The 8th Central Pay Commission has not been implemented yet as it is still meeting with employee and pensioner bodies, individuals and other stakeholders to discuss issues related to salary, pension, allowance revisions and employee work conditions. These consultations are part of the 8th CPC recommendation report preparations. Once prepared, the 8th Pay Commission will forward the report to a group of ministers. Once the group gives its go-ahead, the report will be implemented, and employees will get their revised payouts with arrears. They are expected to get their arrears from January 1, 2026. But when will they get a salary hike with arrears? For Level 1-5 employees, what amount of arrears can be expected if they have 20 months of arrears due.8th Pay Commission latest update The 8th Pay Commission has recently released the schedule of its meeting with stake holders in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. It has invited central government institutions, unions and associations to have discussions related to their demands for the 8th CPC. The commission has also scheduled meetings for Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh in June 2026. The commission has held similar meetings in Pune, Dehradun and New Delhi. 8th Pay Commission expected hike Many employee and pensioner bodies in their meeting with 8th Pay Commission officials have recommended different fitment factors for hiking salary and pension. National Council - Joint Consultative Machinery (staff side), the main body of central government employees, has demanded a fitment factor of 3.833 and minimum basic pay of Rs 69,000. The All India Defence Employees’ Federation (AIDEF) has also demanded a fitment factor of 3.83. The Indian Railways Technical Supervisors Association (IRTSA), on the other hand, has demanded as many five fitment factors, ranging from 2.92 for Level 2-5 employees to 4.38 for Level 17-18 employees. However, these are all suggestions based on the assumptions of different employee and pensioner bodies. While the 8th Pay Commission will consider these suggestions while deciding on a fitment factor, it can come up with its own multiplier as well. For example, in the 7th Pay Commission, the NC-JCM (staff side) had demanded a 3.71 fitment factor, but the Commission recommended 2.57, which was eventually approved. How can employees’ basic salaries change at different fitment factors? The 7th Pay Commission has 18 levels of central government employees based on the pay matrix. In this illustration, we are showing how their basic salaries can change at 2.57, 2.92 and 3.83 fitment factors. Grade 7th CPC basic pay Revised pay at 2.57 fitment factor Revised pay at 2.92 fitment factor Revised pay at 3.83 fitment factor Level 1 ₹ 18,000 ₹ 46,260 ₹ 52,560 ₹ 68,940 Level 2 ₹ 19,900 ₹ 51,143 ₹ 58,108 ₹ 76,217 Level 3 ₹ 21,700 ₹ 55,769 ₹ 63,364 ₹ 83,111 Level 4 ₹ 25,500 ₹ 65,535 ₹ 74,460 ₹ 97,665 Level 5 ₹ 29,200 ₹ 75,044 ₹ 85,264 ₹ 1,11,836 Level 6 ₹ 35,400 ₹ 90,978 ₹ 1,03,368 ₹ 1,35,582 Level 7 ₹ 44,900 ₹ 1,15,393 ₹ 1,31,108 ₹ 1,71,967 Level 8 ₹ 47,600 ₹ 1,22,332 ₹ 1,38,992 ₹ 1,82,308 Level 9 ₹ 53,100 ₹ 1,36,467 ₹ 1,55,052 ₹ 2,03,373 Level 10 ₹ 56,100 ₹ 1,44,177 ₹ 1,63,812 ₹ 2,14,863 Level 11 ₹ 67,700 ₹ 1,73,989 ₹ 1,97,684 ₹ 2,59,291 Level 12 ₹ 78,800 ₹ 2,02,516 ₹ 2,30,096 ₹ 3,01,804 Level 13 ₹ 1,18,500 ₹ 3,04,545 ₹ 3,46,020 ₹ 4,53,855 Level 13 ₹ 1,31,100 ₹ 3,36,927 ₹ 3,82,812 ₹ 5,02,113 Level 14 ₹ 1,44,200 ₹ 3,70,594 ₹ 4,21,064 ₹ 5,52,286 Level 15 ₹ 1,82,200 ₹ 4,68,254 ₹ 5,32,024 ₹ 6,97,826 Level 16 ₹ 2,05,400 ₹ 5,27,878 ₹ 5,99,768 ₹ 7,86,682 Level 17 ₹ 2,25,000 ₹ 5,78,250 ₹ 6,57,000 ₹ 8,61,750 Level 18 ₹ 2,50,000 ₹ 6,42,500 ₹ 7,30,000 ₹ 9,57,500 When can central employees get the salary hike and arrears?In November 2025, when the 8th Pay Commission’s terms of reference (ToR) were released, it was given an 18-month period to prepare its report. Experts suggest that it may take another three to six months to implement the report after it is prepared. It means the possible time to implement the report can be the second half of the year 2027. 8th Pay Commission arrear dateThe 8th Pay Commission hasn’t announced the date from which central government employees will get arrears. However, the trend is that employees get revised salaries from the next day of the end of the previous pay commission. Since the 7th Pay Commission’s tenure ended on December 31, 2025, the 8th Pay Commission’s recommendations are most likely to be implemented from January 1, 2026, which can be the date from which central government employees can get arrears. Since arrears also depend on the fitment factors decided by the 8th Pay Commission, here is an estimate of the monthly salary hikes and arrears for Level 1-5 employees at 2, 2.15, 2.28 and 2.57 fitment factors. The calculation is for 20 months of arrears for these employees. Assumptions for 8th Pay Commission revised arrear estimates- Fitment factors- 2, 2.15, 2.28 and 2.57 Employees- Level 1-5 Arrear duration- 20 months Basis of arrears- Estimated difference in basic pay (7th vs 8th CPC)Sample arrear calculation (Levels 1–5) – 20 months Level Basic Pay (₹) Level 1 18,000 Level 2 19,900 Level 3 21,700 Level 4 25,500 Level 5 29,200 Step 2: Revised basic pay at different fitment factors Level 2.0× 2.15× 2.28× 2.57× L1 ₹ 36,000 ₹ 38,700 ₹ 41,040 ₹ 46,260 L2 ₹ 39,800 ₹ 42,785 ₹ 45,372 ₹ 51,143 L3 ₹ 43,400 ₹ 46,655 ₹ 49,476 ₹ 55,769 L4 ₹ 51,000 ₹ 54,825 ₹ 58,140 ₹ 65,535 L5 ₹ 58,400 ₹ 62,780 ₹ 66,576 ₹ 75,044 Step 3: Monthly increase in basic pay Level 2.0× 2.15× 2.28× 2.57× L1 ₹ 18,000 ₹ 20,700 ₹ 23,040 ₹ 28,260 L2 ₹ 19,900 ₹ 22,885 ₹ 25,472 ₹ 31,243 L3 ₹ 21,700 ₹ 24,955 ₹ 27,776 ₹ 34,069 L4 ₹ 25,500 ₹ 29,325 ₹ 32,640 ₹ 40,035 L5 ₹ 29,200 ₹ 33,580 ₹ 37,376 ₹ 45,844 Step 4: Arrears for 20 months Level 2.0× 2.15× 2.28× 2.57× L1 Rs 3.6 lakh Rs 4.14 lakh Rs 4.61 lakh Rs 5.65 lakh L2 Rs 3.98 lakh Rs 4.58 lakh Rs 5.09 lakh Rs 6.25 lakh L3 Rs 4.34 lakh Rs 4.99 lakh Rs 5.56 lakh Rs 6.81 lakh L4 Rs 5.1 lakh Rs 5.87 lakh Rs 6.53 lakh Rs 8.01 lakh L5 Rs 5.84 lakh Rs 6.72 lakh Rs 7.48 lakh Rs 9.17 lakh