Bangladesh Bank Leave Rules, 2003 : In exercise of the powers conferred by Regulation 48 of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003, Governor has been pleased to approve the following Leave Rules of the employees of the Bank.

1. Short Title and commencement.

a) These Rules may be called the Bangladesh Bank Leave Rules, 2003.
b) They shall come into force with effect from 24 May, 2003.

2. Application.

These Rules shall apply to all employees of the Bank, whether on duty or on leave within or without Bangladesh, on deputation with any Bank, institution or government agency, provided that they shall not apply, except as otherwise
provided in these Rules or to such extent as may be specially or generally prescribed by the Governor, to

(i) staff transferred or lent by the Government of Bangladesh, or
(ii) staff or officers or specialists recruited on special contracts, or
(iii) senior officials of the Bank appointed by the Government.

3.

(i) Leave is earned by duty only. For the purposes of these rules the period spent on deputation shall count as duty.

(ii) All applications for leave shall be addressed to the competent authority and shall be submitted through the proper channel.

(iii) Leave cannot be claimed as a matter of right, and leave admissible under these rules may be granted by the competent authority who may refuse leave, grant leave for a shorter period than applied for, revoke leave of any
description and recall an employee before the expiry of his leave.

(iv) All employees shall resume duties on the expiry of leave as initially granted or as subsequently curtailed or extended. Overstay of leave may entail punishment including dismissal from service. An employee on leave
shall not accept any employment or office of profit.

(v) Before proceeding leave, an employee shall make over charge to another employee as directed by the competent authority.

(vi) An employee on leave of any description shall, unless instructed otherwise, report in writing his return to duty to his immediate superior at the place wherefrom he proceeded on leave.

(vii) An employee who was granted leave on medial grounds shall not return to duty without first producing a certificate of fitness from the medical authority specified by the Bank in this behalf. Provided that no such certificate shall be necessary if the leave was for seven days or less.

(viii) In the event of an employee on leave for not less than one month being required by the competent authority to resume duty in the interest of the Bank before the expiry of leave already sanctioned, the Governor in the case of officers, and the Executive Director in the case of others, may allow him actual cost of passage from the place of recall in Bangladesh to the place of duty in Bangladesh and to count the time spent of the journey as on duty.

(ix) Unless permitted by the competent authority to do so, an employee on leave may not return to duty more than fourteen days before the expiry of the period of leave granted to him.

(x) The following kinds of leave may be granted to an employee namely:-

a) Ordinary leave;
b) Special kinds of leave.

4. Ordinary leave :

(a)

(i) Every employee shall earn ordinary leave on full pay at the rate of one-eleventh of period spent on duty, that is, one day for every eleven days of duty, and the leave shall be credited to his leave account and the maximum that can be accumulated shall be four months. Any period in excess of four months shall be credited to a separate item in the leave account and may be allowed on full pay on medical certificate or for the purpose of pilgrimage or any
religious purpose, education or rest and recreation outside Bangladesh or in the case of leave preparatory to retirement.

The amount of leave on full pay that may be taken at any one time shall not exceed four months. This limit may be raised to six months when the leave in excess of four months is taken on medical certificate or for the purpose of pilgrimage or any religious purpose, education or rest and recreation outside Bangladesh or in case of leave preparatory to retirement.

Special leave on half pay or quarter pay as admissible to the extent that the total period of leave preparatory to retirement (both Ordinary Leave & Special Leave taken together) shall not exceed 12 months in all. The total period of such leave shall not extend beyond the completion of 58th year of age of the concerned employee.

(ii) Recreation Leave:

Every employee shall be entitled to Recreation Leave and allowance equal to his basic pay once in every three years with 15 days earned leave, provided that he has completed at least three years service in the Bank. Such leave shall be debited to his ordinary leave account. However, the employees who have availed encashment of leave facilities under Regulations 32(1)(B) of Bangladesh Bank(staff) Regulations (now repealed) shall be entitled to Recreation Leave and allowance after three years from the last date of encashment of leave.

