Minimum wage in Sri Lanka: the rates from 1 January 2026

The national minimum wage from 1 January 2026

What the minimum wage means

The national minimum wage is the lowest pay the law allows for the workers it covers. An employer may pay more, but not less.

The law is the National Minimum Wage of Workers Act, No. 3 of 2016, as Act No. 11 of 2025 changed it. This guide calls it “the Act”. The Act says no employer may pay a worker less than the national minimum monthly or daily wage.

The earlier rate: 1 April 2025 to 31 December 2025

From 1 April 2025 to 31 December 2025, the national minimum wage was Rs 27,000 a month and Rs 1,080 a day. Act No. 11 of 2025 set that rate and the rate from 1 January 2026.

• The Budgetary Relief Allowance counts inside the minimum. The Act says the Budgetary Relief Allowances payable on 31 March 2025 form part of the minimum wage.
• Pay cannot be cut to cancel the rise. The Act says an employer must not reduce a worker’s wage or allowances in a way that cancels the rise.
• Other payments follow the increase. The Department of Labour’s notice of 21 August 2025 says employers must pay all statutory payments in line with the increase, from 1 April 2025. It names EPF, ETF, overtime, gratuity, maternity benefit and holiday pay.

Who the minimum wage covers

The Act sets the minimum for “all workers in any industry or service”. A worker is a person who works for an employer under a contract, in any capacity. The contract can be written or spoken.

If you work through a contractor or an agency, the Department of Labour says every employer must follow the Act. That includes the contractor or agency and the employer you work for.

Who it does not cover

The Act leaves out the workers and bodies below (section 14 of Act No. 3 of 2016).

• Domestic servants. The Act does not count a domestic servant as a worker.
• Some apprentices and trainees. A contract of apprenticeship is left out if the Tertiary and Vocational Education Act, No. 20 of 1990, covers it. The same is true if the Employment of Trainees (Private Sector) Act, No. 8 of 1978, covers it.
• Some corporations and boards. This means a corporation, board or other body that a law set up. It applies where the Government holds most of the share capital and provides the funds or capital, wholly or partly.
• Co-operative societies. The Act leaves out a society registered under the Co-operative Societies Law, No. 5 of 1972.
• Religious institutions. The Act leaves out any religious institution.
• Charitable institutions. The Act leaves out a charitable institution, as the Inland Revenue Act, No. 10 of 2006, defines it.

This guide cannot say whether the Act covers your own job. If you are not sure, read the Act. The links are at the end of this page.

Higher minimums for some trades

A Wages Board decides a minimum rate of pay for its trade. The Minister approves the decision, and it is published in the Gazette.

For some trades the rate can be higher than the national minimum. Once a decision is in force, an employer must pay the workers it applies to at least that rate.

This guide gives no trade rate, because we could not confirm a current one from an official source. If you work in a trade with a Wages Board, look for its notice in the Gazette.

If you are paid less than the minimum

First, check that the Act covers your job. The lists above show who is covered and who is not.

The Department of Labour says you can complain about an employer who does not pay in line with the increase. Use its online Complaints Management System, or write or email the nearest Labour Office.

• Complaints Management System, Department of Labour (opens in a new tab) The Department’s online system for sending a complaint.

Using the minimum wage when you read a job advert

Many adverts give the pay by the month or by the day. Compare it with the same kind of figure above. Use the monthly minimum for pay by the month, and the daily minimum for pay by the day.

If an advert offers less than the minimum for a job the Act covers, ask the employer about it before you accept.

Pay that is far above the usual, for no experience, is also a warning sign of a fake advert.

• How to spot a fake job advert The warning signs of a fake advert, and how to check one.

Sources

Checked on 4 November 2026. The figures and rules on this page come from these official pages. Rates can change, so read the Act before you rely on this page.

• National Minimum Wage of Workers (Amendment) Act, No. 11 of 2025, Parliament of Sri Lanka (opens in a new tab) The rates and their dates (section 2), the allowances (section 3) and the rule against cutting pay (section 4).
• National Minimum Wage of Workers Act, No. 3 of 2016, Department of Labour (opens in a new tab) The rule that no employer may pay less (section 3), and who counts as a worker and what is left out (section 14).
• Notice of 21 August 2025, Department of Labour (opens in a new tab) In Sinhala, Tamil and English: the rates, contractors and agencies, the payments that follow the increase, and where to complain.
• Wages Boards Ordinance, Department of Labour (opens in a new tab) How a Wages Board sets a minimum for a trade (section 20), the duty to pay it (section 21) and the Gazette (section 29).
• Complaints Management System, Department of Labour (opens in a new tab) Where to send a complaint.

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