HR and payroll in Sri Lanka, explained with the numbers.
Employer guides to EPF, ETF, APIT, gratuity, overtime and leave. Calculators that show their working. And software comparisons that publish every source and date.
Statutory rates in force from 1 April 2025
| EPF employee | 8% |
| EPF employer | 12% |
| ETF employer | 3% |
| APIT monthly relief | LKR 150,000 |
| APIT first slab | 6% |
| APIT top slab | 36% |
| Gratuity | ½ month per year, after 5 years |
| Overtime | 1.5× hourly rate |
Sri Lanka's HR and labour authorities
The bodies that set and represent HR practice in Sri Lanka. Every name below links to that organisation's own site. Listing them here does not imply their endorsement, partnership or membership.
Statutory bodies our guides cite
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Employer guides
- T10 form and the Annual Statement of Employer in Sri Lanka: what to issue, when and how (2026)
The employer's year-end APIT duties: issuing the T10 certificate of tax deduction to each employee by 30 April, filing the Annual Statement of Employer with the IRD, what each contains and how payroll software should produce them.
- Shop and Office Employees Act: hours, overtime, leave, holidays and records explained (2026)
A working summary of the Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment and Remuneration) Act No. 19 of 1954 for employers: who it covers, hours of work, overtime, weekly and statutory holidays, leave, the payment of remuneration and the records you must keep.
- Overtime and no-pay in Sri Lanka: rates, divisors, limits and how payroll should compute them (2026)
How to calculate the hourly rate, 1.5x overtime, holiday work and no-pay deductions for Shop and Office and Wages Board employees, with the weekly limits and worked examples.
- Leave entitlements in Sri Lanka: annual, casual, sick, maternity and holidays (2026)
Statutory leave for Shop and Office and Wages Board employees: annual leave by year of joining, casual leave, sick leave practice, maternity leave and statutory holidays, with the rules for carry-forward and encashment.
- Gratuity in Sri Lanka: who qualifies, how to calculate it and when it is paid (2026)
The Payment of Gratuity Act explained for employers: the 15-employee and 5-year thresholds, the half-month formula, forfeiture, deadlines, tax treatment and a worked example.
- ETF for employers in Sri Lanka: the 3% contribution, returns and deadlines (2026)
The Employees' Trust Fund contribution explained: who pays, on what earnings, when it is due, how the half-yearly return works and what late payment costs.
- EPF for employers in Sri Lanka: rates, C-Form, deadlines and surcharges (2026)
What every Sri Lankan employer must deduct, contribute and file for the Employees' Provident Fund, with the arithmetic, the monthly deadline and the surcharge scale for late payment.
- APIT for employers in Sri Lanka 2025/26: tax tables, relief, Table 2 and filing
How to deduct Advance Personal Income Tax from salaries under the slabs in force from 1 April 2025, with worked examples, Table 2 for bonuses and lump sums, and the monthly and annual filing duties.
Calculators
- HR software selector
Rank all 9 vendors against your own headcount, budget and requirements.
- EPF and ETF calculator (Sri Lanka)
Employee 8%, employer 12% EPF and 3% ETF on a monthly salary, with the total cost to company.
- APIT calculator 2025/26 (Sri Lanka)
Monthly APIT deduction using the Inland Revenue Table 1 slabs in force from 1 April 2025.
- Gratuity calculator (Sri Lanka)
Half a month's last salary for every completed year of service after five years.
- Overtime calculator (Sri Lanka)
Hourly rate and 1.5x overtime pay under the Shop and Office Act or Wages Board divisors.
HR software by company size
The right system depends on headcount more than anything else. Each page ranks the vendors that fit and estimates the monthly cost from published price lists.
- 20 employees
- 50 employees
- 70 employees
- 100 employees
- 150 employees
- 200 employees
- 300 employees
- 400 employees
- 500 employees
- 1000 employees
Or browse all 9 vendors we track and head-to-head comparisons.
Who writes this
HR Community is written by Sri Lankan payroll practitioners who have run monthly payroll for companies from 20 to several thousand employees. Every vendor is scored on the same published criteria, every figure carries a source and a check date, and no vendor pays for placement. Read the editorial policy.