Bangladesh gives every worker a flat entitlement: 14 days of sick leave on full wages each calendar year. There is no tiered scale, no service-based accrual, and no carry-forward. A worker who is sick and holds a medical certificate gets paid. A worker who does not, does not.

That simplicity is both the strength and the trap. The rules are easy to state but easy to under-provide, because many multinational employers arrive with a 10-day cap that does not match section 116, or they add a waiting period the Act does not contemplate. This guide covers what the law says, what the recent amendments changed, and how to configure leave correctly.

Key takeaways

  • Under section 116 of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006, every worker is entitled to 14 days of sick leave with full wages per calendar year.
  • A registered medical practitioner’s certificate is required; the employer may set the notification process in company policy.
  • Sick leave does not carry forward to the next year and is not paid out on termination.
  • Casual leave is separate: 10 days per year on full wages under section 115, with a maximum of 3 consecutive days.
  • The Labour (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 did not change section 116; it clarified leave encashment on gross wages and revised festival and maternity provisions.

The 14-day entitlement

Section 116 of the Bangladesh Labour Act 2006 (as consolidated to 2018) provides:

Every worker, other than a newspaper worker, shall be entitled to fourteen days’ sick leave with full wages in every calendar year.

The entitlement is unconditional on length of service. A worker who started yesterday and a worker with twenty years of service both receive the same 14 days. The leave is measured in calendar years, not in rolling periods or employment anniversaries.

“Full wages” means the worker’s basic wage plus any fixed allowances that form part of their regular compensation. It does not include overtime, bonuses, or other variable elements.

The certificate requirement

The Act requires that sick leave be supported by a certificate from a registered medical practitioner. The term “registered medical practitioner” is not further defined in the Act, but in practice it means a physician registered with the Bangladesh Medical and Dental Council. Employers commonly require the certificate to specify the period of absence and the nature of the illness, though the Act itself does not mandate that level of detail.

Company policy should set out:

  • How quickly the employee must notify the employer of the absence
  • Whether the certificate must be submitted on the first day or within a specified window
  • Whether the employer may require a second opinion for extended absences

The Act is silent on these procedural points, which means the employer fills the gap through policy. A clear policy prevents disputes; an absent one invites them.

No carry-forward, no encashment

Sick leave not taken in a calendar year is lost. Section 116 does not permit accumulation, and the Labour (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 — which revised leave encashment rules for other leave types — did not extend carry-forward or encashment to sick leave.

This creates a hard deadline on 31 December each year. Payroll systems that track sick leave must zero out unused balances at year-end, not at the worker’s employment anniversary.

Casual leave is a separate pot

Section 115 provides 10 days of casual leave per calendar year on full wages. The two entitlements are distinct:

Feature Casual leave (s.115) Sick leave (s.116)
Days per year 10 14
Pay rate Full wages Full wages
Consecutive limit Maximum 3 days at a time No consecutive limit stated
Carry-forward Not accumulated Not accumulated
Certificate Not required Registered medical practitioner certificate required

A worker may take casual leave for personal errands and sick leave for illness, but may not substitute one for the other without the employer’s agreement. The two types should be tracked as separate absence categories in any leave system.

What the 2025 amendment changed

The Labour (Amendment) Ordinance 2025, promulgated in June 2025, made several changes to the Labour Act. For sick leave, the key point is what it did not change: section 116 was left untouched.

The amendment’s leave-related changes were:

  • Leave encashment on gross wages for annual leave, clarifying the calculation base.
  • Festival holidays — revised the list and the rules around working on those days.
  • Maternity leave — extended from 16 weeks to 24 weeks for certain categories.

None of these affected the 14-day sick leave entitlement, the full-wages pay rate, or the certificate requirement. The position under section 116 is the same today as it was when the Act was passed in 2006.

