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Bengaluru: The Karnataka government has directed all departments to immediately relieve outsourced and contract staff whose agreement period has ended, as part of its efforts to reduce the burden of contractual employment across departments.

At present, more than 96,000 outsourced personnel are working in various government departments and institutions across the state.

According to official directions, the government has set a target to completely phase out outsourced recruitment by 2028. At the same time, it has decided to fill 56,000 vacant direct recruitment posts.

As part of streamlining the recruitment process and removing obstacles to regular appointments, the government has now decided to discontinue the services of contract staff whose tenure has expired.

Strict order to all departments

The Finance Department has recently issued a circular to all heads of departments stating that several departments and institutions have been continuing outsourced and contract employees even after the expiry of their tender or contract period, in violation of the terms and government rules.

The circular stated that such continuation is against financial discipline and amounts to a violation of government regulations.

Departments have been instructed not to continue staff beyond the contract period under any circumstances.

Department heads held responsible

The government has asked all departments to prepare a list of outsourced personnel whose contracts have expired in the current financial year and ensure their immediate removal from service.

The circular warned that if expired contracts are allowed to continue, legal action will be initiated against the concerned department head and responsible officers.

It further stated that any salary or compensation paid unauthorisedly to such staff after expiry of the contract period will be recovered personally from the responsible officials.

High Court rulings cited

The government order also refers to several High Court judgments, which have made it clear that temporary, contract and outsourced staff do not have the right to permanent employment.

The courts have also clarified that appointments made without following regular recruitment procedures cannot be regularised.

Continuing staff beyond the contract period has been described as not legally valid.

All departments, subordinate offices and government institutions have been instructed to implement the order with immediate effect.

Key points of the order

• More than 96,000 outsourced staff currently working in various departments
• Government plans to completely abolish outsourced appointments by 2028
• Staff whose contract period has ended must not be continued for any reason
• Continuing them would violate financial discipline and service rules
• Salary paid after expiry can be recovered from officers concerned

Expected impact

The move is expected to create room for fresh direct government recruitment, offering opportunities to job aspirants waiting for regular appointments.

Officials said the step is also aimed at removing hurdles in the recruitment process and ensuring compliance with court orders related to outsourced services.

What the circular says

The circular states that:

• Services of outsourced or contract staff appointed through agencies or agreements are valid only for the period mentioned in the tender or contract
• Once the contract period ends, the service should be treated as automatically terminated without separate notice
• Such staff cannot be retained in the same department or institution after expiry
• They are employees of the concerned agency and not direct government employees
• They have no claim for permanent service or continued employment
• After a new tender process, deployment of staff will be the responsibility of the newly selected agency
• The government is not bound to give preference to previous staff