A guide for employers
The national minimum wage: what you must pay
The floor moved up from January 2026, and the old allowance was folded into it.
The figures
Rs 30,000 a month, Rs 1,200 a day.
From 1 January 2026 the national minimum wage is Rs 30,000 a month and Rs 1,200 a day, up from the interim Rs 27,000, under the National Minimum Wage of Workers (Amendment) Act No. 11 of 2025.
It is the floor for every private-sector worker, in any trade or service.
The allowance
The old allowance is now inside the figure.
The Budgetary Relief Allowances, which used to be paid on top of the wage, have been folded into the Rs 30,000. They are no longer a separate payslip line.
So when you check a wage against the floor, compare the consolidated figure. You cannot count a separate allowance towards it, and you cannot cut another part of the pay to offset the rise.
Your trade
A Wages Board may set a higher floor.
More than forty trades have their own Wages Board, which can set a higher, trade-specific minimum than the national figure. Where a board rate is higher, it governs, and the national Rs 30,000 is the floor beneath it. Trades with a Wages Board include tea, rubber and coconut plantations, garment manufacture and tailoring, the hotel and catering trade, the baking trade, engineering, printing, building and construction, and security services.
The national figure and the trade rates are both revised from time to time, a board rate by gazette for its trade. Confirm every wage sits at or above the figure that applies to your people, and check it against the current Department of Labour position when the year turns.
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.