Where social insurance fits

Bangladesh does not have a social insurance scheme that replaces the employer’s sick leave wage obligation in the way that, say, the UK’s Statutory Sick Pay or Taiwan’s Labor Insurance does. The employer pays the full wage during sick leave from its own payroll.

The Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) concept does not exist in Bangladesh. There is no state-funded wage replacement for ordinary illness. This means the employer’s 14-day cost is entirely its own — there is no insurance offset.

For work-related injury, the Workers’ Compensation Act 1923 provides a separate regime, and employers with group insurance or employee benefit schemes may offer additional coverage, but none of this replaces the statutory sick leave obligation.

Common employer mistakes

1. Capping sick leave at 10 days

The 10-day figure is the casual leave entitlement under section 115, not the sick leave entitlement under section 116. Using 10 days for sick leave underpays the statutory minimum by four days and exposes the employer to a labour complaint.

2. Imposing a waiting period

Section 116 does not include a waiting period. A worker who falls ill on their first day of employment is entitled to sick leave from that day, subject to providing a medical certificate. Adding a 30-day or 90-day qualifying period conflicts with the Act.

3. Requiring sick leave to be taken in half-day or full-day increments only

The Act does not specify the unit in which sick leave must be taken. Restricting workers to full-day increments when a half-day absence with a certificate would suffice creates unnecessary friction and potential non-compliance.

4. Allowing casual leave to substitute for sick leave

An employer who accepts a casual leave request for an illness — without a medical certificate — is not meeting the section 116 requirement. The distinction matters: casual leave is a right; sick leave is a right conditional on medical evidence. Blurring the two weakens the employer’s ability to require certificates for genuine illness.

5. Failing to zero out sick leave at year-end

Because sick leave does not carry forward, a payroll system that rolls unused days into January over-grants entitlement. A worker who used 8 days in 2025 should start 2026 with 14 fresh days, not 20.

Frequently asked questions

How many sick days do workers get in Bangladesh?

14 days per calendar year, on full wages, under section 116 of the Labour Act 2006.

Is a doctor’s certificate required for sick leave?

Yes. The Act requires a certificate from a registered medical practitioner. The employer’s policy should specify how and when the certificate must be submitted.

Does sick leave carry forward to the next year?

No. Section 116 provides 14 days per calendar year. Unused days are lost at 31 December and are not paid out on termination.

Can an employer reduce the 14-day entitlement?

No. Section 116 is a minimum entitlement. An employer may offer more — many do, particularly in the garments sector — but cannot offer less.

What is the difference between casual and sick leave?

Casual leave is 10 days per year for personal matters, with a maximum of 3 consecutive days and no certificate requirement. Sick leave is 14 days per year for illness, requiring a medical certificate, with no consecutive-day limit.

Does the 2025 amendment change sick leave?

No. The Labour (Amendment) Ordinance 2025 revised leave encashment, festival holidays, and maternity leave, but did not alter section 116.

Putting it into practice

Five checks cover most Bangladesh sick leave compliance:

  1. Set the sick leave balance to 14 days per calendar year at full wages, matching section 116 exactly.
  2. Create a separate casual leave balance of 10 days with the 3-day consecutive limit under section 115.
  3. Configure a year-end reset on 31 December for both leave types — no carry-forward.
  4. Build the certificate requirement into the absence workflow: no certificate, no sick leave, no exceptions.
  5. Track the two leave types as separate absence categories so that a casual leave day is never booked against the sick leave balance.
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Bangladesh’s sick leave rules are straightforward, but the consequences of getting them wrong are not. A four-day shortfall per worker per year adds up across a large workforce, and a missing certificate policy invites disputes that the labour courts will resolve against the employer. A leave system that enforces the 14-day cap, the calendar-year reset, and the certificate requirement removes the ambiguity.

Sources

Last updated: 26 July 2026. This article is general guidance, not legal advice. For sector-specific rules (e.g. newspaper workers, who are excluded from section 116) or collective agreement interpretations, consult a Bangladesh-qualified employment lawyer.