Airports Authority of India Amends Leave Regulations for Enhanced Encashment Benefits

The Airports Authority of India, with the approval of the Central Government, recently issued the Airports Authority of India (Leave) Amendment Regulations, 2024. These regulations, published as a notification on July 11, 2024, were enacted in exercise of powers conferred by sub-section (2) read with sub-section (4) of section 42 of the Airports Authority of India Act, 1994. The primary purpose of this instrument is to amend the existing Airports Authority of India (Leave) Regulations, 2003, specifically concerning the encashment of unutilized leave. Notably, these amended regulations are deemed to have come into force retrospectively on October 1, 2020.

The key change introduced by the amendment involves the substitution of clause (2) of sub-regulation (10) of regulation 11 in the 2003 Regulations. This revision permits the consideration of unutilized earned leave and half pay leave for encashment upon an employee's retirement, subject to a maximum aggregate limit of three hundred days. The cash equivalent payable for half pay leave, a type of leave where an employee receives half their basic pay, will now be equal to the leave salary admissible for half pay plus Dearness Allowance (DA), an allowance paid to government employees to offset inflation. The regulations explicitly state that no commutation of half pay leave shall be permissible to compensate for any shortfall in earned leave. Encashment under these provisions is applicable when an employee leaves the service of the Airports Authority of India upon attaining the age of superannuation, in the event of death while in service, or upon cessation of service, including resignation not due to disciplinary action, after attaining the age of fifty years. The latter condition requires the employee to have rendered a minimum of twenty years of service in Government or a Public Sector Enterprise, including at least one year of service within the Airports Authority of India itself.

The legislation provided: “the unutilized earned leave and half pay leave can be considered for encashment of leave on retirement subject to the maximum limit of three hundred days and the cash equivalent payable for half pay leave shall be equal to the leave salary as admissible for half pay plus Dearness Allowance and that to make up the short fall in earned leave, no commutation of half pay leave shall be permissible.” Furthermore, the amendment introduces a specific formula for the calculation of encashment of half pay leave, stipulating that the cash equivalent will be determined by multiplying half of the Basic Pay plus Dearness Allowance by the number of half pay leave days at credit, divided by thirty, ensuring the total of earned leave and half pay leave at credit does not exceed three hundred days.

The legislative intent behind these amendments was to bring the Airports Authority of India's leave encashment policies in line with the broader guidelines issued by the Department of Public Enterprises. The Airports Authority of India Board, during its 195th meeting, had resolved to amend the clause on encashment of Earned Leave and Half Pay Leave in the 2003 Regulations to reflect these guidelines. This move addressed potential inconsistencies or gaps in the earlier statutory framework, ensuring uniformity and clarity in the benefits available to employees. A Corporate Human Resource Management Circular (No. 68/2020) had already been issued on October 28, 2020, making these changes effective from October 1, 2020. The retrospective application of these regulations was justified on the grounds that no employee's interest would be adversely affected, as the changes had already been implemented through the internal circular. By formalizing these provisions through statutory regulations, the Airports Authority of India aims to provide a clear and legally binding framework for leave encashment, standardizing the process and ensuring equitable treatment of its employees in accordance with central government enterprise norms.

Keywords: Airports Authority of India, Leave Regulations, Leave Encashment, Half Pay Leave, Earned Leave, Department of Public Enterprises, Employee Benefits, Statutory Amendment Geo Tags: India, Delhi District: Not Applicable