Features of 7th Pay Commission Pay Matrix for Civilian Employees in Central Government

The new 7th Pay Commission Pay matrix has been designed in such a way to represent all 6th CPC running pay bands subsumed with the grade pay and multiplied with the fitment factor ranging from 2.56 to 2.72 in one table.

• Structure of 7th Pay Commission Pay matrix – Prior to VI CPC, there were Pay Scales. The VI CPC had recommended running Pay Bands with Grade Pay as status determiner. The Seventh CPC is recommending a Pay matrix with distinct Pay Levels.
• The rationalised 7th Pay Commission Pay matrix presents the whole universe of pay levels in one simple chart.
• Employees would be able to see their pay level where they fit in and how they are likely progress over their career span. The pay matrix will help chart out the likely path of pay progression along the career ladder of any employee.
• The minimum pay at each level will be the entry pay for direct recruits for those levels. Each level has been placed equidistantly. The various stages within a level moves upwards at the rate of 3 percent per annum.
• The pay matrix comprises two dimensions. It has a “horizontal range” in which each level corresponds to a ‘functional role in the hierarchy’ and has been assigned the numbers 1, 2, and 3 and so on till 18. The “vertical range” for each level denotes ‘pay progression’ within that level.
• These indicate the steps of annual financial progression of three percent within each level. The starting point of the matrix is the minimum pay which has been arrived based on 15th ILC norms or the Aykroyd formula.
• On recruitment, an employee joins at a particular level and progresses within the level as per the vertical range. The movement is usually on an annual basis, based on annual increments till the time of their next promotion.
• When the employee receives a promotion or a non-functional financial upgrade, he/she progresses one level ahead on the horizontal range.