No matter what country you're in, you'll find that employees care about compensation and benefits. If your company stands out from the crowd by providing the best compensation and benefits, you're likely...
Read MoreNo matter what country you're in, you'll find that employees care about compensation and benefits. If your company stands out from the crowd by providing the best compensation and benefits, you're likely to attract the most talented employees in Sri Lanka. However, learning Sri Lanka's compensation laws and putting together a benefits plan isn't always easy, especially when you're trying to run multiple different offices.
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No matter what country you’re in, you’ll find that employees care about compensation and benefits. If your company stands out from the crowd by providing the best compensation and benefits, you’re likely to attract the most talented employees in Sri Lanka. However, learning Sri Lanka’s compensation laws and putting together a benefits plan isn’t always easy, especially when you’re trying to run multiple different offices.
Globalization Partners is available to help through Sri Lanka compensation and benefits outsourcing. We’re a global PEO with subsidiaries in countries around the world, including Sri Lanka. When you work with us, we’ll add your employees to our payroll to compensate them, and we’ll also add them to our benefits plan so that they can receive the statutory minimums and more.
Sri Lanka’s current minimum wage is 10,000 rupees per month. However, that last changed in 2016, so it could change again for companies just beginning to work in the country. In addition to the national minimum wage, various classes of workers may have different minimum wages that include daily pay, monthly pay, piece rates, or contract rates.
Employees in Sri Lanka all need to receive guaranteed benefits required by law. It’s best to start your Sri Lanka benefits management plan with those statutory benefits. The country celebrates 26 national holidays, and it’s up to different industry sectors to decide which days to celebrate. Currently, only eight of those holidays are considered paid time off for certain sectors.
Other typical benefits include:
When you’re ready to put your Sri Lanka benefits management plan into place, we recommend considering additional benefits that you can provide beyond the statutory minimums. These benefits can entice employees to choose your open positions and also encourage them to stay with your company longer. For example, Sri Lanka currently does not have any mandates about paid paternity leave, so you could provide a few days as an incentive for employees to sign on with your company. Other common supplemental benefits include performance-based bonuses, private health care plans, and additional paid time off.
The biggest restriction for companies expanding to countries such as Sri Lanka is establishing a subsidiary. You’ll need your own entity if you’re going to work in Sri Lanka legally. That structure is a prerequisite to important tasks such as hiring, dispersing compensation and benefits, and setting up a payroll.
You won’t have the same requirement if you work with Globalization Partners, fortunately. Our team will work with you and use our existing infrastructure to help you run your company abroad. We’ll handle Sri Lanka compensation laws, and we’ll also shoulder all benefits and compensation requirements through Sri Lanka benefits and compensation outsourcing.
Growing your company in Sri Lanka requires several planning needs, including benefits. If you’re looking to build a team in this South Asian country, prepare for the process by learning about employment law and the labor market.
Benefits are a valuable tool for your company’s growth, so it’s essential to plan them carefully. With the right benefits plan, you can draw in more job seekers during recruitment and increase retention rates in the workplace. Over time, competitive employee provisions can help you build an experienced team and save on onboarding costs.
Possible benefits include:
Certain provisions also play a role in your company’s compliance. The country’s labor regulations require employers to provide these benefits at a minimum:
When you’re in a new country, you’ll need to account for new market standards and laws. Even so, you can follow the same fundamental steps to create a plan anywhere.
Benefits require spending, so you need to understand your existing revenue and budget. How will these new benefits packages fit into the overall financial picture?
Becoming competitive is a matter of understanding market standards. Research other employers to uncover the most commonly offered benefits. These will inform job seekers’ expectations.
With the information you’ve gathered, you can choose benefits strategically. Allocate your budget to required provisions first and use the remaining funds to cover other perks.
With every employer paying a different amount for benefits, an overall average might not be a helpful metric. Several factors can affect how much an employer is willing to pay for benefits plans, like size, location, and industry.
Instead of using an average to gauge your spending, you should create a budget unique to your earnings. The best way to set this budget is to dedicate a percentage of your revenue. With this approach, your offering always scales with your company.
While many benefits have a straightforward calculation, others are more complex. Provisions like monthly allowances and holiday bonuses are simple. In these instances, you can set an amount and distribute it accordingly.
Calculations for benefits like commuter stipends are trickier. Employees may use various amounts in gas expenses, so you might set a fuel limit to control costs.
You can find guidance for calculating the required benefits in the labor laws. For trust fund contributions, employers contribute 3% of employee salary.
The country recognizes all forms of remuneration received for employment as income. This remuneration includes benefits, which should be counted with their actual monetary value. It also includes the cost of travel reimbursements, rent for housing provided by the employer, and any other prescribed benefits.
Employers are responsible for calculating income tax and deducting the necessary amounts for Sri Lanka’s tax authority. It’s essential to include all benefits in your calculation.
The country has a universal healthcare system, but most companies opt to provide their own comprehensive health insurance scheme.
Globalization Partners’ global employment platform helps you build and scale an international team quickly and easily, ensuring all benefits offered to candidates are compliant and in line with local regulations. Learn more about our platform and request a proposal today.
If you’re ready to grow your business, or you have questions about a specific country, complete the form. One of our experts will be in touch shortly.
