Human Resources Division (HRD) - Pay, Leave & Tours of Duty - Latest News & Information - Within-Grade Increases

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Waiting Periods for Within-Grade Pay Increases

General Schedule (GS)
To steps 02, 03, and 04:
52 calendar weeks, or
260 days creditable service (if Intermittent or On-call)
Allowed 80 hours LWOP

To steps 05, 06, and 07:
104 calendar weeks, or
520 days creditable service (if Intermittent or On-call)
Allowed 160 hours LWOP

To steps 08, 09, and 10:
156 calendar weeks, or
780 days creditable service (if Intermittent or On-call)
Allowed 240 hours LWOP

Wage Grade (WG)
To step 02:
26 calendar weeks, or
130 days creditable service (if Intermittent or On-call)
Allowed 40 hours LWOP

To step 03:
78 calendar weeks, or
390 days creditable service (if Intermittent or On-call)
Allowed 120 hours LWOP

To steps 04 and 05:
104 calendar weeks, or
520 days creditable service (if Intermittent or On-call)
Allowed 160 hours LWOP

Time on Leave for an injury for which compensation is payable is creditable toward a within-grade increase.
General Schedule employees on temporary appointments do not get within-grade increases. If an employee is on a temporary appointment and is converted to a permanent appointment at the same or lower grade, the time on the temporary appointment counts towards a within-grade increase.
If an employee has a break in service of less than 52 weeks, earlier time in a waiting period at the same or lower grade is creditable towards a within-grade increase under a new permanent appointment.

More information on within-grade increases can be found in Title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 531, Subpart D. You may also call your servicing personnel office for assistance.