The government compensates these personnel with an extra month’s salary, covering basic pay and inflation but excluding allowances like motorcycle and uniform. This additional payment is disbursed annually in March, around the Holi festival
If you want to earn 13 months’ salary for 12 months’ job, then you can join the Uttar Pradesh police. Since the recruitment exam for the post of constable is ongoing, you will now have to wait till the next recruitment starts.
The Uttar Pradesh Police pays a total of 13 months’ salary in a year to its ‘non-gazetted’ staff. However, it is a different matter altogether if you consider this salary sufficient for the 24-hours-long duty that this department demands.
‘Non-gazetted’ staff includes posts like constable, dewan and inspector. These posts are called ‘non-gazetted’ because their transfers are not mentioned in the state gazette. However, the general public usually interact with this class of police personnel on a daily basis. Let us understand why and how constables or inspectors get their salary for the 13th month.
Police personnel from these ranks are expected to be on duty for 24 hours. Though their office may stay shut after a certain time but the government can summon these officers for work whenever they want. Police stations are never closed. One can visit a police station any time of the day. Hence we can say that police personnel have to be on duty at all times throughout the year, even during festivals. Their responsibilities pile up even more during festivals like Holi, Dussehra or other government holidays so that these festivals can be celebrated peacefully.
In lieu of this, the government pays them extra one month’s salary. This includes basic salary and inflation. Other allowances like motorcycle allowance or uniform allowance are not given. This extra salary is given in the month of March around Holi.
A police officer said that earlier their annual salary used to be equal to the salary of about fifteen months. Later, successive state governments have kept reducing it. Earlier ‘bonus’ that was equal to one month’s salary was given. Later it was reduced and fixed at Rs 3700. Apart from this, almost a month’s salary was received from leave encashment every year. This practice was also done away with.
Gazetted officers above the rank of Inspector do not get the salary of the ‘thirteenth’ month. This is because it is believed that their offices remain closed during holidays and even on Sundays. According to OP Tripathi, who has retired from the post of IG of Uttar Pradesh Police, if a ‘gazetted’ officer wants, he can take leave once a year and go somewhere with his family. The government reimburses the travel fare. This is known as Leave Travel Allowance.
