Sri Lanka halts all new unpaid leave approvals for public employees, triggering major concern among officers planning overseas work, study or family relocation.
The Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government has announced that the opportunity for public sector officials to take unpaid leave has been suspended with immediate effect. Secretary S. Aloka Bandara stated that the decision follows a Cabinet resolution passed on November 24 and has now been formally communicated through a new circular. Keywords such as public sector reforms, unpaid leave suspension and government circular highlight the significance of this policy shift.
The circular instructs all ministry secretaries, provincial chief secretaries and heads of departments to stop accepting any new unpaid leave applications or extension requests from this point forward.
According to the Ministry, the earlier Public Administration Circular that took effect on 22 June 2022 allowed public officers to take unpaid leave locally or abroad for up to five years without affecting seniority or pension benefits. This policy had enabled thousands of government employees to pursue overseas employment, higher education or temporary relocation.
Following the latest Cabinet decision, the granting of unpaid leave both locally and abroad under the 2022 provisions has now been suspended immediately. Only officers already on approved unpaid leave will continue for the time period that has been officially sanctioned.
The Ministry clarified that officers whose leave has already been approved but whose leave period has not yet commenced will still be allowed to proceed for the previously approved duration. The circular emphasizes that overseas unpaid leave applications and extension requests that have already fulfilled all required criteria will not be affected.
However, any applications that lack complete documentation or do not meet the necessary requirements will be rejected without further consideration. The circular clearly states that under the new order no applications for unpaid leave within Sri Lanka will be approved.
This decision marks a major administrative shift aimed at strengthening workforce availability and public service capacity during a period of national recovery after Cyclone Ditwah, emphasizing government accountability, staffing stability and administrative discipline across state institutions.