(b) Leave on half pay :

Leave on half pay shall be earned at the rate of one-twelfth of the period spent on duty and accumulation of such leave shall be without limit. It shall be permissible to convert leave so allowed into leave on full pay on the production of medical certificate up to a maximum of twelve months in erms of full pay during the whole period of service. The conversion shall be allowed at the rate of one day on full pay for two days on half pay.

(c) Advance leave

Save in the case of leave preparatory to retirement, advance leave may be granted to an employee on half pay up to a maximum of twelve months during his whole service if it is on medical certificate or three months during his whole service if it is not on medical certificate.

When an employee returns from advance leave which was debited to his leave account no leave on half pay shall become due to him until the expiration of a fresh period spent on duty sufficient to earn a credit of leave equal to the period of leave which he took before it was due. The accumulation of leave on full pay together with leave that may be earned subsequent to his return from advance leave, shall remain unaffected but cannot be utilized except to the extent it exceeds half the period of unadjusted advance leave.

Note : Advance leave is not admissible to an employee who is not a permanent employee. In exceptional cases, the competent authority, if it is satisfied that the employee has reasonable prospect of returning to duty and of earning the leave on subsequent date, may sanction such leave to an employee who has completed at least five years’ continuous service against a regular post on the same condition as is applicable to a permanent employee.

(d) Leave Salary

(i) Leave salary during leave on full pay shall be equal to the pay which the employee was drawing before proceeding on leave or the average of pay drawn last twelve complete months preceding the month in which leave is taken, whichever is more favourable.

(ii) Leave salary during leave on half pay shall be equal to half of the leave salary calculated in accordance with the provision of clause(a).

(iii) Leave salary shall be drawn in Bangladesh currency in Bangladesh irrespective of the country in which the leave is spent.

(e) Maximum Leave

The maximum amount of leave that may be taken at any one time other than in combination with leave without pay shall be one year. It supported by medical certificate the limit of one year may be extended up to two years.

Note : In case of conversion of leave on half pay into leave on full pay on medical certificate, the maximum amount of leave shall be calculated on the extent of leave on half pay so converted and debited to leave account and not on the actual period of leave enjoyed.

(f) Leave without pay

(i) Leave without pay may be granted to an employee in special circumstances when no other leave is under these Rules admissible. The duration of leave without pay shall be so regulated that the amount of total leave including other leave taken in combination does not exceed the maximum of five years at any one time.

(ii) In case of temporary employee who has not completed five years’ continuous service, the duration of leave without pay at any one time shall not exceed three months. Provided that this restriction of three months shall not apply to a temporary employee who is permitted to undergo training in or outside Bangladesh after executing a bond to serve the Bank for a period of five years on return from such leave.

(iii) The authority empowered to grant leave may commute retrospectively the period of absence without leave into leave without pay.

(iv) A period of suspension or break in service may be covered by grant of leave without pay by the competent authority even if other kinds of leave might have been due before suspension or break in service.

5. Special disability leave

(1)

(a) Subject to the conditions hereinafter specified, the competent authority may grant special disability leave to an employee who is disabled by injury intentionally inflicted or caused in, or in consequence of, the due performance of his official duties or in consequence of his official position.

(b) Such leave shall not be granted unless the disability manifested itself within three months of the occurrence to which it is attributed, and the person disabled acted with due promptitude in bringing it to notice, provided that if the competent authority is satisfied as to the cause of disability, such leave may be granted in cases where the disability manifested itself more than three months after the occurrence of its cause.

(c) The period of leave granted shall be such as is certified by a Medical Board to be necessary. It shall not be extended except on the certificate of a Medical Board, and shall in no case exceed twenty four month.

(d) Such leave may be combined with any other kind of leave provided that the total limit of twenty eight months is not exceeded in any spell.

