HR Templates Appointment Letter Format
Appointment Letter Format for Sri Lankan Employers
Free appointment letter formats compliant with Sri Lankan employment practice — permanent, probationary and Sinhala versions, in Word and PDF.
An appointment letter (letter of appointment) is the document that records the terms on which an employee joins your company: designation, start date, remuneration, statutory contributions, hours, leave and termination terms. Once signed by both parties it is the core written record of the employment relationship.
For shop and office employees, this is more than good practice: section 17 of the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act requires employers to give each covered employee written particulars of their conditions of employment — remuneration, grade, probation, hours, leave and termination conditions — in a language the employee understands, with a signed duplicate acknowledged by the employee. A properly drafted appointment letter satisfies that requirement.
The templates below cover a permanent appointment, a probationary appointment, and a Sinhala version. Adapt the bracketed placeholders, and have your specific terms reviewed against your company policies before issuing.
Appointment letter — permanent staff
A full letter of appointment with remuneration, EPF/ETF and APIT clauses, hours, leave, termination notice and an acceptance block.
[Company Letterhead]
Date: [DD Month YYYY]
Ref: [HR/APP/____]
[Employee Full Name]
[Address]
Dear [First Name],
LETTER OF APPOINTMENT — [DESIGNATION]
We are pleased to appoint you to the position of [Designation] at [Company Name] on the following terms and conditions.
1. Commencement: Your employment commences on [Start Date]. You will report to [Supervisor Name / Designation].
2. Remuneration: You will be paid a gross monthly salary of LKR [Amount], comprising a basic salary of LKR [Amount] and allowances of LKR [Amount]. Salaries are paid monthly in arrears.
3. Statutory contributions: You will contribute 8% of your earnings to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF), and the Company will contribute 12% to EPF and 3% to the Employees’ Trust Fund (ETF) on your behalf. Income tax (APIT) will be deducted where applicable under prevailing law.
4. Hours of work: Normal working hours are [e.g. 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., Monday to Friday], with such additional hours as reasonably required.
5. Leave: You are entitled to annual, casual and other leave in terms of the Company’s leave policy and applicable law.
6. Termination: Either party may terminate this employment by giving [one month’s] written notice or payment in lieu, subject to applicable labour law.
7. Confidentiality: You shall not, during or after your employment, disclose any confidential information of the Company to any third party.
Please sign and return the duplicate of this letter as acceptance of the above terms.
Yours faithfully,
.................................................
[Name of Authorised Signatory]
[Designation]
[Company Name]
[Company Seal]
I accept the above terms and conditions of employment.
Signature: ....................................... Date: ....................
[Employee Full Name]
Appointment letter — probationary
Adds a probation clause — typically six months — with shorter notice during probation and written confirmation on completion.
[Company Letterhead]
Date: [DD Month YYYY]
Ref: [HR/APP/____]
[Employee Full Name]
[Address]
Dear [First Name],
LETTER OF APPOINTMENT — [DESIGNATION] (PROBATIONARY)
We are pleased to appoint you to the position of [Designation] at [Company Name] on the following terms and conditions.
1. Probation: You will be on probation for a period of [six (6) months] from your date of commencement. During this period, either party may terminate the employment with [two weeks’] notice. On satisfactory completion, your appointment will be confirmed in writing; the Company may extend the probationary period where further assessment is required.
2. Commencement: Your employment commences on [Start Date]. You will report to [Supervisor Name / Designation].
3. Remuneration: You will be paid a gross monthly salary of LKR [Amount] during probation, revised to LKR [Amount] upon confirmation.
4. Statutory contributions: You will contribute 8% of your earnings to EPF; the Company will contribute 12% to EPF and 3% to ETF. Income tax (APIT) will be deducted where applicable.
5. Hours of work: Normal working hours are [e.g. 8.30 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., Monday to Friday].
6. Leave: Leave entitlements apply in terms of the Company’s leave policy and applicable law; annual leave in the first year accrues per the Shop and Office Employees Act schedule where applicable.
7. Confidentiality: You shall not disclose any confidential information of the Company during or after your employment.
Please sign and return the duplicate of this letter as acceptance of the above terms.
Yours faithfully,
.................................................
[Name of Authorised Signatory]
[Designation]
[Company Name]
[Company Seal]
I accept the above terms and conditions of employment.
Signature: ....................................... Date: ....................
[Employee Full Name]
Appointment letter in Sinhala (පත්වීම් ලිපිය)
The permanent appointment letter in formal Sinhala — useful where the Act requires particulars in a language the employee understands.
