Circular issued for govt officials on taking no pay leave

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – The Ministry of Finance, Economic Stabilization and National Policies has issued the circular to facilitate employees of public institutions to take no-pay leave to work abroad for a maximum period of five years.

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

It has further mentioned that the provisions of the circular are pertinent to state corporations, statutory bodies and state-owned companies. This opportunity is given only to permanent staff members of these institutions.

As per the circular, it is mandatory for government employees who leave for foreign employment to send a monthly amount of foreign remittances to a non-resident foreign currency account during their tenure.

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 400 per month

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

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.