(e) Such leave may be granted more than once if the disability is aggravated or reproduced in similar circumstances at a later date but not more than twenty four months of such leave shall be granted in consequence of any one disability.

(f) Such leave shall be counted as duty in calculating service for retirement, gratuity or pension(if applicable).

(g) Special disability leave is not debited to leave account but when an employee entitled to special disability leave refers to take such leave in exchange of Ordinary leave on full pay or leave on half pay or both earned by him, half the period of such leave shall be debited to his leave account.

(h) Leave salary during such leave shall be equal to:-

(1) full pay for first four months of such leave including the period of such leave granted under clause(e) of this subrule;

(2) half pay for the remaining period but if the employee takes leave in exchange of leave on full pay at his credit under this clause the leave salary shall be equal to full pay.

(i) In the case of a person to whom the workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, applies, the amount of leave salary payable under this regulation shall be reduced by the amount of compensation payable under clause (d) of sub-section(1) of section 4 of the Act.

Note : The limit of leave on average pay under these rules on “regular leave” if combined with special disability leave, may extend to eight months and to ten months if taken on medical certificate.

(2) The application of the foregoing provision of sub-rule

(1) may be extended to an employee who is disabled by injury accidentally in, or in consequence, of, the due performance of his official duties or in consequence of his official position or by illness incurred in the performance of any particular duty which has the effect of increasing his liability to illness or injury beyond his ordinary risk attaching to the post which he holds. The grant of this concession is subject to further conditions, namely:-

(a) that the disability, if due to disease, must be certified by a Medical Board, to be directly due to the performance of the particular duty;

(b) that, if the employee contacted such disability during service it must be, in the opinion of the competent authority, so exceptional in character or in the circumstances of its occurrence as to justify such unusual treatment as the grant of this form of leave; and

(c) that the period of absence recommended by medical officer or any other medical authority so specified may be covered in part by leave under this rule and in part by other leave,. and that the amount of special disability leave granted on full pay may be less than four months.

 

6. Study Leave

(1) Study leave on half pay not debitable to leave account for a maximum period of two years during the whole service may be granted by the Governor to an employee who is in continuous service for a period of five years or more to enable him to study scientific, technical or similar problems or to undergo a special course of instruction, in or out of Bangladesh, on such terms and conditions as the Governor may specify.

(2) Such study leave may be granted by the Governor in exceptional cases only when the particular course of study or training is considered absolutely necessary for due discharge of his official duty and the particular field of study or training is not covered by any training scheme offered by any institution, University or any international aid giving agency or foreign Government in Bangladesh.

(3) Study leave combined with other kinds of leave, except leave without pay, shall not exceed thirty six months, any period in excess of the above shall be treated as leave without pay provided that the total period of leave including leave without pay shall not normally exceed five years.

Note : If any employee wants to go abroad for study or training on his own accord he cannot claim study leave. If,. however, the Governor thinks that the particular field of study has relation to his official duties and he can be spared, he may be allowed ordinary leave, including leave without pay, admissible under the rules.

7. Quarantine leave

Quarantine leave in leave of absence from duty necessitated by orders not to attend office in consequence of the presence of infectious disease in the family or household of an employee. such leave may be granted by the competent authority on the certificate of the authorized medical or public health officer for a period not exceeding 21 days or in exceptional circumstances, 30 days.

Any leave necessary for the purpose exceeding this period shall be treated as ordinary leave as may be due. quarantine leave may also be granted, where necessary, in continuation of other leave subject to the maximum amount of leave admissible under this rule. No substitute shall be appointed in place of an employee absent on quarantine leave. an employee on quarantine leave is not treated as absent from duty.

Note : Cholera, Small-pox, Plague, Diphtheria, typhus fever, Measles, Mumps and Cerebro-spinal Meningitis may be considered as infectious disease for the purpose of this regulation. In the case of chicken-pox, quarantine leave shall not be granted unless the certifying authority considers that because of doubt as to the nature of the disease(whether chicken pox or small pox) there is reason for the grant of such leave.

