Employment Law

Employment Contract in Bangladesh

Written employment contracts are standard in Bangladesh. The terms of the contract are legally binding on both parties and must comply with the provisions of the Labor Law. If there is no written employment agreement, the employer must issue a letter of appointment.

Fixed-term – Labor Law does not Regulate the Use of Fixed-term Contracts

Indefinite

Bangladesh Working Week

Labor laws limit working hours to 8 hours per day and 48 hours per week. Usually the rest days are Friday and Saturday. Workers in industrial premises, commercial premises or shops must have 1.5 days of rest per week.

Factory workers are entitled to a day off. Road transport service workers are entitled to work 24 consecutive hours per week. Women shall not be required to work between 10 pm and 6 am without their consent.

Bangladesh Overtime

Adult workers in Bangladesh can work more than 48 hours per week, but they must not exceed 60 hours per week, and the average working time throughout the year must not exceed 56 hours. Overtime pay is twice the hourly base wage, in addition to special allowances and casual or temporary pay.

Holiday Policy

Bangladesh Annual Leave

Employees who have worked for their employer for one year are entitled to the following paid annual leave:

• 1 day off every 18 working days for industrial premises, commercial premises, factories, shops or road transport premises
• Tea garden requires 1 day off for every 22 working days
• Newspaper staff are required to take one day off for every 11 working days.

If an employee does not use all accrued overtime time during a year, he or she may carry forward the unused time, subject to the following restrictions:

• Factory or road transport workers up to 40 days
• Up to 60 days for shop, industrial, commercial or tea estate workers

If an employee plans to take at least four days off, he or she is generally entitled to early vacation pay.

Bangladesh Personal Leave

Workers are generally entitled to 10 days of paid casual leave per year. This leave cannot be carried forward to subsequent years.

Sick Leave

In addition, most staff, except newspaper staff, are entitled to 14 days of sick leave. Sick leave cannot be carried over to subsequent years. Employees must present a medical certificate to take sick leave.

Newspaper workers are entitled to sick leave at half pay for at least 1/18 of their working period.

Maternity Leave

Expectant mothers who have worked for their employer for at least six months are eligible for maternity leave of eight weeks before and eight weeks after childbirth. Expectant mothers who have worked for their employer for less than six months or who have two or more surviving children are only eligible for unpaid leave.

Women are not allowed to work for eight weeks after giving birth.

There is no statutory paternity leave in Bangladesh.

Welfare

Annual Bonus

Employees who have worked for the employer for one year can enjoy two holiday bonuses each year.

Health Care Benefits

Large companies often provide private health insurance to their employees. Group health insurance is based on the number of workers. In many industries, a large number of employees may be needed to purchase group insurance.

Other Benefits

Large companies may also offer additional benefits to their employees, such as:

• automotive facilities
• Meal allowance
• fringe benefits

Most companies in Bangladesh provide provident fund benefits to their permanent employees, which are usually derived from employer and employee contributions. They also often offer tip benefits to long-term employees.

Social Security in Bangladesh

Employees in Bangladesh are not required to contribute to social security funds. Companies that meet certain criteria must deposit 5% of their profits into a worker profit participation fund, which provides monetary benefits to employees. Owners, partners or directors who have been with the company for at least nine months are not eligible for these benefits.

It is not compulsory to set up a provident fund. Rather, it is based on demand for a specific number of workers.

There is no social security tax in Bangladesh.

Pension

The government of Bangladesh does not sponsor any pension scheme.

Payroll Tax in Bangladesh

Payroll taxes are graduated from 10% to 30%, depending on the employee's income.

Probation Period in Bangladesh

Bangladesh allows a probationary period of six months for clerical workers and three months for other workers, which can be extended by another three months if the employer cannot determine the quality of the work within the first three months.

Termination and Notification Procedures in Bangladesh

Employees who have worked for their employer for at least one year are generally entitled to 30 days' notice of termination. The employer may choose to pay wages for that period without giving notice.

Employees who have been convicted or convicted of misconduct are not entitled to receive this formal notice.

Termination of a contract for reasons other than those listed above generally requires 120 days' written notice for monthly wage workers and 60 days' written notice for other workers. Again, this notice period can be achieved by providing compensation to the employee rather than providing notice.

Salary and Benefits

Workers Compensation

Employers must provide compensation to employees who suffer work-related injuries. Compensation depends on the age of the worker. An adult worker can get up to Tk 1,25,000 for total permanent injury, while a young worker can get up to Tk 10,000.