Circular issued for state sector workers on taking no-pay leave for foreign jobs

Plane landing

A circular making it mandatory for state sector workers to remit a certain sum of dollars to Sri Lanka monthly after travelling overseas on no pay leave was issued by the Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies.

The circular, signed by Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana, was published on August 22, 2022.

As per the circular, government employees who leave for foreign employment should send a monthly amount of foreign remittances to a non-resident foreign currency (NRFC) account under their name in a local bank during their tenure as given below.

  • Primary-level employees – USD 100 per month
  • Secondary-level employees – USD 200 per month
  • Tertiary-level employees – USD 300 per month
  • Senior-level employees – USD 500 per month

The amount to be remitted is decided on the seniority of each public sector employee.

The circular was issued to provide no pay leave for a maximum of five years for state sector workers to work overseas.

The circular by the Finance Ministry has been issued with the objective of increasing foreign exchange remittances and to increase the contribution to the economy through the country’s workforce.

This no-pay leave is granted only if another employee can be internally assigned to cover the workload of the employee who temporarily leaves the service for foreign employment.

At the same time, the heads of institutions should carry on the functions of the workplace efficiently without hiring a new employee to the position of the employee who is on no-pay leave.