When Must Salaries Be Paid in Sri Lanka?
Pay within 3 days (weekly), 5 (fortnightly) or 10 (monthly) after the pay period ends. What the law requires, and what happens when pay is late.
On this page
- The statutory deadline, and where it comes from
- What the contract may add
- Paying in cash or by transfer
- What an employee can do if pay is late
- Penalties and Labour Department involvement
- Setting a pay calendar that never slips
- Frequently asked questions
- Can an employer delay salary because of a cash-flow problem?
- Does a part-month's pay follow the same deadline?
- Is a bonus covered by this deadline?
- What if arrears are owed from an earlier period?
- Does the 10-day rule apply to Wages Board trades too?
Remuneration (the Act’s word for salary or wages, including cost-of-living allowance, overtime pay and prescribed allowances) must reach the employee within a set number of days after the pay period ends. That is 3 days for a weekly wage, 5 for fortnightly, and 10 for monthly. On termination, full pay is due before the end of the second working day after that date.
This page is for the employer or the person running payroll. It covers shop and office employees under the Shop and Office Employees Act guide.
The statutory deadline, and where it comes from
The employer fixes the wage period for each employee. It cannot be longer than one month. Once fixed, the deadline to pay depends on the length of that period (s.19(1)(b)):
| Wage period | Pay within |
|---|---|
| One week or less | 3 days after the period ends |
| More than a week, up to two weeks | 5 days after the period ends |
| More than two weeks (monthly) | 10 days after the period ends |
On termination, full pay is due sooner. It must be paid before the end of the second working day after the last day (s.19(1)(c)). This applies whether the employer or the employee ended the job. This deadline comes sooner than the normal monthly pay day. See Final Settlement in Sri Lanka: What to Pay a Leaver for the full leaver checklist.
There is one narrow exception. If the employee’s absence, or another cause the Commissioner treats as unavoidable, makes it impossible to pay by the deadline, the employer may hold the remuneration back. It must still be paid at the earliest possible opportunity after that. This does not cover the employer’s own cash-flow problems.
What the contract may add
The Act sets the outer deadline. A contract or company policy can promise to pay sooner, such as always on the last working day of the month. It cannot push the date later than the Act allows. Treat the 10-day limit as the last acceptable date, not as your normal pay day.
Paying in cash or by transfer
The Act requires payment in legal tender (cash), paid directly to the employee. No deduction is allowed other than an authorised deduction the employee has consented to, such as recovering an advance. The total of all deductions taken at one time is capped at 60% of the remuneration then due (s.19(1)(a)). Statutory tax and court-ordered deductions sit outside that cap. In practice, virtually all payroll in Sri Lanka runs by bank transfer. The Act’s own wording covers legal tender paid directly to the employee. If you need to confirm bank transfer meets that wording for your business, ask the Labour Department. For deducting pay because someone arrived late, see Can You Deduct Salary for Late Attendance in SL?
What an employee can do if pay is late
An employee who is not paid on time can raise it with the Labour Department. On the sources checked, the Department can order payment of the arrears (money owed from earlier). A Labour Tribunal can add compensation on top.
Penalties and Labour Department involvement
Late or unpaid remuneration is an offence, prosecuted within six years by or with the Commissioner General of Labour’s permission (s.64). The Act’s penalties for that offence are set out in sections 51 and 52. The fines set in the Act are small by today’s values, since the figures were fixed decades ago. The larger cost in practice is the arrears order itself, plus any compensation a Labour Tribunal adds.
Setting a pay calendar that never slips
- Fix one wage period for the whole business (monthly is standard) and write it into every contract.
- Set a pay date inside the 10-day limit, and never move it later once staff expect it.
- Close attendance and leave for the period before running the pay calculation.
- Run the pay calculation with enough buffer days before the deadline to fix errors.
- Treat termination pay as a separate, faster process, since the two-working-day rule is tighter than the monthly date.
See how to avoid errors in payroll processing for the other checks a pay calendar should carry.
Do this automatically in Humanised. A fixed pay calendar in payroll software means the salary date never depends on who is in the office. No-pay days from leave flow straight into the pay run, so the calculation does not wait on a manual timesheet.
This is general payroll guidance. Every case is different. For your own case, speak to a payroll practitioner or a lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Can an employer delay salary because of a cash-flow problem?
No. The Act’s exception is for cases like the employee being absent or otherwise unreachable, not for the employer’s own finances. A cash-flow problem is not a lawful reason to miss the deadline.
Does a part-month’s pay follow the same deadline?
Yes. Whatever the wage period, the deadline in the table applies to the pay for that period, including a partial first or last month.
Is a bonus covered by this deadline?
The Act defines remuneration as salary or wages, including cost-of-living allowance, overtime pay and prescribed allowances (Section 68). It does not name bonuses. If a specific bonus arrangement needs to meet this same deadline, ask the Labour Department.
What if arrears are owed from an earlier period?
Arrears are still remuneration that was already due. The same deduction cap and payment rules apply to them as to current pay. The Act sets no separate later deadline for arrears, so pay them immediately.
Does the 10-day rule apply to Wages Board trades too?
Not always. Some trades have their own Wages Board decision instead of the Shop and Office Employees Act. Check the decision for that trade for its own pay-day rule.
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