Maternity Pay in Sri Lanka: How the 84 Days Are Paid

On this page

Which days count as "working days"?
Poya days, mercantile holidays and weekends inside the period
What "full pay" means where pay varies
The 42-day case and other variations
Worked example on a monthly salary
EPF, ETF and gratuity during maternity leave
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Common mistakes
What to keep as records
Frequently asked questions
Does maternity leave include Saturday and Sunday?
Is a probationer entitled to the full 84 days?
What happens with a second child born the same year as an earlier maternity leave?
Can an employee extend maternity leave using annual leave?
Is maternity pay taxed the same as regular salary?

Maternity leave in Sri Lanka is 84 working days on full pay for every live birth. That is 14 days before confinement (the birth) and 70 days after. This comes from the Shop and Office Employees Act as amended in 2018. Full pay means the employee’s normal pay carries on for each working day in that period. The count runs on working days, so holidays inside the 84 are not added on top, and they are not taken away either. The employee is just paid as normal throughout.

Which days count as “working days”?

The 84 days are working days: the days the employee would otherwise have worked. A weekly holiday or a Poya day inside the maternity period does not count against the 84. It was never a working day to begin with. So the 14-before/70-after span runs longer than 84 calendar days once you set the non-working days aside. Track the maternity period against the same working-day calendar you use for annual leave and rosters. Do not use a flat 84-calendar-day span.

Poya days, mercantile holidays and weekends inside the period

Maternity leave runs on full pay throughout. So an employee does not lose out on a Poya day or mercantile holiday that falls in her maternity period. She would have been paid for it anyway. The distinction matters mainly for counting. To plan a return date, work out where the 84th working day falls. Leave out the weekly holidays, Poya days and Gazetted (officially listed) mercantile holidays. See mercantile holidays and Poya days 2026 for the year’s list.

What “full pay” means where pay varies

For an employee on a fixed monthly salary, full pay means the same monthly salary, unchanged. Some employees earn variable pay too: commission, piece-rate, or a regular allowance. The guides checked for this article do not set out an averaging formula for this case. Confirm it with your payroll reviewer before you rely on it. The safest default: keep paying the employee’s normal fixed pay, plus any allowance that would normally continue on approved leave. Treat genuinely output-based pay, such as commission on sales made while she is away, as not arising during the leave itself.

The 42-day case and other variations

If the child is not born alive, the entitlement is 42 working days instead of 84, on the same full-pay basis. The rule before 2018 that cut maternity leave from the third child onward has been repealed. Every live birth now qualifies for the full 84 days, no matter how many children the employee already has.

Worked example on a monthly salary

An employee earning a fixed LKR 120,000 a month goes on maternity leave. Her pay for each pay period during the 84 working days is LKR 120,000, exactly as if she had been at work. There is no daily-rate sum to do, because the leave is paid at full pay, not a fraction of it. If her leave starts partway through a pay period, only the days after leave starts are covered by the maternity rule for that period. The days already worked are paid as normal salary.

EPF, ETF and gratuity during maternity leave

Maternity pay counts as remuneration (the Act’s word for salary or wages, including cost-of-living allowance, overtime pay and prescribed allowances) for EPF and ETF, the same as ordinary salary. So contributions keep being worked out and paid on it during the leave. The basis is the same as any other month: 8%/12% EPF and 3% ETF. See the leave entitlements in Sri Lanka guide and the EPF and ETF employer guides for what counts as pay. For gratuity, maternity leave does not break continuous service. The months count toward the employee’s length of service, the same as any other paid period.

Do this automatically in Humanised

Leave management software records each leave type and the dates taken. It keeps every leave record in one place.

Common mistakes

Counting the 84 days as calendar days instead of working days. This shortens the leave the employee is entitled to.
Cutting pay for a Poya day or mercantile holiday inside the maternity period. It should not affect pay at all, since full pay continues regardless.
Cutting the entitlement for a second or third child. The 2018 amendment removed that cut.
Treating maternity pay as excluded from EPF and ETF. It is remuneration like any other paid leave.

What to keep as records

Keep the expected date of confinement, the actual date, and the 14-before/70-after split as applied. Also keep the working-day calendar used to work out the return date. This record backs up the EPF/ETF contributions made during the period. It also confirms the entitlement was applied correctly if anyone ever asks.

This is general payroll guidance. Every case is different. For your own case, speak to a payroll practitioner or a lawyer.

Frequently asked questions

Does maternity leave include Saturday and Sunday?

The 84 days are working days. So days not normally worked, including weekly holidays, are not counted against the 84. But pay continues through them regardless, since full pay runs for the whole period.

Is a probationer entitled to the full 84 days?

The Act’s maternity rules apply from the point someone is a shop or office employee. They do not depend on having passed probation. Confirm this with your payroll reviewer for a probationer, since employer policy terms can vary.

What happens with a second child born the same year as an earlier maternity leave?

Each live birth carries its own full 84-day entitlement. There is no yearly cap or cut for a closely spaced second pregnancy under current law.

Can an employee extend maternity leave using annual leave?

Nothing in the Act stops an employee taking annual leave right after the 84 days, subject to the normal approval process. It does not extend the statutory maternity entitlement itself.

Is maternity pay taxed the same as regular salary?

Yes. Maternity pay is ordinary employment income. It is subject to APIT under the regular monthly table, the same as salary, since it is pay continuing at the normal rate.

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