Leave policy in Pakistan

Hiring internationally comes with real legal responsibilities, and employee leave is one of them. Wherever your team members are based, your company is expected to meet the leave standards of that country, regardless of your internal policy.

Pakistan is a particularly complex jurisdiction in this regard. Rather than a single national labour code, leave entitlements are governed by a patchwork of legislation, including the Factories Act 1934, the West Pakistan Shops and Establishments Ordinance 1969, the Maternity and Paternity Leave Act 2020, and various provincial laws that can differ significantly across regions.

For overseas companies, keeping up with these overlapping requirements can be a challenge. This guide breaks down what you need to know about leave policy in Pakistan, from annual leave and public holidays to sick, maternity, and paternity entitlements. 

So if you are planning to hire in Pakistan, an Employer of Record (EOR) can help handle local compliance, payroll, and onboarding on your behalf so you can focus on building your team.

Vacation & annual leave in Pakistan

Once an employee completes one year of continuous service, they become eligible for 14 calendar days of paid annual leave. 

The carry-forward rules apply to annual leave in Pakistan. Any unused earned leave can stack up only to a ceiling of 30 days. After that, the excess either lapses or gets cashed out, depending on company policy.

Public holidays

Pakistan’s holiday calendar is refreshed every year. The list typically includes around 10 paid holidays, though the exact count fluctuates because several dates follow the Islamic lunar calendar and shift annually.

Here’s the standard holiday calendar for Pakistan:

• Kashmir Day
• Pakistan Day
• Labour Day
• Independence Day
• Eid-ul-Fitr
• Eid-ul-Adha
• Eid Milad-un-Nabi
• Ashura
• Quaid-e-Azam Day
• Christmas Day

Employees required to come in on a public holiday receive compensatory time off. If they work overtime on a holiday, they must receive twice the normal pay.

Sick leave in Pakistan

Employees are eligible for 8 days of paid sick leave in Pakistan per year. 

You may ask for a medical certificate for absences. 

However, the actual entitlement your employee receives depends on the applicable provincial law and whether the establishment falls under the Factories Act or the Shops Ordinance.

Sick leave can carry forward up to 16 days. After that, it lapses. For extended illness, provincial social security institutions may cover additional medical leave for employees registered under those schemes. 

Maternity leave in Pakistan

The current federal framework ties the duration of maternity leave in Pakistan to birth order:

• First child: 180 days of fully paid leave
• Second child: 120 days
• Third child: 90 days

However, employers may grant additional time as unpaid extraordinary leave at their discretion. For context, India’s maternity policy offers 26 weeks for the first two children, longer on the surface, but Pakistan’s 180-day entitlement for first births is actually comparable at roughly 25.7 weeks.

Paternity leave in Pakistan

Male employees get 30 days of fully paid paternity leave per childbirth, one of the more generous allowances in South Asia. 

This leave sits outside the regular leave account, meaning it doesn’t count towards the balances from annual or casual paid time-off in Pakistan.

Like maternity leave, paternity leave can only be claimed three times during an employee’s entire service. However, if a fourth child arrives, the employee may draw from their regular leave balance or request unpaid time off.

Other types of leave in Pakistan

Beyond the standard annual, sick, and parental categories, leave entitlements in Pakistan include a few less obvious provisions. Some are rooted in Islamic tradition, others in company-level policy rather than statute.

Casual leave

Every employee gets 10 days of fully paid casual leave per year. 

Pilgrimage leave

Muslim employees may take leave for Hajj or Ziarat, though this is typically unpaid unless the employer’s policy says otherwise. 

Wedding and childcare leave

Neither wedding leave nor childcare leave is defined by statute. Some employers offer paid wedding leave and various childcare accommodations as part of their benefits package, but there’s no legal mandate.

To estimate total employment costs in Pakistan, including leave-related expenses, try our employee cost calculator. 

Explore Payoneer Workforce Management in Pakistan

Framing leave policy in Pakistan is quite difficult due to differences in leave entitlement in four provinces, despite the same federal laws.

Moreover, the calculation of public holidays with the lunar calendar, the order of calculation of maternity leave, depending on birth order, and the limitation of carry-forwards, can make it a complex system requiring consistent effort.

However, with Payoneer Workforce Management, you can effectively manage onboarding, payroll processes, and time-off management in Pakistan and more than 160 other countries using a single platform. 

In addition, check out our country-specific guides if you want to build a team in a neighbouring market, like Bangladesh or Sri Lanka.

Book a demo today!