Calcutta, April 17: The government has for the first time come out with a policy to offer a job to a dependent of an employee who dies in harness.

However, the benefit will depend on how badly the family needs money, chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb said.

The job will be granted only if the monthly income of the bereaved family drops below 80 per cent of the gross salary of the deceased person or is lower than the minimum pay of a lower division clerk, which is Rs 7,000.

Gross monthly salary means basic pay, dearness allowance, house rent allowance and medical allowance. So, for an employee who had a gross monthly salary of Rs 10,000, his or her family income will have to be less than Rs 8,000.

The monthly family income will be the aggregate of the following:

• Monthly family pension, which includes basic pay and dearness relief

• Income from 8 per cent monthly interest on the amount received by the family — provident fund, gratuity and leave encashment — after the death of the employee

• Income from movable and immovable property.

The order, issued on April 2, will also apply to employees who retire prematurely on being declared “permanently incapacitated for service”.

The government will examine if the affected family is in need of “immediate financial assistance” before offering employment, the order says.

The family will have to submit a job application, with income details, within six months of the death or premature retirement of the employee.

At present, there is no provision for providing jobs to family members of government employees who die in harness. However, some jobs are given at the discretion of the department concerned.

Chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee had assured the CPM-backed state government employees’ co-ordination committee last year that he would take steps to ensure deserving people got jobs on compassionate grounds.

“The notification will help genuinely affected families in need of jobs. That is the government’s policy,” the chief secretary said.