Govt employees to get 10–15% 'special benefits' on basic pay

Government employees are set to receive a "special benefit" of up to 15 percent on their basic salary.

In a notice issued on Tuesday, the finance ministry said employees in Grades 1-9 of the payscale will receive 10 percent of their basic salary as a "special benefit", while those in Grades 10-20 will receive 15 percent.

For those currently employed, the minimum allowance will be Tk 1,000, and for pensioners, the minimum amount will be Tk 500.

The special benefit will apply to all employees and pensioners under the national pay scale, including those in civil service, autonomous bodies, state-owned enterprises, banks, insurance companies, financial institutions, Border Guard Bangladesh, and the police force.

Employees on post-retirement leave (PRL) will receive the benefit based on their last basic pay grade, according to the notice. For pensioners, the special allowance will be calculated based on their current pension and grade.

However, retirees who took 100 percent of their pension as a lump sum gratuity and are not yet eligible for pension restoration will not receive this benefit. Similarly, employees on unpaid leave will not be eligible either.

While the government has not made a direct statement about a dearness allowance, Finance Advisor Salehuddin Ahmed proposed an increase in "special benefits" for government employees in the proposed budget for FY2025-26.

In his budget speech on Monday, he noted that as the salary structure had not been revised since 2015, the government was planning to increase special benefits for government employees.

The issue of a dearness allowance for public servants has been in discussions since the current government assumed office. In the end, instead of a dearness allowance, the government is introducing this “special benefit”.