The Centre fixed the ceiling for ad hoc bonuses for central government employees at Rs 7,000 for 2022-23 on Tuesday, ahead of the festive season. In a recent notification, the Union Finance Ministry's Department of Expenditure (DoE) stated that central government employees in Group 'C' and all non-gazetted employees in Group 'B' who are not covered by any productivity-linked bonus scheme will receive an ad hoc bonus equivalent to 30 days' wages for the fiscal year 2022-23. 

Ad hoc incentives will also be paid to qualifying Central Para Military Forces and Armed Forces employees. Employees must have been in service as of March 31, 2023 and have worked for at least 6 months consistently in 2022-23 to be eligible for the ad hoc incentives. 

Casual workers who have worked in offices that follow a 6-day week for at least 240 days per year for three years or more (206 days per year for three years or more in workplaces that follow a 5-day week) will also be eligible for the ad-hoc bonus. Ad hoc bonus recipients should not be covered by any productivity-linked incentive system.

"Pro-rata payment will be admissible to the eligible employees for a period of continuous service during the year from six months to a full year, the eligibility period being taken in terms of number of months of service (rounded off to the nearest number of months)," according to the notice. 

The ad hoc bonus shall be determined using the lower of average emoluments, daily earnings, or the calculation cap. To calculate the ad-hoc bonus for one day, divide the average annual salary by 30.4 and multiply by the number of bonus days provided. 

For example, assuming a monthly emolument ceiling of Rs 7,000 (where real average emoluments exceed Rs 7,000/-), an ad-hoc bonus for a period of 30 days would be Rs 7,000x30/30.4= Rs 6,907.84 (rounded off to Rs 6,908).  If the actual monthly emoluments are less than Rs 1,200, the ad-hoc bonus shall be determined on the basis of the actual monthly emoluments.