What records must employers keep for leave in Myanmar?

What Myanmar law says

Employers in Myanmar must maintain a leave register as part of their statutory record-keeping duties. The Factories Act 1951 requires factory employers to produce the register on inspection by the township labour office; the Shops and Establishments Act imposes the same duty on offices, retail, restaurants, and hospitality. The Leave and Holidays Act establishes the leave types that must be tracked: annual, casual, sick, maternity, paternity, and public holidays.

Records must be retained for at least 7 years, the standard retention period across Myanmar HR and payroll documentation.

Required record components

Format and storage

• Per-employee record. Most employers keep a tab per employee or a per-employee file folder.
• Running balance. Show opening balance, accrual, taken, balance after, for every leave entry.
• Tag each entry by leave type. Annual, casual, sick, maternity, paternity, public holiday — labelling matters at exit because some types are encashable and some are not.
• Digital or paper. Both formats are acceptable; the township labour office accepts printed reports from a payroll system.
• Bilingual where helpful. Employee names, leave types, and certificates may be requested in Myanmar language during inspection.

What inspectors typically request

• 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.
• Public-holiday gazette for the current year.
• Refusal correspondence (if any disputes have been raised).

Edge cases and exceptions

• Daily-wage workers. Same record-keeping duties; document continuous engagement carefully so leave eligibility can be assessed.
• Probationary employees. Maintain the same register entries from day one — casual leave, public holidays, maternity all need to be logged.
• Encashment workings. Show the formula (monthly salary ÷ 30) × unused-days clearly on the final settlement worksheet.
• SSB cross-references. Maternity / paternity / sickness benefit claims should be cross-referenced from the leave register to the SSB filing folder.
• Foreign workers. Same record-keeping duties; visa documents are kept separately but linked.
• Carry-forward. Year-end opening, used, closing balance per employee; show the cap and any forfeiture.
• Factory vs office. Same record-keeping duties under both sub-statutes.

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

• Not tagging entries by leave type. At exit, mis-tagged sick days that should be annual leave become disputed.
• Discarding records after a year. Retention is at least 7 years.
• Storing certificates in personal email folders. Use a structured per-employee file system.
• Skipping refusal documentation. Refusals must be in writing with the operational reason.
• Letting the register lag payroll. Update the register weekly so balances on the payslip match the official record.