8th Pay Commission: Level 1-5 employees may get up to Rs 10.8 lakh in arrears—see estimates for different fitment factors

Central government employees are keen to find out the arrears they might receive once the 8^th Pay Commission (8^th CPC) report is implemented. The implementation could take anywhere from a few months to over a year, as the commission is currently meeting with various stakeholders. The arrears for central government employees will depend on how long the report takes to implement and the fitment factor. The fitment factor in a pay commission acts as a multiplier for pay revision. A high or a low fitment factor can significantly impact the arrears for central government employees.

In this article, we will break down the estimated arrear amounts for Level 1-5 central government employees based on potential fitment factors of 2.0, 2.15, 2.28, 2.57 or 2.86. The actual amount of arrears will be revealed once the government notifies the 8^th Pay Commission report.

Also Read: 8th Pay Commission salary calculator Level 10 central government IAS, IPS officers' arrears calculations at 2.0, 2.15 and 2.57 fitment factors


When is the 8^th Pay Commission report likely to be implemented?

Some experts are expecting the implementation to start as early as March 2027, while others think it might happen after May, 2027. A section of experts believes that the 8^th Pay Commission is progressing well and could finish its work by March, 2027, allowing employees to see increased payouts from April, 2027.

However, some feel that the pay commission will take the full 18 months to prepare its report and the implementation could be pushed to after May, 2027.

When the government notified the 8^th Pay Commission in November 2025, it gave the commission a 18-month timeframe to complete its report. If it doesn’t finish its report within that time, the 8^th Pay Commission can ask for an extension of the deadline.

What can be the fitment factor for the 8^th Pay Commission?

National Council – Joint Consultative Machinery (staff side) in the memorandum submitted to the 8^th Pay Commission has recommended a 3.83 fitment factor. However, experts say that it is too much and under the given circumstances, the fitment factor can’t be more than 2.57.

Manjeet Singh Patel, National President of the All India NPS Employees Federation, told ET Wealth Online that a feasible limit of fitment factor is 2.1. It means an entry-level employee, earning a basic pay of Rs 18,000, will see the pay rise to Rs 37,800 with a fitment factor of 2.1.

Who are the Level 1-5 central government employees?

As per the 7^th Pay Commission pay matrix, Level 1-5 employees are the foot soldiers of the central government workforce who look after the basic level but important work in offices. They hold posts such as multi-tasking staff, lower division clerks, upper division clerks, senior technicians, stenographers Grade C, etc.

List of Level 1-5 central government employees (As per 7^th Pay Commission pay matrix)

Pay Level	Current Basic Pay (Starting)	Typical Posts
Level 1	₹ 18,000	Multi-Tasking Staff (MTS), Peon, Office Attendant, Safai Karamchari, Field Attendant, Khalasi, Helper
Level 2	₹ 19,900	Lower Division Clerk (LDC) in some departments, Postal Assistant (entry level in certain cases), Store Keeper Grade-III, Constable (varies by department)
Level 3	₹ 21,700	Lower Division Clerk (many departments), Tax Assistant (entry level), Technician Grade III, Driver Grade-II, Constable (higher pay departments)
Level 4	₹ 25,500	Upper Division Clerk (UDC), Senior Clerk, Stenographer Grade-D, Head Constable, Junior Assistant
Level 5	₹ 29,200	Senior Technician, Senior Assistant, Stenographer Grade-C (some departments), Assistant Store Keeper, Staff Nurse (entry level in many Central government organisations)

8^th Pay Commission arrear calculations for Level 1-5 employees

Ramachandran Krishnamoorthy, associate partner, managed services, BDO India, says that since the arrear will depend on the fitment factor and the delay in the implementation of the 8^th Pay Commission, employees can get substantial amounts in arrears. In his calculations, he shows how much estimated arrears can Level 1-5 employees get under 2.0, 2.15, 2.28. 2.57 and 2.86 in the 8^th Pay Commission.

For arrear calculations, Krishnamoorthy takes 20 months of period assuming that central government employees may start getting revised payouts from September 2027.

He multiplies the estimated increased payout by 20 to calculate arrear amounts.

20-month arrear estimates for Level 1-5 central government employees (At 2.0 fitment factor)

Level	Current Basic (₹)	Revised Basic (₹)	Increase in Basic (₹)	Arrears for 20 Months (₹)
1	18,000	36,000	18,000	3,60,000
2	19,900	39,800	19,900	3,98,000
3	21,700	43,400	21,700	4,34,000
4	25,500	51,000	25,500	5,10,000
5	29,100	58,200	29,100	5,82,000

20-month arrear estimates for Level 1-5 central government employees (At 2.15 fitment factor)

Level	Current Basic (₹)	Revised Basic (₹)	Increase in Basic (₹)	Arrears for 20 Months (₹)
1	18,000	38,700	20,700	4,14,000
2	19,900	42,785	22,885	4,57,700
3	21,700	46,655	24,955	4,99,100
4	25,500	54,825	29,325	5,86,500
5	29,100	62,565	33,465	6,69,300

20-month arrear estimates for Level 1-5 central government employees (At 2.28 fitment factor)

Level	Current Basic (₹)	Revised Basic (₹)	Increase in Basic (₹)	Arrears for 20 Months (₹)
1	18,000	41,040	23,040	4,60,800
2	19,900	45,372	25,472	5,09,440
3	21,700	49,476	27,776	5,55,520
4	25,500	58,140	32,640	6,52,800
5	29,100	66,348	37,248	7,44,960

20-month arrear estimates for Level 1-5 central government employees (At 2.57 fitment factor)

Level	Current Basic (₹)	Revised Basic (₹)	Increase in Basic (₹)	Arrears for 20 Months (₹)
1	18,000	46,260	28,260	5,65,200
2	19,900	51,143	31,243	6,24,860
3	21,700	55,769	34,069	6,81,380
4	25,500	65,535	40,035	8,00,700
5	29,100	74,787	45,687	9,13,740

20-month arrear estimates for Level 1-5 central government employees (At 2.86 fitment factor)

Level	Current Basic (₹)	Revised Basic (₹)	Increase in Basic (₹)	Arrears for 20 Months (₹)
1	18,000	51,480	33,480	6,69,600
2	19,900	56,914	37,014	7,40,280
3	21,700	62,062	40,362	8,07,240
4	25,500	72,930	47,430	9,48,600
5	29,100	83,226	54,126	10,82,520