The government of Maldives has decided not to provide allowances for Ramadan to civil servants on leave, both on pay leave and non-pay leave.

Ministry of Finance and Treasury issued a circular last Saturday, informing that the allowances will not be provided to those on leave at the beginning of Ramadan.

The circular noted that all civil servants, expect those on pay and non-pay leave, will be given the allowance, along with salaries for the month of May.

However, it noted that those who return to work during Ramadan, will be provided the amount due, based on the remaining number of days in Ramadan.

While employees on no-pay leave are not provided Ramadan allowance previously as well, this is the first time it will not be provided to those on pay leave.

An amendment passed to the Employment Act states that MVR 3,000 should be given as allowances for Ramadan for all Muslim employees in Maldives.

MVR 117 million is allocated in the annual budget, as a Ramadan bonus for civil servants, which is a 0.4 percent increase compared to 2016.

Ramadan 2017 is to begin on May 27.