Notice Periods in Sri Lanka: Employer and Employee
No Act sets a general notice period in Sri Lanka. The contract does. Where TEWA applies to a dismissal, it needs consent or approval, not notice.
On this page
- Where the notice period is actually set
- Where TEWA overrides the notice clause
- Notice on resignation
- Payment in lieu of notice: what the law actually requires
- Can leave be taken during notice?
- Probation and notice
- What the law does not answer
- Frequently asked questions
- Can an employee use earned leave during their notice period?
- Does the law set a fixed notice period for employers or employees?
- Do you need the Commissioner's approval on top of giving notice?
- What happens if an employer dismisses someone without consent or approval?
- Is payment in lieu of notice set by law?
No Act sets a general notice period. Your contract sets it. The Termination of Employment of Workmen Act (TEWA) works differently again. Where it applies to a dismissal, it does not ask for notice at all. It asks for the workman’s written consent, or the Commissioner’s written approval. See labour law in Sri Lanka, the employer’s map of every Act for where notice sits among the other Acts.
Where the notice period is actually set
The Shop and Office Employees Act says this directly. Section 19 fixes how fast you must pay remuneration (the Act’s word for salary or wages, including cost-of-living allowance, overtime pay and prescribed allowances). It then adds a proviso. Nothing in that rule affects “the period of notice or warning necessary under any provision of written law other than this Act.” In plain terms, the Shop and Office Employees Act does not set that period. Something else does.
That something else is your written particulars (the written statement of terms you give a new employee). Regulation 15, made under section 17, says these must be given in writing on the first day of employment. The regulations under that section require two things. State the conditions governing the employment. State the circumstances under which it may be ended. That is where your notice clause belongs. See Fixed-Term Contracts in Sri Lanka: Renewal Rules for how to keep this on file.
Source: Shop and Office Employees Act, Regulation 15(1)(h), checked 20 September 2026.
Where TEWA overrides the notice clause
TEWA covers ending a non-disciplinary “scheduled employment”, which is TEWA’s own term for the employment it covers. It applies only where all three of these are true:
- The employment is “scheduled employment” under TEWA, and the dismissal is not a disciplinary one.
- You have employed 15 or more workmen on average over the six months before the month you end someone’s employment.
- The workman has been employed by that employer for 180 days or more, counting approved absence and some other absences.
Where all are true, section 2 changes the picture. Notice on its own does not let you dismiss. You need the workman’s prior written consent. Or you need the prior written approval of the Commissioner General of Labour. A notice clause in the contract does not replace either one. Terminate without consent or approval, and the dismissal is void.
Disciplinary dismissal works differently. The consent-or-approval rule does not cover it. Instead, you must give the workman written reasons within two working days of the dismissal.
Notice on resignation
The Shop and Office Employees Act treats resignation the same way it treats notice generally. It does not fix a period. Section 19(1)(c) requires remuneration due to be paid before the end of the second working day after the termination. This applies whether the employer or the employee ended the job. It does not require the employee to give any set number of days beforehand. That, too, is a matter for the written particulars.
Payment in lieu of notice: what the law actually requires
Neither Act gives a formula for payment in lieu of notice. Section 19(1)(c) of the Shop and Office Employees Act only covers pay already earned up to the last day worked. That must reach the employee before the end of the second working day after the termination. If your contract promises pay instead of a worked notice period, that promise comes from the contract. It does not come from a statutory rule. Check the wording you actually signed. If it is silent or unclear, ask the Labour Department.
Can leave be taken during notice?
Yes. Section 6(7) of the Shop and Office Employees Act is plain about this. Giving notice, by either side, “shall not prejudice the right” to take leave already due before the job ends. Notice does not cancel accrued annual leave.
Sometimes the notice period is too short to fit that leave in. Or the job ends without notice. Section 6(6) of the Shop and Office Employees Act then requires you to pay for it instead:
| Situation | What the Shop and Office Employees Act requires |
|---|---|
| Leave can be fitted into the notice period | The Act does not say who decides this; check your own contract |
| Notice is too short, or there is no notice | The employer pays full remuneration for each day of leave that could not be taken |
This is the same rule already used to work out a leaver’s final settlement. Last year’s balance is paid or given first. Then add one day for each completed month of the current year. That becomes 14 days if the current year has run 10 months or more.
Probation and notice
Neither Act sets a probation length. Where you set one, the written particulars must state its length. They must also state the circumstances under which you may end it during probation. See probation in Sri Lanka, length, confirmation, ending for the full rule. Ending it as a TEWA dismissal, if TEWA applies, uses the same 15-workmen and 180-day tests as ending any other job.
What the law does not answer
Absconding staff, garden leave and buying an employee out of their notice are not mentioned in either Act. Check your own contract wording first. Then ask the Labour Department or a labour lawyer about your specific case.
Some trades run on a Wages Board decision instead of the Shop and Office Employees Act. That decision may set its own notice terms for that trade. Check the gazetted decision that applies to you before relying on any figure here.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. For a real case, speak to a labour lawyer or the Labour Department.
Do this automatically in Humanised. HR software with contracts stores each signed contract and the probation length you set. There is a free 7-day assisted trial, set up by the Humanised team on your own data.
Frequently asked questions
Can an employee use earned leave during their notice period?
Yes. Section 6(7) of the Shop and Office Employees Act says notice does not affect the right to take leave already due before the last day.
Does the law set a fixed notice period for employers or employees?
No. The written contract sets the period. Only section 19(1)(c) of the Shop and Office Employees Act fixes how fast final pay must reach the employee: before the end of the second working day after the termination.
Do you need the Commissioner’s approval on top of giving notice?
Where TEWA applies (15 or more workmen on average, and 180 days or more of service), notice does not replace consent or approval. You need one of the two before you dismiss, regardless of any notice clause.
What happens if an employer dismisses someone without consent or approval?
Under TEWA section 5, the dismissal is “illegal, null and void.”
Is payment in lieu of notice set by law?
No. Neither Act gives a formula for it. Whatever the contract promises for an unworked notice period comes from that contract, not from a statutory rate.
Was this article helpful?
Your feedback helps us improve these guides.