8. Maternity leave

(1) Where a female employee of the bank applies for maternity leave, the competent authority shall grant such leave for a period of four months from the date of commencement of the leave or her confinement for the purpose of delivery, whichever is earlier. The grant of maternity leave is however subject to the condition that the female employee has been in the service of the Bank for at least nine months immediately preceding the date of delivery.

(2) Maternity leave shall not be admissible more than twice during the tenure of service of a female employee. The maternity leave granted shall not be debited against the leave account of the female employee and shall be
entitled to receive full pay for the leave period at the rate she was drawing at the time of taking such leave. Leave of any other kind, including the amount of leave on full pay admissible without production of medical certificate, may be granted in continuation of maternity leave if the request for its grant be supported by a medical certificate.

9. Casual leave

(i) Casual leave means a leave of absence for a very short period granted to an employee who may be unable to attend duty during such period due to sudden illness or urgent private affairs.

(ii) Such leave is treated as duty for all purposes.

(iii) Casual leave may, subject to the exigencies of service, be granted to an employee by the competent authority up to a maximum of twenty days in a calendar year (but not for a period or periods exceeding 10 days at a time).

(iv) No formal order or notification need be issued for grant of casual leave nor the same is required to be shown in permanent service records (that is, Service Book, audit Register).

(v) Casual leave shall not be cumulative and may only be availed of during the calendar year to which if relates. The unspent period of casual leave not availed of during a calendar year shall lapse on the 31st December of the year.

(vi) Casual leave shall not be granted so as to cause evasion of rules regarding-

a) date of reckoning pay and allowances,

b) change of office,

c) commencement and end of leave

d) return to duty, or

e) to extend the term of leave beyond the time admissible under this rule.

(vii) Casual leave may be taken in continuation of, and in combination with holidays including Saturdays and if holidays and Saturdays intervene two spells of casual leave the entire period(including holidays) shall be reckoned as casual leave provided that the total period does not exceed the period for which casual leave is admissible and if it exceeds, the period shall be commuted into ordinary leave as may be due and if no leave is due, into leave without pay.

(viii) Casual leave cannot be combined with any other leave. In case casual leave is extended and the total period(including the period for which casual leave was originally granted) exceeds the period of which casual
leave is due and admissible in one spell, the entire period shall be commuted in to ordinary leave as may be due and into leave without pay;

if no other leave is due.

(ix) Casual leave cannot be taken in combination with joining time.

(x) Casual leave granted in one spell may cover two calendar years, provided that the maximum limit for such leave in one spell does not exceed the limit and the period falling in the month of December is covered by the balance at the credit during that year and the rest is debited against the account of casual leave for the following year.

Note : Willful extension of casual leave without sufficient reason to justify the same may be considered as misconduct for the purpose of these rules.

10. Leave procedure

(i) On return from leave exceeding two months an Officer or above must obtain orders as to his posting. On return from leave not exceeding two months an Officer or above may normally resume the duties of the post which he held before going on leave unless he receives orders to the contrary.

(ii) The leave account of an employee shall be maintained in such form as the competent authority may specify.
(iii) The leave account of an employee shall be maintained by such officer as the competent authority may determine.
(iv) Leave of any kind to an Officer or above cannot be granted unless admissibility of the same is certified by the competent officer concerned.

If, however, the officer himself certifies, along with the application for leave that the leave applied for is due to him, the sanctioning authority, on verification from the records available with him, if satisfied as to the admissibility may sanction leave on full pay up to maximum of four months pending verification of its admissibility by the competent
authority. All other kinds of leave shall be sanctioned only after the admissibility being certified by the competent authority.

(v) Every application for leave or for an extension of leave shall be sent to the authority competent to sanction the leave through the immediate superior, if any, of the employee applying for leave. In case of an Officer or above
applying for leave not exceeding four months on full pay; application may be sent to the competent authority with a certificate from the applicant that the leave applied for is due at his credit and, in other cases, the application shall be sent to the competent authority with a certificate from the officer maintaining the leave account.

