The Himachal Pradesh government has introduced some changes to the pay rules that will impact around 14,000 employees working in 89 different categories. These changes were announced on Saturday through the HP Civil Services (Revised Pay) Second Amendment Rules 2025.
The main change in the amendment is the removal of Section 7A, which had been added earlier on January 3, 2022. Because of this removal, many employees are now facing the possibility of a salary cut between ₹5,000 and ₹15,000 per month. The revision will apply from January 1, 2016, which means it is retrospective.
As per reports, employees may also go on strike against these new rules.
What Was Section 7A?
Section 7A was included to benefit employees whose Pay Band or Grade Pay was not revised under the 2009 Pay Rules.
- Under this section, their pay in the new Pay Matrix (from January 1, 2016) was calculated by multiplying their basic pay (as on December 31, 2015) by 2.59.
- With the amendment, Section 7A is removed. Now, the multiplying factor is 2.25 instead of 2.59.
- This change reduces the multiplying factor by 0.34, which directly lowers the basic pay after re-fixation.
So, in simple terms, the salary calculation method has changed, and the revised formula gives a lower basic pay, which then reduces overall salary.
Impact on Employees
According to Sanjeev Sharma, leader of the Federation of Secretarial Employees Union, this decision will hit lower and middle-level employees the hardest. He explained that employees manage their lives—such as paying school fees for children, handling loan installments, and covering monthly household expenses—based on their salaries. A sudden drop of ₹5,000 to ₹15,000 per month will cause serious financial stress.
Sharma also said that employees’ unions discussed the matter together and decided to meet the Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, and Principal Secretary (Finance) to request the government to withdraw the amendment.
Government Notification
The government’s notification clarified a few important points:
- Employees’ pay will now be re-fixed as if Section 7A never existed.
- No money will be recovered from employees for any overpayments they might have received earlier.
- The new rules will only apply to Himachal Pradesh government employees.
- Employees of the Central Government and those covered under the UGC revised pay scales will not be affected.
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