Contract and Housing Requirements for Workers in Sri Lanka policy

What is this document about?

This policy has been developed to align worker’s contracts requirement 5.3.1 and housing and living conditions requirements 5.7.1, 5.7.3 and 5.7.4 of the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard to the context of farming operations in Sri Lanka.

When and how to use this document?

This policy provides interpretation and conditions for compliance with the Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Agriculture Standard for (prospective) Certificate Holders in Sri Lanka (referred to as “Certificate Holders” or “CHs”) that have government owned on-site housing facilities for workers and/or employ workers for 3 consecutive months or more. Certification Bodies shall also use this policy to evaluate compliance with the relevant requirements.  

1.Introduction

In Sri Lanka verbal contracts with workers are common practice and legally recognized. Additionally, on-site housing facilities for workers on farms are predominantly owned and managed by the government. Therefore, it is necessary to align the relevant Farm Requirements of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard concerning workers’ contractual agreements and housing and living conditions to the local context and provide measures to ensure compliance with the Standard.  

2.Legal Framework

The relevant legal frameworks governing workers' contractual agreements and housing and living conditions in Sri Lanka are summarized below.

2.1 Contractual Agreements

Verbal agreements are a well-established and legally recognized practice, protected under multiple national labor statutes. Written employment contracts are not legally required for farm workers in Sri Lanka.

2.2 Housing and Living Conditions  

On-site housing facilities for workers in farms are mostly owned by the government in Sri Lanka. The responsibility for the construction, allocation, and maintenance of housing infrastructure lies with two state-mandated bodies:

• The Plantation Human Development Trust (PHDT), and

• The Estate Worker Housing Cooperative Societies (EWHCS)

Housing facilities constructed after 1992 have been built and managed by PHDT in partnership with EWHCS. These institutions oversee construction and repair activities, as well as beneficiary selection. Rainforest Alliance Certified farms contribute to this system by paying a mandatory annual levy to PHDT.

3. Relevant Standard Requirements Conditions

3.1 Contracts

Certificate Holders (CHs) in Sri Lanka may use verbal contracts with workers employed for three consecutive months or more, under the following conditions to ensure compliance with requirement 5.3.1 of the Rainforest Alliance Standard.

1. Certificate Holders shall create a document detailing the content of the verbal contract, including those in requirement 5.3.1 referring to the written contracts (i.e. job duties, job location, working hours, pay rate/ method of calculation, overtime pay rate, payment schedule, deductions and benefits, paid leave, medical leave and protections for illness, disability, or accident, and notice period for termination) and relevant labor laws.

2. This document shall be made visible and accessible to all workers by being posted at least in central and divisional offices, muster sheds, weighing sheds, and factory premises.

3. CHs shall inform all current workers and new workers during the recruitment process about the content of the document through training or awareness raising sessions to ensure a clear understanding of the content of the verbal contract.

4. To ensure workers understand the content of the verbal contract, the CHs shall provide information, materials and conduct the training and awareness sessions in the predominant language(s) of the workers.

5. CHs shall maintain attendance records and documents of Training and awareness sessions

3.2 Housing and Living Conditions  

This section applies specifically to (prospective) Certificate Holders that have government owned on-site housing facilities for workers, pay the annual PHDT levy, and have operational EWHCS in place.

For compliance with requirements 5.7.1, 5.7.3 and 5.7.4 of the Sustainable Agriculture Standard, Certificate Holders must keep the following records and have them available for auditors.

1. Annual levy payments,

2. Copy of the proposed plan to maintain, improve or construct workers housing sent to PHDT, and

3. Copy of PHDT approved plans.

For CHs outside this system, who are directly responsible for workers on-site housing, related Rainforest Alliance Standard requirements apply.

Other information

Date of first publication of this document (v 1.0): July 9^th, 2025.

Documents indicated as “binding” must be complied with for certification. Documents indicated as “non-binding” provide non-mandatory information to help readers understand and implement requirements and other binding content.

Translation Disclaimer

For any question related to the precise meaning of the information in a translation,     consult the official English version for clarification. Any errors or differences in meaning due to translation are not binding and have no effect for auditing or certification purposes.

Reproduction, modification, distribution, or republication of this content is strictly forbidden without prior written consent from Rainforest Alliance.

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