8th Pay Commission  : There is bad news for lakhs of central employees and pensioners dreaming of salary hike in the 8th Pay Commission. It was expected that the new salary (Salary Revision) would be implemented from January 1, 2026. But now there are indications that the wait of the employees is going to be long. There is going to be a lot of delay in the process of implementing the Pay Commission regarding its formation, which has increased the concern of the employees. The government has not yet constituted the commission and the TOR (Terms of Reference) has not been finalized. It has become clear that the process of salary increase will be delayed. Let us know what is the reason for this delay and what will be its effect on your salary.

Why is there a delay in the formation of the Pay Commission? 
The biggest reason for the delay in the formation of the Eighth Pay Commission is the non-finalization of the Terms of Reference (TOR). The TOR is the foundation on which the entire structure of the Pay Commission is built. It decides on which issues the Commission will give its recommendations to the government, what will be the scope of its recommendations and how much time it will get to submit the report. According to sources, this time the process of preparing the TOR is taking a lot of time. Until the government finalizes the TOR, neither can the Commission be formally formed nor can it start its work.

Pay revision postponed till 2027
Delay in preparation will affect the implementation of the recommendations. Looking at the current situation, it is estimated that-

1. Formation of the Commission
If the process is not expedited, the commission may be formed by the end of 2025.

2. Time frame for preparation of the Report
Once the report is prepared, the Commission will take a minimum of 15 months to prepare a detailed report in consultation with employee organisations, ministries and experts across the country.

3. When will the recommendations come?
According to this, the final report of the 8th Pay Commission can be submitted to the government only by the beginning of 2027.

4. When will it be implemented?
After the report comes, the government will pass it in the cabinet and then a notification will be issued to implement it. Looking at this whole process, the increased salary is likely to reach the hands of the employees only in 2027.

Fitment factor: Expectations of 3.68 shattered
Fitment factor decides how much the salary will increase. This is the number that is multiplied by your basic salary. In the 7th Pay Commission, it was 2.57 times. Employee organizations have been demanding a fitment factor of 3.68 for a long time. But the information that is coming out now is shocking. Sources say that the fitment factor is likely to be 1.92 in the 8th Pay Commission. The government is not in the mood to make any major changes in it. If the fitment factor remains at 1.92, it will be a big shock for the employees because it will not increase the salary as expected.

Will the arrears be paid from January 1, 2026?
This is a big question that if the salary increases in 2027, will the employees suffer a loss? There can be some relief here. The government can implement the recommendations in 2027, but it can consider them effective from January 1, 2026. This has happened before. If the government considers the Eighth Pay Commission effective from January 1, 2026, then the employees can get the arrears of that period. This means that from January 2026 till the new salary is implemented, the money of the increased salary will come into the account in one go. But the final decision will depend on the intention of the government and the recommendations of the commission.

The matter was stuck due to non-formation of TOR.
It is necessary to prepare TOR (Terms of Reference) before the formation of the Eighth Pay Commission. Employee organizations are upset with the delay in the formation of the Pay Commission. They are constantly pressurizing the government to finalize the TOR soon and form the commission. Their demand is that the recommendations should be implemented from January 1, 2026 in any case and if there is a delay, arrears should be given. Actually, TOR prepares the outline of the commission. Without TOR, the recommendations of the commission cannot start. According to sources, the draft of the TOR is still being deliberated upon and it has not been finalized.

What is the future prospect?
At present the government’s stand is not clear, but sources say that the commission is likely to be formed by the second half or end of 2025. In such a situation, employees should not expect a salary hike before 2027.