A contractual worker in Haryana must have completed at least five years of service by August 15, 2024 and must have received wages for a minimum of 240 days in each of those years to be granted the status of a “secured employee”.
“Even if an employee worked in both higher and lower posts within the same year, the service will be counted, provided wages were received for 240 days”, the government’s notification mentions. The state government has notified the Haryana Contractual Employees (Security of Service) Rules, 2025. A “secured employee” is a contractual employee who gets job security under these rules, until retirement age of 58 years and additional benefits. The secured employee must be employed through Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam or by any department, board, corporation or statutory body of the Government of Haryana under permissible criteria.
Government spokesperson said that “the services of thousands of contractual employees working in various departments, boards, corporations and other authorities across Haryana have been secured”. Chief Secretary Anurag Rastogi issued the notification detailing the conditions and criteria that a contractual worker would be required to fulfill to figure in the category of a “secured employee”.
“Employees, who were earlier appointed to regular posts but lost their positions due to the cancellation or revision of merit lists by the Haryana Staff Selection Commission will have their prior regular service also counted toward the five-year eligibility, excluding any break period between regular and contractual service. Service rendered in different departments or government-controlled bodies will also be considered collectively”, Rastogi said.
“Wherever a corresponding post is easily identifiable, the government organization will create a “supernumerary post” (extra post) effective from August 16, 2024, for the protected employee. If a matching post is not available or the designation is different, then the concerned organization will propose the creation of such a post, including designation, pay scale, required qualifications, and job description. The government will approve this proposal within 90 days in consultation with the Finance Department, after which the protection order will be issued. If the number of protected employees in a department is high, the list will be sent to the government for adjustment in other departments as needed. The appointing authority will have the power to transfer secured employees anywhere within or outside Haryana in public interest”, Rastogi explained about the criteria that shall be adopted as per the notified rules.
Regarding remuneration for such employees, the notified rules mention that “For determining remuneration, the minimum of the functional pay level approved at the time of sanctioning the supernumerary post will be increased by 5%, 10%, or 15%, as applicable. The final amount will be rounded off to the nearest hundred, ignoring fractions below 50 and rounding up if the fraction is 50 or above. Secured employees will be eligible for annual increments once a year in their functional pay level. The increment date will be either January 1 or July 1, provided the employee has completed at least six months of qualifying service before that date. The first increment will be due on July 1, 2025 upon fulfilling eligibility. These employees will also be entitled to Dearness Allowance (DA) at par with regular employees from January 1, 2025”.
How their leave structure shall be followed, the notified rules mention that “Secured employees will continue to receive casual leave and medical leave as before. Women employees will now be eligible for two casual leaves per month, up to 22 days in a year as compared to the previous 10 days. Additionally, a service book will be prepared for each protected employee by the concerned department. Until separate rules are framed, protected employees will be governed by the Haryana Civil Services (Government Employees’ Conduct) Rules, 2016 and the Haryana Civil Services (Punishment & Appeal) Rules, 2016. However, the government will have the power to relax any rule for a specific category or class of employees, citing valid reasons”.
Who shall not be eligible?
The notified rules also mention about the person who shall not be eligible under these notified rules for benefits – “Any person who has married someone while their spouse is still alive or has remarried during the lifetime of their spouse will not be eligible for service protection under this Act. Government may grant exemption in such cases only if it is satisfied that the marriage is permissible under applicable personal law and other valid grounds exist”.