(vi) Before an employee is granted leave or extension of leave, on medical ground, he must obtain a certificate from the medical officer of the Bank or any other medical authority specified by the Bank accompanied by a statement of his case in the form to be specified in this behalf.

(vii) On securing the certificate in the specified form, the employee shall apply for the leave to the competent authority in the usual course. If the application for leave does not cover a period of more than four months in
all, the competent authority may sanction leave without further reference to any other medical authority. If, however, the total duration of leave in one spell exceeds four months, the competent authority may refer the case
for a second medical opinion.

(viii) When the case of an Officer or above is referred to the medical officer of the Bank or any other medical authority so specified, the leave or extension of leave will be granted only on the production of a certificate in
the specified form.

Note : The competent authority in doubtful cases, may, however, refer the cases of leave even for a period less than four months for second medical opinion.

(ix) The medical officer shall not recommend the grant of leave in any case in which there appears to be no reasonable prospect that the employee will ever be fit to resume duty. In such cases, the opinion that the employee is permanently unfit for service should be recorded in the medical certificate.

(x) The production of medical certificate from the medical officer of the Bank or any other medical authority so specified does not in itself confer upon the employee any right to leave. The certificate should be forwarded to the
competent authority to sanction the leave and the orders of the competent authority should be awaited.

(xi) An application for extension of leave on medical grounds by an employee on leave out of Bangladesh shall be accompanied by a certificate from two medical practitioners, duly countersigned by a Gazetted Officer of the
Bangladesh Mission, who will corroborate the signatures of the medical practitioners. The certificate must describe in full details the nature of the disease and the condition of the employee.

11. Consideration for granting leave

In case where all applications for leave cannot, in the interest of the service of the Bank, be granted, the competent authority shall, in deciding which application should be granted take into account the following considerations:-

(a) the employee who can, for the time being, best be spared ;

(b) the amount of leave due to the various applicants ;

(c) the amount and character of the service rendered by each applicant since he last returned from leave ;

(d) the fact that any such applicant was compulsorily recalled from his last leave ;

(e) the fact that any such applicant has been refused leave in the interest of the Bank.

12. When leave shall not be refused

When a medical officer of the Bank or any other medical authority so specified has reported that there is no reasonable prospect that a particular employee will ever be fit to return to duty, leave should not necessarily be refused to such an employee. It may be granted, if due, by a competent authority on the following conditions :-

(a) If the medical officer of the Bank or any other medical authority so specified is unable to say with certainty that the employee will never be fit for service, leave not exceeding twelve months in all may be granted. Such leave should not be extended without reference to a second medical opinion or to a medical committee if so specified by the Bank.

(b) If the medical committee declares the employee to be completely and permanently incapacitated for further service, the employee should, except as provided in clause (c), be invalidated from the service, either on the expiration of the leave already granted to him, if he is on leave when examined by the committee or if he is not on leave, from the date of the committee’s report.

(c) An employee declared by a medical committee to be completely and permanently incapacitated may, in special cases, be granted leave, or an extension of leave, not exceeding six months as debited against the leave account , if such leave be due to him.

Special circumstances justifying such treatment may be held to exist when the employee’s breakdown in health has been caused in and by the service in the Bank, or when the employee has taken a comparatively shall amount of leave during his service or will complete at an early date an additional year’s service for retirement, gratuity or pension (if applicable).

Note: A report from a medical officer shall be accepted for the purpose of leave under this regulation in cases where such a certificate is deemed sufficient for granting invalid pension (in applicable).

13. Leave should not be granted to an employee who ought at once to be dismissed from the service of the Bank for misconduct or general incapacity.

14. Any breach of these rules may entail punishment under the regulation 44 of the Bangladesh Bank Staff Regulations, 2003.

Read more:

THE BANGLADESH BANK EXPENDITURE REGULATIONS, 1977