be checked against later official directions before use. For an individual case, confirm the current rule position with the relevant department, appointing or leave-sanctioning authority and Finance Division instructions.
For the source document, use the Revised Leave Rules, 1980 PDF supplied for this resource or consult the Finance Division’s official 2018 updated edition. The specific Gazette notification amending Rule 19 is available as the 2013 amendment to the Revised Leave Rules, 1980. Related financial administration guidance is also available in the EmployeesDesk DDO Code Handbook resource.