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

Looking to employ workers in Sri Lanka? Companies hiring in Sri Lanka must either own a legal entity in the country or work with a global employment solutions provider, usually one that provides employer of record services.

Remote can employ your team in Sri Lanka on your behalf through our local legal entity in the country and handle payroll, benefits, taxes, and compliance for your Sri Lanka team. You can also pay contractors now in Sri Lanka with Remote.

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

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

Effortless HR in 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 obsessed with helping you craft the best possible employee experience for your team. We are leading the way in practising “fair equity,” which means making sure employees everywhere have access to both the required and supplemental benefits they need to thrive (and that will allow you to attract the best local talent).

Our benefits packages in Sri Lanka are tailored to fulfil the local needs of your 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 $915/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, localised benefits

Contractor Management

Compliantly onboard and pay contractors

$44

per contractor/month

Top features

  • Only pay for contractors you actively work with

  • Work with contractors in 200+ countries

  • Create, edit, and sign tailored, localised contracts

  • Approve contractor invoices with one click or auto-pay

  • Transparent payments with complete visibility

Global Payroll

Consolidate your multi-country payroll

$43

per employee/month

Top features

  • Reduce costs by centralising payroll management

  • Direct support from in-house local payroll experts

  • Accurate, on-time, compliant payroll to level-up your employee experience

  • Ensure local compliance for every country

  • Tax and labour authority reporting handled for you

HRIS

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