A guide for employers
Leave in Sri Lanka: annual, casual, sick and probation
The Shop and Office Act gives two kinds of paid personal leave, and the way annual leave builds in the first years catches a lot of employers out.
Annual leave
None in year one, then it builds by joining quarter.
There is no annual leave in the calendar year the employee joins. In the second year the entitlement depends on the quarter they started in: fourteen days for a January to March start, ten for April to June, seven for July to September, and four for October to December. From the third year on it is the full fourteen days a year, of which at least seven must be taken together.
Annual leave that has accrued but not been taken is paid out when the employee leaves. It cannot be forfeited.
Casual and sick leave
Seven casual days, which cover illness too.
Casual leave is seven days a year for personal reasons or illness, and unlike annual leave it is available from the first year, accruing at one day for every two completed months in that first year.
There is no separate statutory sick-leave entitlement: illness is taken from these seven casual days. Many employers add a medical-leave allowance on top as a matter of company policy, which sits above the statutory seven rather than replacing it. If you offer one, say so clearly, so it is not confused with the casual days.
Probation
Probation does not change the leave rules.
Probation, commonly up to six months, does not create a separate leave regime. A probationer is simply in their first calendar year, so no annual leave has accrued yet and casual leave builds at one day for every two completed months.
Statutory rights do not wait for confirmation. Maternity leave, and EPF and ETF, apply from the first day of employment, on probation or not.
Keeping it straight
Two people, same year, different entitlements.
Because annual leave accrues by joining quarter in the second year, two people who joined in the same year can be owed different amounts. A record that works it out per person removes the argument, and makes the payout on leaving simple to prove.
This guide is general information for employers, not legal advice, and does not create a client relationship. Sri Lankan law and the applicable figures change, and how they apply depends on your circumstances. Confirm your position with a qualified adviser before acting.