Average Employment Relations Officer Salary in Colombo, Sri Lanka for 2026

In this article, we will look at the average Employment Relations Officer salary for 2026 in Colombo and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the Sri Lankan rupee. To keep things simple, we are using the LKR currency code instead of the currency symbol Rs රු.

How Much Does an Employment Relations Officer Make in Colombo?

An Employment Relations Officer working in Colombo will typically earn around 619,800 LKR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 283,700 LKR to the highest average salary of 988,600 LKR.

These are average salaries for an Employment Relations Officer in Colombo and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for an Employment Relations Officer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Employment Relations Officer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Employment Relations Officer Salaries in Colombo

So we've looked at the average salaries an Employment Relations Officer will earn in Colombo. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that an Employment Relations Officer can earn between 283,700 LKR and 988,600 LKR on average in Colombo. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for an Employment Relations Officer in Colombo is 672,600 LKR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 672,600 LKR, and 50% of the population earn more than 672,600 LKR.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Employment Relations Officer salary in Colombo, 25% of the population are earning less than 430,000 LKR while 75% of the population earn more than 430,000 LKR.

75% of the population earn less than 896,700 LKR, and 25% of the population earn more than 896,700 LKR.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

Employment Relations Officer Salary by Experience Level in Colombo

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average Employment Relations Officer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

• 0 - 2 Years Experience. An Employment Relations Officer in Colombo that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 325,800 LKR.
• 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Employment Relations Officer salary would increase to 431,300 LKR.
• 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as an Employment Relations Officer, the average salary would be 641,900 LKR.
• 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 780,600 LKR.
• 15 - 20 Years Experience. An Employment Relations Officer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 849,200 LKR.
• 20+ Years Experience. For an Employment Relations Officer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 922,900 LKR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

Employment Relations Officer Salary by Education Level in Colombo

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

In our research, we looked at the average salary for an Employment Relations Officer in Colombo based on the education level of the employees in order to find out whether a better education level would increase your salary.

• Certificate or Diploma. An Employment Relations Officer in Colombo with a certificate or diploma education can earn an average salary of 377,200 LKR.
• Bachelor's Degree. An Employment Relations Officer in Colombo with a bachelor's degree education can earn an average salary of 727,100 LKR.

Average Salary by Education Chart

Employment Relations Officer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In Colombo, a male employment relations officer will earn an average of 537,300 LKR, while a female employment relations officer will earn around 592,600 LKR.

This means that a male employment relations officer earns approximately 9% less than a female employment relations officer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Colombo

Employment Relations Officer Average Pay Raise in Colombo

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for an Employment Relations Officer in Colombo is around 11% every 17 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in Sri Lanka is around 9% every 17 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 17 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that an Employment Relations Officer in Colombo can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Colombo for 2026

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in Sri Lanka.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Employment Relations Officer Bonus and Incentive Rates in Colombo

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

An Employment Relations Officer is a low bonus based job, with 25% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

75% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 1% to 3%.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in Sri Lanka earn approximately 8% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Salaries for Jobs Similar to an Employment Relations Officer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to an Employment Relations Officer in Colombo.