Payroll and Benefits Guide Bangladesh

Annual Leave (vacation)

Employees are entitled to 1 day annual leave for every 18 days of work per calendar year (certain industries calculate leave entitlement differently).

Paid time off

Under Bangladesh labour law, employees earn statutory annual (earned) leave after one year of service (e.g., 1 day per ~18 days worked). Unused annual leave can be carried over to the following year rather than automatically expiring at year-end, and there are maximum carryover limits (often up to ~40 days for most workers, with up to ~60 days in certain industries). Employers must allow this carryover and/or pay out unused leave on termination — you cannot simply delete accrued statutory PTO by policy.

Note:

• Proclosz allows the entire PTO balance can be carried over if not used. The annual PTO entitlement is 20 days per year.
• Zapeo allows 6 days carry over per year, the remainder will be forfeited

Public Holidays

Although Bangladesh has 21 days of national holidays each year, employees are only entitled to take 11 of them off as paid holidays, and it is the employer’s choice as to which ones.

Public holidays that fall on a weekend are lost.

Certain religious holidays are determined by the lunar cycle and will be confirmed nearer the date of the holiday.

Sick Days

Employees are generally entitled to 14 days of paid sick leave per year, paid by the employer, however, this is an annual entitlement and cannot be carried over from year to year.
All employees must present a medical certificate for all absences to receive sick leave and pay.

Casual Leave

Employees are entitled to 10 days paid leave per year for urgent matters such as sudden illness, minor accidents and urgent personal issues. This leave does not accumulate nor carry forward into the following year if unused.

Maternity Leave

Female employees who have worked for at least six months are entitled to 8 weeks of paid maternity leave before the birth and 8 weeks of paid leave after the birth paid by the employer. Women who have worked less than six months or who already have two other surviving children are generally eligible for unpaid leave.
Women are also forbidden to work for eight weeks after the birth of a child.

Women who suffer a miscarriage before the commencement of maternity leave are entitled to 4 weeks paid leave with no deductions from wages during this period.

Paternity Leave

There is no provision for paternity leave in Bangladesh. However, some companies do choose to create a paid paternity leave policy.

Parental Leave

There is no provision for parental leave.

Other Leave

There is no provision for other leave in Bangladesh.