Master Circular No. 15 Casual Leave Contents No. Subject 1 Introduction 2 Definition 2.1 When it Should not be Sanctioned 3 No. of Casual Leave Admissible 4 Public Holidays, ClosedSaturdays, Sundays and Weekly Off. 5 Maximum Days of Absence on CL with Other Offs 6 Half Day Casual Leave 8 CL Cannot be Combined with Other Leave, Except with CCL/SCL 9 Sanction of Leave for Latecomers 10 Quantum of CL for Those Joining in the Middle of Year 11 Lapse of Unutilised CL at the End of Year 12 Authority Competent to Sanction CL 13 Validity of the Master Circulars 14 Copies of Letters of Railway Board – Base of the Master Circulars 15 Other Railway Board Orders On the Subject Casual Leave The instructions issued by the Railway Board from time to time on the subject of Casual Leave are contained in several letters. It has now been decided by the Railway Board, to issue a consolidated Master Circular, as below incorporating all the instructions issued so far on the subject, for the information and guidance of all concerned. 2.Casual Leave is a leave admissible to Railway servants in all groups (i.e. A, B, C & D) and is granted to enable them to attend to sudden/unforeseen needs/ requirements. It is not recognised as leave or subject to any rule under the leave rules applicable to the Railway servants. Therefore, a Railway servant on casual leave is technically not treated as absent from duty and his pay is not intermitted. [Ref.: Rule 507-R.I. (1985 Edition) and App. XXXI (IV) (2) of R.I. (1974 Edition] 2.1.Casual Leave should not, however, be granted to Railway servants so as to cause evasion of the rules regarding: (a)Date of reckoning of pay and allowances; (b)Change of office; (c)Commencement and end of leave; and (d)Return to duty; or so as to extend the term of leave beyond the time admissible by rule. [Ref.: Rule 236 – Establishment Code Vol. 1/1985] 3.The total Casual Leave admissible to Railway servants in a calender year will be as under: (i) 12 days To all Railway servants who are eligible to avail of all Public holidays or workshop paid-holidays; (ii) 12 days (a): Workshop Staff (b): Railway servants in workshops not covered by the term workshop staff and Railway servants in Printing Presses and Stores Depots, who are getting 15 paid-holidays in a year; (iii) 12 days Divisional Medical Officers and Assistant Medical Officers. (iv) 12 days Apprentice Khalasis, under training in workshops and other Apprentices not governed by the Apprentices Act, Apprentice Mechanics 1961 attached to workshops and printing Presses, who are getting 15 paid-holidays in a year. (v) 12 days Trade Apprentices governed by the Apprentices Act, 1961 working in Establishments where proper leave rules do not exist or the total leave of different types admissible to the workers is less than 37 days in a year. [Ref.: Rule 9(1) (a) of Apprenticeship Rules, 1962] II 15 days To all Railway servants who, because of the nature of their duties are not allowed to avail themselves of public holidays at all or are allowed to avail themselves only of a few public holidays. Ill 15 days Artisan staff other than workshop staff, provided they are not covered by a collective option to convert casual leave into paid-holidays. IV 15 days Casual Labourers who have attained temporary status and who are being allowed to avail of 3 National Holidays like regular line staff. V 17 Days (12 days normal 5 days extra) Railway servants on the Northeast Frontier Railway described in para 2 (ii) of Board’s letter No. E (G) 83AL 12/8 dated 23.07.1984. [Ref: Board’s letters No. E (G) 58 AL1/1 dated 15.02.1958; PC/60/LE7/1 dated 23.04.1960; E (G) 67/LE1/17 dated 22.11.1967; *E (G) 70 LE1/5 dated 27.04.1972; E (G) 70 LE/15 pt., dated 22.06.1973; E (G) 83 AL12/8 doled 23.07.1984, *E (G) 70 LE1/5 dl. 18.02.1972] 4.Public holidays, closed Saturdays, Sundays and weekly offs falling within a spell of casual leavewill not count as casual leave and may be prefixed and/or suffixed to casual leave. A restricted holiday when it is availed of by a Railway servant, should be treated as a Public holiday for this purpose. [Ref: Board’s letter No. PC-601LE711, dated 24.08.1960] 5.There is no limit on the total period or absence at a time on casual leave inclusive of public holidays, closed Saturdays, Sundays and weekly offs falling within the spell of casual leave or which may be prefixed/suffixed thereto. [Ref: Board’s letter No. E (G) 67 LE115, dated 05.08.1967] 6.Casual leave for half-a-day either for the pre-lunch periods, casual leave may be granted for half-a-day and if there is only one period of working on a Saturday, the leave should be for a full day. [Ref: Board’s letter No. E (G) 72 LE21/41, dated 10.04.1973] 8.Casual leave cannot be combined with any other leave, except with (i) compensatory casual leavegranted to Groups ‘C’ & ‘D’ employees other than