7th Pay Commission: On May 7, retirement fund body EPFO had announced to stop the increase in gratuity with immediate effect due to increase in DA. No reason for this decision was given in the order.
There has been a big shock for the employees working in government and organized sector. Actually, retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has banned the increase in retirement and death gratuity for employees.
Last month, EPFO, in an order issued on April 30, 2024, had said that retirement gratuity and death gratuity have been increased by 25 percent from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 25 lakh. This increase was due to 50 percent increase in Dearness Allowance (DA) of central government employees.
On May 7, EPFO had announced to stop the increase in gratuity with immediate effect due to increase in DA. No reason was given for this decision in the order.
4 percent increase in DA announced in March
The Central Government had increased Dearness Allowance (DA) and Dearness Relief (DR) by 4 percent in March 2024. This was a big relief for lakhs of central government employees and pensioners. After this increase, DA of the employees became 50 percent of the basic salary. Let us tell you that due to the increase in DA, there has been an increase in the various allowances of the central government employees.
What is Gratuity?
If an employee works for a long time in a company, he gets gratuity apart from salary, pension and PF. This is a reward received by an employee from the company. At present, any employee is entitled to receive gratuity only if he has worked for at least 5 years.
