Night Work Rules for Women in Sri Lanka
Women can work at night in Sri Lanka under set conditions, not a ban. The rules differ for shops, offices, IT/BPO and factories. What each Act requires.
On this page
- Which Act applies to you
- Shops, offices, hotels and IT/BPO firms
- Factories and other industrial undertakings
- Young persons: a stricter, separate rule
- Records to keep
- Frequently asked questions
- Can a BPO or hotel roster women at any hour of the night?
- Does a pregnant employee have different night-work rules?
- Is voluntary overtime at night treated the same as a rostered night shift?
- Do these rules apply to a woman in a managerial role?
- What if we run both an office and a factory?
Night work by women is allowed with conditions, not banned. Which conditions apply depends on the workplace. Shops, offices, hotels and IT/BPO firms follow the Shop and Office Employees Act. Factories and similar sites follow a separate Act. Get the right Act for your workplace first. See legal working hours in Sri Lanka for the daytime rules this builds on.
Which Act applies to you
| Your workplace | Act that applies |
|---|---|
| Shop, office, hotel, restaurant, IT/BPO/KPO or back-office firm serving foreign clients | Shop and Office Employees Act No. 19 of 1954 |
| Factory or “industrial undertaking” (manufacturing, mining, construction, shipbuilding, power generation) | Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No. 47 of 1956 |
Source: Shop and Office Employees Act No. 19 of 1954, s.10; Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No. 47 of 1956, ss.2A, 34.
Shops, offices, hotels and IT/BPO firms
Section 10 sets a 6 a.m.–6 p.m. window as the default for women and for males under 18. Beyond that default, the rules widen by workplace:
| Workplace | Women may work until |
|---|---|
| Any shop or office (default), women over 18 | 8 p.m. |
| Hotels and restaurants, women over 18 | 10 p.m. |
| Prescribed residential-hotel work | Any hour |
| IT, KPO, BPO and back-office firms serving foreign clients (since 2024) | Any hour |
The 2024 amendment also lets the Minister make rules on security, transport and rest facilities for women working between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. No such rule has been published; check with the Labour Department before rostering that window.
Source: Shop and Office Employees Act No. 19 of 1954, s.10, as amended by the Shop and Office Employees (Amendment) Act No. 28 of 2024.
Private-sector managers are not exempt from these hours. The Act’s own exclusion, section 3(5), covers only an executive or managerial post in a public institution, with a pay scale whose bottom point is at least Rs.6,720 a year.
Factories and other industrial undertakings
A different Act, the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No. 47 of 1956, covers factories, mines, construction sites, shipbuilding and power generation. Here, a woman may work throughout the night, but only if all seven conditions below are met:
- She is not compelled to work at night against her will.
- The employer has the Commissioner General of Labour’s written sanction before rostering her after 10 p.m.
- If she already worked between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. that day, she may not work after 10 p.m. the same day.
- She is paid at least one and a half times her normal payment for the night work.
- Female wardens are appointed to see to the welfare of women on night work.
- Rest rooms and refreshments are provided by the employer.
- She works no more than 10 days of night work in any one month.
Source: Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No. 47 of 1956, s.2A(2)(a)-(g).
These conditions do not apply in three cases: women in responsible managerial or technical positions; women in health or welfare services not ordinarily doing manual work; and an undertaking employing only members of the same family.
Source: Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No. 47 of 1956, s.2B.
“Night” here means at least eleven consecutive hours including the period between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m.
Source: Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No. 47 of 1956, s.34.
Young persons: a stricter, separate rule
No one under 18 may be employed at night in an industrial undertaking at all. Narrow exceptions apply:
- Authorised apprenticeship or vocational training in continuous-process work.
- An unforeseen emergency, reported to the Commissioner within 7 days.
- A Minister’s Gazette Order for a declared emergency.
- The Minister’s permission to work 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., on condition of no work in the 11 hours after 11 p.m.
Where night work for training is authorised, the employer must give a rest period. It is at least 13 consecutive hours between working periods.
Source: Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No. 47 of 1956, ss.2(1), 3(3)-(6), 4(1).
Records to keep
Keep a register of names, dates of birth and hours worked for everyone under 18 in an industrial undertaking. Display the Act’s provisions on under-18 workers, in Sinhala and Tamil, at the workplace. For women’s night work, keep the Commissioner’s written sanction and the roster showing the 10-day monthly limit was not exceeded. See deducting salary for late attendance for how attendance records feed payroll.
Source: Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act No. 47 of 1956, ss.5-6.
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. Shift and roster software calculates EPF, ETF and APIT from the rates in force.
Frequently asked questions
Can a BPO or hotel roster women at any hour of the night?
An IT, KPO, BPO or back-office firm serving foreign clients can, since the 2024 amendment. A hotel or restaurant can roster women until 10 p.m. under the Act’s own words; for later hours, check which of the Act’s own provisos covers your workplace.
Does a pregnant employee have different night-work rules?
No source addresses this. Ask the Labour Department before rostering a pregnant employee at night.
Is voluntary overtime at night treated the same as a rostered night shift?
The Acts checked do not separate voluntary overtime from a rostered night shift. Treat any work in the defined night hours as night work, and apply the same conditions.
Do these rules apply to a woman in a managerial role?
In an industrial undertaking, no: section 2B excludes women in responsible managerial or technical positions from the section 2A conditions. In a shop or office, section 3(5) excludes only an executive or managerial post in a public institution. Its pay scale’s bottom point must be at least Rs.6,720 a year. Private-sector managers are not excluded.
What if we run both an office and a factory?
Apply the Shop and Office Act to office and clerical staff, and the Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act to factory-floor staff. Check which Act covers each role, not each building. A restaurant follows the same shop-and-office rules; see shift scheduling for restaurant rosters for the roster side.
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