A Study on Estimating the Compensation Package for Government Employees and the Cost to the Government

The aim of the study is to assess the total cost incurred by the Government for Government employees in various grades and sectors. The study will take into account salary, various allowances as well as the other benefits like housing/ HRA, transport facilities/ transport allowance, telephones, free passes/ LTC, bungalow peons/ orderlies, pensionary benefits, free rations (where ever applicable), job security and any other benefits, whether tangible or intangible, provided by the Government to their employees.

The Terms of Reference of Study are as under:

• To work out the cost incurred by the Government in paying the pay, allowances and all other benefits whether monetary/ in kind (tangible/ intangible) to their employees and to compute cost per employee to the government in each of the pay scales prevailing in the Government for employees who enjoy these benefits as well as those who do not.
• To work out in monetary terms the benefits, whether in form of allowances or in kind, available to the employees in various sectors of the government like Armed Forces, Police, Railways and Posts and to study the efficacy of these benefits in meting their objectives.
• To determine the feasibility of evolving a compensation package that would compensate all the benefits presently available in various pay scales/ sectors in purely monetary terms as a more efficient way of compensating the employees.
• To study the monetary value that can be attached to security of and the protection under Article 311 of the Constitution available to the Government employees. Whether this can have any impact on the emoluments payable to the Government employees given the fact that the extant rules also preclude an easy exit from a Government job.

The study is being conducted by the Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI), Jamshedpur and is expected to be completed within a period of 4 months.

Team Leader Contact Details:
Prof. R. K. Premarajan Xavier,
Labour Relation Institute
Jamshedpur 831001
Tel. No. 91 – 657 – 2225506 – 12
E mail : prem@xlri.ac.in

Methodology:

• The study would be carried out in the following phases:-

Phase I – Computation of cost using available data with respect to pay and allowances of all government sectors.

Phase II – Assessment of monetary value of tangible and intangible benefits with inputs from recipients and from experts.

Phase III – Assessment of some of the understated benefits of working for the government viz. job security & protection, Article 311, cost of no easy exit, etc. Assessment of monetary value attached to benefits and impact on the pay mix.

Phase IV – Discussion on the efficacy of having all cash pay along with the feasibility of such a pay structure.

• Data for the purpose of the study will be collected in two parts namely, primary and secondary. Primary data will be collected with the purpose of arriving at the efficiency and efficacy related conclusions through interviews, questionnaires and focus group discussions. Secondary data will be obtained through records, reports, statements, rules and regulations currently in force. This will enable the study to calculate the cost of compensation, both monetary and the cost relating to other benefits.