Average Legal Officer Salary in Sri Lanka for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Legal Officer salary for 2024 in Sri Lanka 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 a Legal Officer Make in Sri Lanka?

A Legal Officer working in Sri Lanka will typically earn around 691,200 LKR per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 315,900 LKR to the highest average salary of 1,095,900 LKR.

Average Annual Salary
691,200 LKR
Average Monthly Salary
57,600 LKR

Lowest Annual Salary
315,900 LKR
Lowest Monthly Salary
26,325 LKR

Highest Annual Salary
1,095,900 LKR
Highest Monthly Salary
91,325 LKR

These are average salaries for a Legal Officer in Sri Lanka and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Legal Officer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Legal 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 Legal Officer Salaries in Sri Lanka

So we've looked at the average salaries a Legal Officer will earn in Sri Lanka. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Legal Officer can earn between 315,900 LKR and 1,095,900 LKR on average in Sri Lanka. 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 a Legal Officer in Sri Lanka is 744,600 LKR. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 744,600 LKR, and 50% of the population earn more than 744,600 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 Legal Officer salary in Sri Lanka, 25% of the population are earning less than 476,600 LKR while 75% of the population earn more than 476,600 LKR.

75% of the population earn less than 995,000 LKR, and 25% of the population earn more than 995,000 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.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Legal Officer Salary by Experience Level in Sri Lanka

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 legal 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. A Legal Officer in Sri Lanka that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 361,600 LKR.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Legal Officer salary would increase to 480,300 LKR.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Legal Officer, the average salary would be 710,500 LKR.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 864,700 LKR.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Legal Officer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 945,400 LKR.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Legal Officer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 1,023,000 LKR.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
361,600 LKR
2-5 Years +34%
480,300 LKR
5-10 Years +48%
710,500 LKR
10-15 Years +22%
864,700 LKR
15-20 Years +9%
945,400 LKR
20+ Years +8%
1,023,000 LKR

Legal Officer Salary by Education Level in Sri Lanka

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.

The data we have below is combined across all professions. To view the most accurate data possible, you can select a specific job from the list below.

Employees that have earned a certificate or diploma from a post-secondary program can expect to earn approximately 17% more than those who only completed high school level.

If you have a bachelor's degree, you can expect to earn approximately 25% more than those who only completed to a certificate or diploma level.

For professionals reaching the master's degree level, your salary would be around 30% higher than those with a bachelor's degree.

If you are able to achieve a PhD, you can expect to earn approximately 22% more than those with a master's degree for the same job role.

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in Sri Lanka is around 449,000 to 1,350,000 LKR and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Legal 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 Sri Lanka, a male legal officer will earn an average of 743,100 LKR, while a female legal officer will earn around 637,500 LKR.

This means that a male legal officer earns approximately 17% more than a female legal officer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in Sri Lanka

Male
743,100 LKR
Female -17%
637,500 LKR

Legal Officer Average Pay Raise in Sri Lanka

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 a Legal Officer in Sri Lanka is around 11% every 16 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 ÷ 16 ) × 12  = 8%

What this means is that a Legal Officer in Sri Lanka can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 8% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in Sri Lanka for 2024

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.

Banking
6%
Energy
3%
Information Technology
9%
Healthcare
6%
Travel
3%
Construction
9%
Education
6%

Legal Officer Bonus and Incentive Rates in Sri Lanka

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.

A Legal Officer is a low bonus based job, with 31% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

69% 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 0% to 4%.

Received Bonus
31%
No Bonus
69%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

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.

Public Sector
1,109,200 LKR
Private Sector -8%
1,031,200 LKR

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Legal Officer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Legal Officer in Sri Lanka.

Job Title Category Salary
Administrative Law Judge Legal 3,035,200 LKR
Arbitrator Legal 1,405,700 LKR
Associate Attorney Legal 1,487,200 LKR
Attorney Legal 2,184,900 LKR
Bailiff Legal 713,900 LKR
Barrister Legal 595,300 LKR
Candidate Attorney Legal 1,320,500 LKR
Conciliator Legal 1,074,600 LKR
Contracts Associate Legal 710,500 LKR
Contracts Manager Legal 1,259,300 LKR
Contracts Negotiator Legal 995,000 LKR
Contracts Specialist Legal 714,600 LKR
Conveyancing Secretary Legal 605,700 LKR
Corporate Counsel Legal 1,583,700 LKR
Counsel Legal 1,583,700 LKR
Court Clerk Legal 524,400 LKR
Court Judicial Assistant Legal 874,500 LKR
Court Liaison Specialist Legal 1,019,200 LKR
Court Reporter Legal 808,000 LKR
Court Representative Legal 639,100 LKR
Crown Prosecution Service Lawyer Legal 2,928,100 LKR
General Counsel Legal 2,711,900 LKR
Immigration Executive Legal 1,464,200 LKR
In House Counsel Legal 1,560,800 LKR
Intellectual Property Specialist Legal 1,064,100 LKR
Judge Advocate Legal 2,411,500 LKR
Law Clerk Legal 491,000 LKR
Lawyer Legal 2,136,200 LKR
Legal Administrative Assistant Legal 595,300 LKR
Legal Advisor Legal 1,380,400 LKR
Legal Assistant Legal 592,600 LKR
Legal Associate Legal 1,006,300 LKR
Legal Consultant Legal 1,333,900 LKR
Legal Consultant Legal 1,380,400 LKR
Legal Counsel Legal 1,632,100 LKR
Legal Editor Legal 1,054,900 LKR
Legal Executive Legal 2,015,600 LKR
Legal Executive Secretary Legal 620,300 LKR
Legal IP Officer Legal 539,800 LKR
Legal Secretary Legal 615,700 LKR
Legal Services Director Legal 2,543,000 LKR
Legal Services Manager Legal 2,579,200 LKR
Legal Support Worker Legal 417,100 LKR
Legislative Liaison Legal 1,079,600 LKR
Litigation Attorney Legal 2,759,700 LKR
Litigation Paralegal Legal 1,391,600 LKR
Magistrate Judge Legal 3,239,400 LKR
Paralegal Legal 847,000 LKR
Patent Attorney Legal 1,621,400 LKR
Staff Attorney Legal 1,703,200 LKR

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in Sri Lanka, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Colombo 767,400 LKR

Link To or Reference This Page

We spend a lot of time collecting, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site to be as useful to you as possible.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference World Salaries as the source. We appreciate your support!

  • "Average Legal Officer Salary in Sri Lanka for 2024". World Salaries. Accessed on March 28, 2024. https://worldsalaries.com/average-legal-officer-salary-in-sri-lanka/.

  • "Average Legal Officer Salary in Sri Lanka for 2024". World Salaries, https://worldsalaries.com/average-legal-officer-salary-in-sri-lanka/. Accessed 28 March, 2024

  • Average Legal Officer Salary in Sri Lanka for 2024. World Salaries. Retrieved from https://worldsalaries.com/average-legal-officer-salary-in-sri-lanka/.