[ආයතනයේ ලිපි ශීර්ෂය]
දිනය: [දිනය මාසය වර්ෂය]
යොමුව: [HR/APP/____]
[සේවකයාගේ සම්පූර්ණ නම]
[ලිපිනය]
[නම] මහතා/මහත්මිය වෙත,
පත්වීම් ලිපිය — [තනතුර]
[ආයතනයේ නම] හි [තනතුර] තනතුරට පහත සඳහන් කොන්දේසි යටතේ ඔබ පත් කිරීමට කැමැත්තෙමු.
1. සේවය ආරම්භය: ඔබගේ සේවය [ආරම්භක දිනය] දින සිට ආරම්භ වේ.
2. වැටුප: ඔබට මාසික දළ වැටුප ලෙස රු. [මුදල] ක් ගෙවනු ලැබේ (මූලික වැටුප රු. [මුදල] සහ දීමනා රු. [මුදල]).
3. ව්යවස්ථාපිත දායක මුදල්: ඔබගේ ඉපැයීම්වලින් 8%ක් සේවක අර්ථසාධක අරමුදලට (EPF) දායක වන අතර, ආයතනය EPF වෙත 12%ක් සහ සේවක භාරකාර අරමුදලට (ETF) 3%ක් දායක වේ. අදාළ වන අවස්ථාවලදී ආදායම් බදු (APIT) අඩු කරනු ලැබේ.
4. වැඩ කරන වේලාවන්: සාමාන්ය වැඩ කරන වේලාවන් [උදා: සඳුදා සිට සිකුරාදා දක්වා පෙ.ව. 8.30 සිට ප.ව. 5.00 දක්වා] වේ.
5. නිවාඩු: ආයතනයේ නිවාඩු ප්රතිපත්තියට සහ අදාළ නීතියට අනුව ඔබට වාර්ෂික, අනියම් සහ වෙනත් නිවාඩු හිමි වේ.
6. සේවය අවසන් කිරීම: [මාසයක] ලිඛිත දැනුම්දීමකින් හෝ ඒ වෙනුවට ගෙවීමකින්, අදාළ කම්කරු නීතියට යටත්ව, ඕනෑම පාර්ශ්වයකට මෙම සේවය අවසන් කළ හැක.
7. රහස්යභාවය: සේවා කාලය තුළ හෝ ඉන් පසුව ආයතනයේ රහස්ය තොරතුරු කිසිදු තෙවන පාර්ශ්වයකට හෙළි නොකළ යුතුය.
ඉහත කොන්දේසි පිළිගන්නා බවට මෙම ලිපියේ පිටපත අත්සන් කර ආපසු එවන මෙන් කාරුණිකව ඉල්ලමු.
මෙයට විශ්වාසී,
.................................................
[බලයලත් නිලධාරියාගේ නම]
[තනතුර]
[ආයතනයේ නම]
ඉහත කොන්දේසි මම පිළිගනිමි.
අත්සන: ....................................... දිනය: ....................
[සේවකයාගේ සම්පූර්ණ නම]
What to include in an appointment letter
- Designation, department and reporting line
- Commencement date and, where applicable, the probationary period and confirmation terms
- Remuneration broken into basic salary and allowances, and the pay cycle
- Statutory contributions: EPF (8% employee / 12% employer), ETF (3% employer) and APIT where applicable
- Working hours, leave entitlements, and termination notice for each party
- Confidentiality and any post-employment obligations
- An acceptance block the employee signs and returns
Common mistakes employers make
- No signed duplicate. For shop and office employees the Act expects an acknowledged copy — always have the employee sign and return one.
- Vague remuneration. Separate basic salary from allowances; EPF/ETF are calculated on earnings, and a lump figure invites disputes.
- Probation with no end behaviour. State what happens at the end of probation — written confirmation, extension, or termination — not just the duration.
- Copying foreign templates. Overseas templates omit EPF, ETF, APIT and local leave entitlements, which makes the letter non-compliant from day one.
Related templates
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a written employment contract required in Sri Lanka?
For shop and office employees, yes in effect: section 17 of the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act requires the employer to give each covered employee written particulars of their conditions of employment — remuneration, grade, probation, hours, leave and termination conditions — in a language the employee understands, with an acknowledged duplicate. A signed appointment letter covering those particulars satisfies this.
How long should a probationary period be?
Six months is the common standard in Sri Lanka, though shorter and longer periods are used. Whatever you choose, state the duration, the notice terms during probation, and what happens at the end — written confirmation, extension, or termination.
Do EPF, ETF and APIT need to be mentioned in the appointment letter?
EPF (8% employee / 12% employer), ETF (3% employer) and APIT apply by law whether or not the letter mentions them — but stating them avoids first-payslip disputes and shows the employee exactly how gross salary translates to take-home pay.
What is the difference between an offer letter and an appointment letter?
The offer letter comes first: position, salary, start date and conditions, with an acceptance deadline. The appointment letter is issued when employment begins and records the full terms and conditions. See our free job offer letter samples.
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