How many days of sick leave are mandatory in Myanmar?

What Myanmar law says

The Leave and Holidays Act grants 30 days of paid sick leave per year after 6 months of continuous service. This is the typical Myanmar baseline applied across both the Factories Act 1951 (factory workers) and the Shops and Establishments Act (office, retail, hospitality). Sick leave is paid at full salary by the employer; once the employee has 12 months of SSB contributions, the Social Security Board may also pay a sickness cash benefit, depending on the duration of the illness.

Sick leave does not carry forward to the next year and is not encashable on exit. A medical certificate is required for absences exceeding 3 consecutive days.

Entitlement table

How to apply and approval process

• Same-day notification. The employee must notify the employer of the illness on the first day of absence — by phone or message before the start of shift.
• Medical certificate. Required for absences of more than 3 consecutive days. The certificate should come from a registered medical practitioner and state the diagnosis (or fitness-to-work statement) and recommended rest period.
• Filing the certificate. Submit on return to work; many employers require submission within 48 hours of returning. The certificate is filed in the employee's record and must be retained for at least 7 years.
• SSB pathway. If sick for an extended period, see medical certificate rules and apply for the SSB sickness cash benefit if eligible.

Edge cases and exceptions

• Probationary employees. Sick leave eligibility statutorily begins at 6 months. During probation (typically 3 months), sick days are usually paid as a contractual benefit but are not statutorily mandated.
• Daily-wage workers. Eligible after 6 months of continuous engagement; pay is the daily wage for each sick day taken.
• Shift workers. Sick leave counts in calendar days, not shifts. A 24-hour shift missed equals one sick day.
• Part-time employees. Pro-rate the 30-day entitlement by contracted days per week.
• Long-term illness (over 30 days). Beyond the 30-day statutory entitlement, the employer may grant unpaid sick leave; the SSB cash benefit may also apply for IPs with at least 12 months of contributions.
• Foreign workers. Eligible on the same terms when employed by a Myanmar-registered employer.
• Factory vs office. Identical 30-day floor; only the inspection regime differs.

Sick leave and SSB — how they interact

Sick leave under the Leave and Holidays Act is paid by the employer. The Social Security Board separately offers a sickness cash benefit to insured persons (IPs) who have at least 12 months of contributions, typically used when illness extends beyond the employer's 30-day obligation. . For employees without SSB enrolment, the employer remains the sole payer for the 30-day entitlement. See bucket B's SSB pages for the SSB pathway and contribution history rules.

Frequently asked questions

Does this entitlement apply to employees on fixed-term contracts?

Yes. Fixed-term contract employees in Myanmar receive the same statutory leave floor as permanent employees once they meet the relevant service-tenure thresholds. The Leave and Holidays Act, the Factories Act 1951, and the Shops and Establishments Act do not distinguish between fixed-term and indefinite contracts for leave purposes — eligibility is set by months of continuous service. Contract expiry is not termination, so unused annual-leave balance is encashed at the end of the contract using (monthly salary ÷ 30) × unused-days. See the bucket E pages on fixed-term contracts for the contract-side rules.

How does this interact with payroll and SSB?

All paid leave is treated as ordinary salary income for Myanmar payroll purposes. PIT is withheld through PAYE on every payslip that includes leave pay. SSB contributions (2% employee + 3% employer, capped on a wage base of MMK 300,000/month) continue during paid leave because the employee is still earning wages. SSB contributions pause only during unpaid leave. Encashment of accrued annual leave at exit is part of taxable salary for PIT but practitioners differ on SSB treatment of the lump sum — confirm with the township SSB office on filing.

What records does the township labour office expect?

Inspectors typically request the leave register for the past 12 months, medical certificates for sick leave over 3 days, maternity / paternity SSB filings, final settlement worksheets for recent leavers, and the public-holiday gazette for the current year. Records must be retained for at least 7 years under both the Factories Act 1951 and the Shops and Establishments Act. Keeping a clean per-employee leave file with tagged entries makes inspections quick and defensible. Digital records from a payroll system are acceptable provided they can be printed on demand.

Common leave-law mistakes

• Demanding a certificate for a single sick day. The threshold is 3 consecutive days; demanding more is intrusive and unnecessary.
• Carrying forward unused sick leave. Sick leave does not accumulate — unused days lapse at year-end.
• Encashing sick leave at exit. Sick leave is non-encashable; only annual leave is.
• Letting probationers exhaust 30 days. Statutory eligibility begins at 6 months; codify pro-rated probation sick leave in policy.
• Forgetting the SSB pathway for long illness. Direct eligible IPs to claim the SSB sickness cash benefit instead of holding the employer wage liability indefinitely.