Sri Lanka payslip requirements
A payslip should make salary easy to audit, but the legal record, employee copy and proof of statutory remittance are not the same document. This guide separates them using Labour Department, IRD, EPF and ETF sources.
Is a payslip mandatory in Sri Lanka?
There is no single payslip-template rule in the sources cited here that applies identically to every employee and industry. For employees covered by the Shop and Office Employees Act, however, the employer must keep an up-to-date remuneration record containing detailed particulars for every pay period. A salary slip is the practical employee-facing copy of those figures, but it is not the same document as the employer's statutory record.
Coverage matters: the cited duties apply to persons employed in or about businesses within the Act's definitions of a shop or office. Other sectors can be governed by different wage rules, awards or employment terms.
What the official remuneration record contains
The Shop and Office Employees regulations require covered employers to keep an up-to-date remuneration record for each pay period. The prescribed particulars include:
- Employee name, age, sex, class or grade, and designation or occupation
- The month, fortnight or week covered by the payment
- Hours worked and overtime hours
- Rate of remuneration and each allowance shown separately
- Gross remuneration and every deduction shown separately
- Salary advances made during the period
- Employer and employee pension or provident-fund contributions
- Balance remuneration, payment date and overtime remuneration
- Income tax or other amounts recovered under written law or court order
- Employee acknowledgement of net remuneration received
When must salary be paid in Sri Lanka?
Section 19 of the Shop and Office Employees Act limits a covered pay period to one month and sets the following latest payment times. These are salary-payment deadlines, not separate deadlines for issuing an employee payslip.
If employment ends, remuneration due must generally be paid before the end of the second working day after termination.
One week or less
Within 3 days after the pay period ends
More than one week, up to two weeks
Within 5 days after the pay period ends
More than two weeks, up to one month
Within 10 days after the pay period ends
What a useful employee payslip should show
An employee copy does not need to reproduce irrelevant fields, but it should preserve the figures needed to reconstruct the payment: employer and employee identity, pay period, hours and overtime when applicable, each earning and allowance, gross salary, each deduction, employee EPF, net salary, payment date, and employer EPF and ETF shown separately.
Gross and net salary
Shows payroll's calculation for the pay period.
Bank credit plus the employer's detailed payroll record.
APIT / PAYE
Shows tax withheld from that salary payment.
Employer-issued annual APIT T-10 certificate and IRD records.
Employee and employer EPF
Shows the contribution amounts payroll calculated.
EPF member contribution history or balance.
Employer ETF
Should be employer funded and must not reduce net salary.
ETF member balance or contribution history.
A payslip line is evidence of what payroll reported, not proof that money reached the IRD, EPF or ETF. Check those systems separately.
APIT evidence
The current IRD forms page publishes the Certificate of Income Tax Deductions, commonly called APIT T-10. Obtain it from the employer and reconcile its annual total with monthly deductions.
EPF evidence
Compare employee and employer contribution history with the figures and identifying numbers in payroll records. Investigate unexplained missing periods after allowing for posting time.
ETF evidence
ETF is employer funded. Use the official member service to check the balance or contribution record instead of relying only on a line printed on the salary slip.
What if an employer refuses to give a salary slip?
Treat the missing document and any unpaid salary as separate questions. A refused employee copy does not remove the employer's record-keeping and payment duties where the Act applies.
- 1. Ask in writing. Request the pay period, earnings, gross remuneration, each deduction, employee and employer EPF, ETF, net remuneration and payment date.
- 2. Preserve evidence. Keep the request, contract or appointment letter, attendance or overtime records and the matching bank credit.
- 3. Verify separately. Compare APIT against T-10 and check EPF and ETF through their official member services; a payslip alone does not prove remittance.
- 4. Escalate unresolved pay. Contact the Department of Labour or use its official complaint service. State the pay periods, amounts and deductions in dispute and attach the evidence you kept.
Payslip requirement questions
Is an employer required to give every worker a payslip in Sri Lanka?
Not as one universal payslip-template rule covering every worker and industry. The official Shop and Office Employees regulations require covered employers to keep an up-to-date remuneration record with detailed pay-period particulars. A clear employee salary slip is the practical way to communicate those figures, but the employer record and employee copy are legally distinct.
When must salary be paid in Sri Lanka?
For employees covered by section 19 of the Shop and Office Employees Act, the pay period cannot exceed one month. Salary is due within 3 days after a period of one week or less, within 5 days after a period of more than one week and up to two weeks, or within 10 days after a period of more than two weeks. On termination, remuneration due must generally be paid before the end of the second working day.
What can I do if my employer refuses to give me a salary slip?
Ask in writing for an itemised breakdown showing the pay period, earnings, gross remuneration, each deduction, EPF, net remuneration and payment date. Keep the request, employment terms and bank-credit evidence; compare APIT, EPF and ETF against their official records. If pay or deductions remain unexplained, contact the Department of Labour or submit a complaint through its official complaint service.
What information should a Sri Lankan salary slip include?
At minimum, identify the employer, employee and pay period, then separate earnings, gross remuneration, APIT or PAYE, employee EPF, other deductions, net salary, payment date, and employer EPF and ETF contributions. Hours, overtime, allowances and advances should appear when applicable.
Is a payslip proof that APIT, EPF and ETF were paid?
No. It records what payroll calculated. Verify APIT using the employer-issued T-10 certificate and verify EPF and ETF through the official member services. A bank credit confirms net salary received, not statutory remittance.
What is the APIT T-10 certificate?
T-10 is the Inland Revenue Department's certificate of income-tax deductions issued by the employer for the year of assessment. It is separate from a monthly payslip and is used to support the employee's annual APIT record.
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