Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: The Government of Goa has notified the Goa (Contractual Employees Regularization in Service) Rules, 2026, paving the way for the one-time regularisation of eligible contractual employees who have completed at least 10 years of continuous service from the date of their initial contractual appointment.
The notification, issued by the Department of Personnel on September 3, 2026, states that the rules will apply to contractual employees working against Group A, B and C posts, including those working in government departments and government bodies, subject to specified conditions.
To qualify, employees must have met the prescribed educational qualification and age requirements at the time of their initial appointment and must have been selected through the due process applicable to direct recruitment. Their continuous service should not have been secured through an order of a court or tribunal.
The rules also require eligible employees to have a satisfactory character and antecedent verification and not be facing any criminal or departmental inquiry or proceedings at the time their regularisation is considered.
Importantly, no order of regularisation or appointment can be issued without the approval of the Chief Minister.
Regularisation will take effect from the date on which the competent authority issues the order and employees will be required to satisfactorily complete the probation period applicable to the relevant post.
The government has also specified that regularisation will be against sanctioned vacancies meant for direct recruitment. If the number of eligible contractual employees exceeds the existing vacancies, additional posts may be created for their regularisation. Such additional posts will remain personal to the incumbent and will stand abolished once the post falls vacant.
The rules clarify that regularised employees will not receive retrospective benefits for their earlier contractual service, including arrears or seniority from the original date of joining. Their probation will begin from the date of regularisation.
Departments and government bodies will have to seek options from eligible contractual employees regarding regularisation, with the option once exercised being final. They must also prepare and submit lists of eligible employees to the Department of Personnel within 15 days of the rules coming into force.
The notification further imposes a ban on further contractual recruitment, except for specific purposes such as consultants, experts with specialised skills or manpower required under state or Central Government schemes. Employees appointed for such specific work will have no right to regularisation, and their contracts must end upon completion of the assigned work, achievement of the specific purpose or expiry of the contractual period, whichever is earlier.
The seniority of employees regularised under the rules will be fixed below the junior-most employee in the relevant cadre as on the date of the regularisation order. Inter-se seniority among regularised contractual employees will be determined under the applicable Seniority Rules, 1967.
The notification was issued by the Department of Personnel in the name of the Governor of Goa and signed by Under Secretary (Personnel-II) Durga Klinekar.
