Easily manage employment in

Sri Lanka
sri-lanka flag

Make employment in Sri Lanka easy. Let us handle payroll, benefits, taxes, compliance, and even stock options for your team in Sri Lanka, all in one easy-to-use platform.

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor Management
  • Capital City

    Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative) Colombo (executive and judicial)

  • Currency

    Sri Lankan rupee (Rs, LKR)

  • Languages

    Sinhala, Tamil, and English

  • Population size

    21,803,000

Services available in this country:
Employer of Record ProductContractor Management
An aerial view of a tea plantation in sri lanka.

Facts & Stats

Sri_Lanka
  • Capital City

    Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative) Colombo (executive and judicial)

  • Currency

    Sri Lankan rupee (Rs, LKR)

  • Languages

    Sinhala, Tamil, and English

  • Population size

    21,803,000

  • Ease of doing business

    Medium

  • Cost of living index

    31.18 (2021)

  • Payroll frequency

    Monthly

  • VAT - standard rate

    8%

  • GDP - real growth rate

    2.3% (2019)

The Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is an island nation just off the coast of India, famous for its rich cultural heritage, unique biodiversity, and a long history of tea production. The natural beauty of Sri Lanka is becoming more of a magnet for tourists and digital nomads as the cost of living is relatively low (especially when you factor in the allure of the pristine beaches in the nation’s south). Sri Lanka has one of Asia’s most literate populations, the education system is strong, and English is widely spoken, so global employers should consider this country’s top talent.

Grow your team in Sri Lanka with Remote

Want to hire employees in Sri Lanka? Companies hiring in Sri Lanka are typically required to either own a local legal entity or work with a global employment platform like Remote that can legally provide employment services in the country.

Remote can employ team members in Sri Lanka and keep you compliant. Remote can hire, onboard, and pay your Sri Lanka team so you don't have to set up local HR services in the region. Remote also makes it easy to pay contractors in Sri Lanka. now to get started or talk to an expert for more details.

Risks of misclassification

Sri Lanka, like many other countries, treats self-employed individuals or contractors and full-time employees differently. Misclassification of contractors in Sri Lanka may lead to fines and penalties for the offending company.

Employing in Sri Lanka

Provisions for employee protections and workers’ rights in Sri Lanka are spelled out across several government statutes, such as:

  • The Shop and Office Employees Act of 1956

  • The Factory Ordinance

  • The Minimum Wage Ordinance, and

  • The Maternity Benefits Ordinance

Employees in Sri Lanka enjoy protection against discrimination based on age, religion, gender expression, and race.

Common questions that could come up during the hiring process include the minimum wage, overtime rates, and guaranteed paid time off. Remote can help you offer a complete, competitive, and compliant benefits package to your employees in Sri Lanka.

Minimum Wage

Effective 3rd September 2024, monthly salary to Rs. 21,000 (±70 USD), which includes a basic wage of Rs. 17,500 and allowances totaling Rs. 3,500.

Onboarding Time

We can help you get a new employee started in Sri Lanka fast. The minimum onboarding time we need is only 18 working days.

Our team ensures your employees are onboarded and paid as quickly as possible while keeping your business compliant with all local employment legislation. The minimum onboarding time begins after the employee submits all required information onto the Remote platform. The onboarding timeline is also dependent upon registration with local authorities.

For all non-nationals of the country of employment, the Right to Work assessment (if applicable) will add three extra days to the total time to onboard. There may be extra time required if we need to follow-up on the right to work assessment.

Please note, payroll cut-off dates can impact the actual first day of employment. Remote has a payroll cut-off date of the 10th of the month unless otherwise specified.

25 Public holidays

Jan
Monday, January 15, 20241Pongal
Thursday, January 25, 20242Duruthu Poya
Feb
Sunday, February 4, 20243National Day
Friday, February 23, 20244Navam Full Moon Poya Day
Mar
Friday, March 8, 20245Maha Shivratri
Sunday, March 24, 20246Madin Poya
Friday, March 29, 20247Good Friday
Apr
Thursday, April 11, 20248Id-Ul-Fitr (Ramazan Festival Day)
Friday, April 12, 20249Day prior to Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day
Saturday, April 13, 202410Sinhala & Tamil New Year Day
Tuesday, April 23, 202411Bak Full Moon Poya Day
May
Wednesday, May 1, 202412Labor Day
Thursday, May 23, 202413Vesak Poya Holiday
Friday, May 24, 202414Day following Vesak Full Moon Poya Day
Jun
Monday, June 17, 202415Id-Ul-Alha (Hadji Festival Day)
Friday, June 21, 202416Poson Full Moon Poya Day
Jul
Saturday, July 20, 202417Esala Full Moon Poya Day
Aug
Monday, August 19, 202418Nikini Full Moon Poya Day
Sep
Monday, September 16, 202419Milad-Un-Nabi (Holy Prophet's Birthday)
Tuesday, September 17, 202420Binara Full Moon Poya Day
Oct
Thursday, October 17, 202421Vap Full Moon Poya Day
Thursday, October 31, 202422Deepavali Festival Day
Nov
Friday, November 15, 202423Ill Full Moon Poya Day
Dec
Saturday, December 14, 202424Unduvap Full Moon Poya Day
Wednesday, December 25, 202425Christmas Day

Want to see and manage all holidays? Sign up for our free HRIS!

Effortless HR Sri Lanka: Take the Tour

Seamlessly manage your workforce, from first hire to final paycheck

Competitive benefits package in Sri Lanka

At Remote, we’re passionate about helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in developing globally competitive benefits programs. This means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive, and that your company has the localized expertise needed to attract and keep the best global talent.

Our benefits packages in Sri Lanka are tailored to fulfill the local needs of employees. Typically, our packages contain some or all of the following benefits:

  • Health Insurance

  • Dental Insurance

  • Vision Insurance

  • Mental Health Support

  • Pension or 401(K)

  • Life and Disability Insurance

Fair Pricing in Sri Lanka

Employer of Record

Hire and pay your global team

Starting at $599/month

for annual plans

Top features

  • Satisfaction guaranteed

  • No deposits or hidden fees

  • Zero onboarding or offboarding fees

  • Compliant equity incentives support including withholding and reporting

  • Built-in security and compliance

  • Fast onboarding (average 2-3 days)

  • Flexible, localized benefits

Contractor Management

Compliantly onboard and pay contractors

$29

per contractor/month

Top features

  • Only pay for contractors you actively work with

  • Work with contractors in 200+ countries and territories

  • Create, edit, and sign tailored, localized contracts

  • Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay

  • Transparent payments with complete visibility

Payroll

Consolidate your multi-country payroll

$29

per employee/month

Top features

  • Simplify: Comprehensive platform that integrates all payroll functions

  • Support: Personalized assistance with a dedicated team and specialists

  • Accuracy: Test runs and parallel pay runs before implementation

  • Compliance: Adhere to local labor laws in every country

  • Timeliness: Accurate and on-time payroll with labor authority reporting handled

  • Experience: Seamless payroll with easy access to payslips and expenses

HR Management

Manage all of your employees in one place

Free

Top features

  • Guided onboarding and offboarding

  • Employee profile and document management

  • Time and attendance (time off and tracking)

  • Expense management and reimbursement

  • Employee self-serve on the platform and mobile app