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Annual leave cancelled left and right

06 Sep 2020

  • Labour Department denies permitting cancellation
By Uwin Lugoda Several of Sri Lanka's corporates have issued notices cancelling all their employees' annual leave for the year 2020 due to the three-month lockdown following the Covid-19 outbreak in the country, The Sunday Morning Business learns. Employees from local companies, big and small, told us that their organisations have issued several notices via email, informing them that their request for annual leave will be denied. While the companies had stated that they will still issue sick leave, other leave will be considered no-pay leave and will result in salary cuts. A senior employee of one of Sri Lanka's largest and most diversified conglomerates stated that while the entire organisation has not implemented this new rule, some of its subsidiaries have. They explained that they came to this decision due to most of their employees working remotely or from home. Similarly, a local retail giant stated that they made the same decision due to all their employees missing out on work during the lockdown period and having to catch up on the business they lost, which the employees also depend on for their salaries, increments, and bonuses. Speaking on the legality of the move, Ranjan Suwandaratne PC stated that under normal circumstances this would be a violation of the Shop and Office Employees Act, which states that annual leave is an entitlement of the employees. However, he explained that with the current situation and the uncertain environment it has created, the local Department of Labour may have made the rules more flexible for these companies to implement this. However, when contacted, Commissioner General of Labour R.P.A. Wimalaweera denied permitting any such flexibility and stated that if there any companies refuse employees annual leave, a complaint can be made to the Department of Labour. "We cannot take any action against the companies unless the affected parties come forward and make a complaint. The complaints can be made anonymously, and within a day or two we will begin our investigations and visit those companies,” he asserted. Sri Lanka's Shop and Office Employees Act clearly states that in respect of the first year of employment, during which any person has been continuously in employment in or about the business of any shop or office, that person shall be entitled to a certain amount of leave. Those whose employment commences on or after the first day of January but before the first day of April, receive a holiday of 14 days. If it is on or after the first day of April but before the first day of July, they receive 10 days. If it is on or after the first day of July but before the first day of October, they receive seven days, and finally, if it is on or after the first day of October, they receive a holiday of four days. It goes on to state that the employer shall allow such a holiday and be liable to pay remuneration for those days.


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