Contract employees get GOOD NEWS from court

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that employees appointed on contract against permanent posts and subsequently regularised may have their continuous prior contract service counted towards pension and other financial benefits, subject to the applicable rules.

A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Yahya Afridi, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail and Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar announced the judgment in 20 civil petitions filed by the Punjab School Education Department. Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar authored the judgment.

The court held that pension was neither a reward nor charity but an earned right intended to provide financial security to employees after retirement.

The cases involved women officers who were appointed on contract on February 12, 2010, against Grade-18 posts of Senior Headmistress and Deputy District Education Officer (Women) on the recommendation of the Punjab Public Service Commission. Their services were subsequently regularised with effect from September 10, 2011.

The Supreme Court observed that where employees had served against posts of a permanent nature and were later regularised, completely disregarding their continuous contract service would amount to depriving them of past service without lawful justification.

The court said the government could not, after obtaining an employee’s services on contract for a prolonged period, deny pension on the ground that the employee had not completed the required qualifying service.

It held that the relevant rules should be interpreted in a manner that advances justice rather than denies legitimate rights on technical grounds.

After examining the Punjab Civil Services Pension Rules and Civil Service Regulations, the court held that continuous temporary or contract service could be counted towards pension where an employee was subsequently regularised.

However, the court clarified that counting previous contract service towards pension was distinct from giving retrospective effect to regularisation.

It therefore did not uphold the Punjab Service Tribunal’s direction treating February 12, 2010, as the initial appointment date for seniority, service records and related benefits.

The court noted that altering seniority could affect the rights of other employees, who could not be adversely affected without being given an opportunity to be heard.

The Supreme Court also directed government departments to reconsider the practice of keeping employees against permanent posts on contract for indefinite periods, observing that denying pensionary benefits after prolonged service was inconsistent with the demands of justice.