Hiring

Hiring in Sri Lanka is straightforward once you know two things: which labour law covers your workplace, and which registrations have to be in place before the first payday. Get those right at the start and payroll, leave and record keeping all fall into line behind them.

Choose the employment basis#

Most Sri Lankan employers use one of four arrangements, and the choice changes what you owe the employee later.

Casual and contract-for-service arrangements exist too, but if the person works your hours, under your supervision, with your tools, they are usually an employee whatever the paperwork calls them.

Put the terms in writing#

There is no single national contract template, but a written contract avoids almost every dispute that comes up later. Cover at least:

• Job title, reporting line and place of work
• Start date, and the probation period if there is one
• Gross wage, how it is made up, and the pay day
• Normal working hours, the weekly rest day and how overtime is paid
• Leave entitlements and how leave is applied for
• Notice period on both sides
• Confidentiality, and anything specific to your industry

Give the employee a signed copy and keep one on file. If a term changes later — a salary revision, a transfer, a new role — record that in writing too.

Know which law covers the role#

Sri Lanka does not have one uniform set of employment rules. Which act or wages board covers a role decides its leave entitlement, overtime formula and holiday pay:

• Shop and Office Employees Act — the common case for offices, shops and most commercial workplaces.
• Wages Boards — trade-specific rules gazetted per industry, covering everything from garment and textile manufacturing to baking, printing, ceramics, hotels and catering, and retail and wholesale trade. Each board sets its own minimum wage and conditions.
• Employment of Trainees (Private Sector) Act — for trainees taken on under a training agreement.

A single company can span more than one: office staff under Shop and Office, a factory floor under the relevant wages board. Work out the right basis per role rather than per company.

Complete the registrations#

Before you pay anyone, make sure the employer side is registered:

1. EPF employer registration with the Department of Labour, which gives you the employer number every monthly return is filed under.
2. ETF registration with the Employees' Trust Fund Board.
3. A TIN and APIT registration with the Inland Revenue Department, so tax deducted from employees can be remitted.
4. The employee's own numbers — EPF membership number, NIC and, where the employee is liable for tax, their TIN.

Collect bank account details at the same time, in the format your bank needs for salary transfers. Chasing account numbers on payday is the most common reason a first payroll run slips.

Keep the records the law expects#

Employers are generally expected to maintain and produce, on inspection:

• A register of employees with personal and employment details
• Attendance and hours worked, including overtime
• A wages register or payroll record, and evidence that wages were paid
• Leave records showing entitlement, days taken and the balance
• EPF and ETF contribution records and the returns filed

Keep them for several years — labour and tax inspections routinely look back over past periods, and reconstructing attendance after the fact is painful.

A practical onboarding checklist#

• Signed contract and job description on file
• NIC, EPF number, TIN and bank details collected
• Employee added to payroll with the correct act or wages board
• Leave entitlement set for the joining date, pro-rated where the rules require it
• Attendance set up — fingerprint enrolment or mobile check-in
• Statutory registrations confirmed before the first pay run

Weave holds each employee's act or wages board on their profile, so leave entitlement, overtime and holiday pay follow the right rules from the day they join, without anyone remembering to apply them.