supervisory staff, for attending on Sundays and holidays; (ii) special casual leave sanctioned for participation in sporting events/events of national importance and for scouting duties, subject to the stipulation laid down in Board’s letter No. E (W) 80 WE6/2, dated 05.01.1983; and (iii) special casual leave sanctioned for sterilisation, recanalisation operations under the Family Welfare Programme. There is also no objection to casual leave being followed by quarantine leave. [Ref: Board’s letters No. E (W) 80 WE 6/2 dated 05/01/1983, E (W) 60 SP1/26 dated 30.01.1961, E1781H (FW) 9/5 dated 11.6.81 and Rule 507 Establishment Code Vol. 1/1985] 8.1.Casual leave cannot also be combined with joining time. [Ref: Board’s letter No. E (G) 79 JT1/1 dated 21.02.1980] 8.2.Casual leave cannot be combined with vacation allowed for school staff. [Ref: Board’s letter no. E55 LE2/74/3 dated 27.07.1955] 8.3.A Railway servant, who has taken casual leave for half-a-day on the afternoon of a working day and is unable to resume duty on the next working day due to unexpected sickness or compelling grounds and he has no casual leave at his credit, may, as an exception to the general rule, be permitted to combine half-a-day’s casual leave with regular leave. In no other situation can this facility be allowed. [Ref: Board’s letter No .E(G) 65 LE29 dated 25.06.1966] 9.If a Railway servant having no casual leave at his credit comes late without sufficient justification and the competent authority is not prepared to condone the late attendance and does not also at the same time propose to take action under the R.S. (D&A) Rules, the Railway servant should be informed that he would be treated as on unauthorised absence for the day on which he had come late. It should be left to the Railway servant either to face the consequences of such unauthorised absence or to apply for regular leave as may be due to him. These instructions are, however, not applicable to Railway employees governed by the provisions of P.W. Act, 1936 and I.D. Act. [Ref: Board’s letter No. E (G) 82 LEI/10 dated 20.09.1982 and 14.03.1983] 10.A candidate who joins Railway service in the middle of the year is entitled to the full quantum of casual leave. While there is no restriction to the grant of the full quantum of casual leave to those joining service in the second half of the year, the authority sanctioning the casual leave should take into account all the circumstances before granting such leave. For example, it would be administratively inappropriate to sanction 12 days/15 days/17 days casual leave to an employee, who has joined in the middle of December i.e. on 16th December. [Ref: Board’s letter No. E (G) 56 LE2/91/3 dated 05.10.1956] 11.Casual leave not availed of within the calendar year will lapse at the end of the year i.e. on 31st December. 12.General Manager may delegate powers to the senior Subordinates/Supervisors in independent charge of units, to sanction casual leave to the Group ‘C’ and Group ‘D’ employees working under them. 13. (i)While referring to this master circular, the original letters mentioned herein should be read for a proper appreciation. The master circular is only a consolidation of the existing instructions and should not be treated as a substitution to the original circulars. In case of doubt, the original letters should be relied upon as authority; (ii)The instructions contained in the original letters referred to have only prospective effect from the date of issue unless indicated otherwise; (iii) If any circular on the subject which has not been superseded has been lost sight of in the preparation of the master circular, the said circular, which has been missed through oversight should not be ignored but should be treated as valid and operative. 14.Copies of letters on the basis of which the consolidated matter circular has been prepared are enclosed. 15. Annexure indicating the reference No. and date of original circulars enclosed, ANNEXURE 1. Letter E (G) 58 AL1/1, dated 15.02.1958 2. Letter No. PC/60/LE7/1 dated 23.04.1960 3. Letter No. PC/60/LE7/1 dated 24.08.1960 4. Letter No. E (G) 65LE 2/29, dated 06.11.1965 5. Letter No. E (G) 65LE 2/29, dated 25.06.1966 6. Letter E (G) 67 LE1-5, dated 05.08.1967 7. Letter E (G) 70LE 1/5, dated 18.02.1972 8. Letter E (G) 70LE 1/5, dated 22.04.1972 9. Letter E (G) 72LE2/41, dated 10.04.1973 10. Letter E (G) 70LE1/5pt, dated 22.06.1973 11. Letter E (G) 82LE1/10, dated 20.09.1982 12. Letter E (G) 83 AL12/8, dated 06.02.1984 13. Letter E (G) 83 AL12/8, dated 20.02.1984 14. Letter E (G) 58 AL1/1, dated 15.02.1958 15. Letter E (W) 80WE 6/2, dated 05.01.1983 16. Letter E (G) 56LE2-91/3, dated 05.10.1956 17. Letter E (G) 75 LE1/1, dated 17.10.1975 18. Letter E (G) 87LE1/3, dated 17.11.1987 19. Letter E (55) LE 2/74/3, dated 27.07.1955 20. Letter E (G) 58 AL1/1, dated 15.02.1958
