Employee Handbook Template for Sri Lankan Companies

[COMPANY NAME]
EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK

Version [1.0] · Effective [DD Month YYYY] · Approved by [Board / Managing Director]

1. Welcome and purpose

This handbook sets out the policies, procedures and standards that apply to everyone employed by [Company Name]. It supplements your letter of appointment; where the two differ, the letter of appointment prevails. The Company may amend this handbook and will give notice of changes. Nothing in it reduces any entitlement under the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act, the Employees’ Provident Fund Act, the Employees’ Trust Fund Act, the Payment of Gratuity Act or any other law.

2. About the Company

[Two or three sentences on what the Company does, its values and its organisation chart or reporting lines.]

3. Employment

3.1 Categories: permanent, probationary, fixed-term, part-time and trainee (under the Employment of Trainees (Private Sector) Act).
3.2 Probation: [six] months from the start date, during which either party may end the employment on [two weeks’] notice; confirmation is in writing.
3.3 Personal records: employees must keep the Company informed of changes to address, contact details, bank account and dependants. The Company maintains the service record required by the Shop and Office Employees Regulations (Form F).

4. Hours of work, attendance and overtime

4.1 Normal hours are [8.30 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., Monday to Friday, with a one-hour meal interval]: 8 hours a day and not more than 45 a week (Shop and Office Employees Act s.3). [Saturday half-day / roster arrangements.]
4.2 Attendance is recorded by [fingerprint device / app]. Lateness beyond [15] minutes on [three] occasions in a month is treated as [a half-day of no-pay leave].
4.3 Overtime must be authorised in advance by [manager], is limited to 12 hours a week, and is paid at 1.5 times the hourly rate, calculated as monthly salary ÷ 240 (Regulations 6–8). Work on a Poya day is paid at 1.5 times the daily rate; work on a declared mercantile holiday, where sanctioned, at 2 times or with a paid day in lieu by 31 December.

5. Leave and holidays

5.1 Annual leave: 14 days a year from the second year of employment; in the first year 14 / 10 / 7 / 4 days according to the quarter joined, taken in the following year. At least 7 days may be taken consecutively. Applications go through [the app] at least [seven] days in advance.
5.2 Casual leave: 7 days a year (first year: 1 day per two completed months), in half-day units, for private matters or short illness.
5.3 Medical leave: [x] days a year with a medical certificate for absences of more than [two] days [state whether paid].
5.4 Weekly holidays: [Sunday and Saturday afternoon]. Poya days and the Gazetted mercantile holidays are paid holidays.
5.5 Maternity leave: 84 working days on full pay (14 before and 70 after confinement) for every live birth; 42 days where the child is not born alive; two paid nursing intervals a day for a child under one year.
5.6 No-pay leave: granted at the Company’s discretion when other leave is exhausted; deducted at monthly salary ÷ 30 per day.
5.7 Unused annual leave on leaving the Company is settled as required by section 6(6) of the Act.

6. Remuneration and statutory benefits

6.1 Salaries are paid on or before the [25th] of each month by bank transfer, with a payslip.
6.2 EPF: the Company contributes 12% and deducts the employee’s 8% of EPF-liable earnings; ETF: the Company contributes 3%. APIT is deducted under the Inland Revenue Department’s tables and a T10 statement issued after each year.
6.3 Gratuity is paid under the Payment of Gratuity Act to employees with five or more years of service.
6.4 [Allowances, bonus, loans and advances, medical insurance, workmen’s compensation — describe the Company’s schemes.]

7. Code of conduct

Honesty and integrity; confidentiality of Company and customer information and compliance with the Personal Data Protection Act; conflicts of interest and gifts; use of Company IT, email and social media; dress; alcohol and drugs; anti-harassment and equal treatment; health and safety. [Expand each in one or two sentences.]

8. Performance management

[Appraisal cycle, objective setting, performance improvement plans.]

9. Disciplinary procedure

9.1 Misconduct includes [list]. Gross misconduct includes [list].
9.2 Sanctions in order of seriousness: verbal counselling; first written warning; final written warning; suspension [with pay unless the letter of appointment provides otherwise]; demotion; termination.
9.3 Before any sanction beyond counselling the employee receives a show-cause letter stating the specific allegation and has [seven] days to reply in writing; a domestic inquiry is held where the facts are disputed, at which the employee may be accompanied by a colleague. Warnings remain on file for [twelve] months.
9.4 Where employment is terminated on disciplinary grounds, written reasons are given within two working days as required by the Termination of Employment of Workmen (Special Provisions) Act.
9.5 Absence without leave for [three] consecutive days without contact will be followed by a registered letter requiring the employee to return within [seven] days, failing which the post is treated as vacated.

10. Grievance procedure

Raise the matter with your immediate manager; if unresolved within [five] working days, in writing to [HR]; then to [the Managing Director]. Grievances are handled confidentially and without retaliation.

11. Leaving the Company

11.1 Resignation: in writing, with the notice stated in the letter of appointment [one month]; the Company may accept payment in lieu.
11.2 Termination by the Company follows the disciplinary procedure or, for non-disciplinary reasons where the Act applies, the employee’s written consent or the Commissioner of Labour’s approval.
11.3 Retirement age is [60] in terms of the Minimum Retirement Age of Workers Act.
11.4 Exit: handover, return of property, clearance, final settlement including accrued leave, EPF and ETF documents and gratuity where due, and a certificate of service.

12. Acknowledgement

I confirm that I have received and read the [Company Name] Employee Handbook, version [1.0], and understand that it forms part of the conditions of my employment.

Name: ................................................. NIC: .................................................

Signature: .......................................... Date: ................................................

[Company Letterhead]

EMPLOYEE HANDBOOK ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I, [Employee Full Name] (NIC No. [xxxxxxxxxV / xxxxxxxxxxxx]), employed as [Designation] in the [Department] of [Company Name], confirm that:

1. I have received a copy of the [Company Name] Employee Handbook, version [1.0], effective [DD Month YYYY], [in print / by email / on the employee app].

2. I have read it and had the opportunity to ask questions about it.

3. I understand that the handbook forms part of my conditions of employment together with my letter of appointment, that the letter of appointment prevails where the two differ, and that the Company may amend the handbook with notice.

4. I understand the attendance, leave, overtime, code of conduct, disciplinary and grievance provisions, and that breaches of the code of conduct may lead to disciplinary action.

Signature: .................................................

[Employee Full Name]
Date: [DD Month YYYY]

Witnessed by: ................................................. [Name], [Designation], HR · Date: [DD Month YYYY]

A signed copy is placed on the employee’s personal file; the employee keeps a copy.