EMPLOYMENT SECURITY:

Written employment particulars:

Standing Orders Ordinance requires that every workman at the time of his appointment, transfer or
promotion should be provided with an order in writing, showing the terms and conditions of his service.
Similarly, every permanent worker is entitled to a written certificate of service at the time of his
dismissal, discharge, retrenchment or retirement from service (S.O. 2-A and 18of Standing Orders
Ordinance, 1968).
Similar provisions are found in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Industrial and Commercial Employment
(Standing Order) Act 2013 (Standing Order 3 & 4) and the Sindh Terms of Employment (Standing
Orders) Act 2015 (Standing Order 3 & 17).
Employment Contracts in Pakistan:
Know everything about fixed-term employment contract and temporary contract law in Pakistan. An
employment contract is an agreement between an employer and employee and is the basis of further
employment relationship. A contract of employment regulates the terms and conditions of employment
between employer and employees.
After completion of (undergrad or grad) studies, one must be looking for employment. One must know
how to examine employment contract or appointment letter.
Labor laws in Pakistan require an employer to provide employment contract at the start of
employment:
After applying for a job and in response to written test, interview, employment in an organization is
offered. Constitution of Pakistan provide everyone with the right to enter upon any lawful profession or
occupation (Article 18). The relevant legislation on employment contracts is as follows:

 Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance 1968 (applicable in

Baluchistan, ICT and Punjab)
 Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 2013
 Sindh Terms of Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 2015
The Standing Orders Ordinance1968 requires every employer to provide every worker an employment
contract, showing terms and conditions of his/her service. Employer is responsible to provide this contract
at the time of appointment, transfer or promotion. Similar provisions are found in the above-referred
provincial legislation of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh.
Appointment letter (employment contract) must state the nature of employment (permanent or temporary,
nature of duties i.e. job description, terms and conditions of service etc).
Different types of employment contract, as specified under the labor laws:
Following six categories will be classified when one is working in an establishment:

 Permanent
 Probationers
 Badlis (Alternate)
 Temporary

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  Apprentices
 Contract worker
One become permanent worker if one has been on work of permanent nature for the last 9 months and
have satisfactorily completed the probationary period of three months.
Probation for the first three months of service, after provisionally employed for a permanent position.
“Badli” is when someone is appointed in the post of a permanent or probationer employee who is
temporarily absent.
If someone is hired for a project ending within 9 months then they become temporary employee.
An apprentice is a person undergoing training through the system of apprenticeship.
If someone is employed to work on piece rate basis for a specific period of time, they become contract
worker and will not be given overtime for hours worked above the normal working hours.
Sindh legislation however defines a contract worker as "a worker who works on contract basis for a
specific period mentioned in the contract, in any establishment but does not include the third party
employment".
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa legislation also defines a contract worker as “a worker who works on contract basis
for a specific period mentioned in the Letter of Contract". The legislation requires an employer to obtain a
No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Labor Department to contract out jobs of peripheral nature and
not those, which are related to core activity of the organization. Such NOC is issued only for a period of 6
months at a time and contains certain conditions related to the job and employment of contract workers.
Employment contract requirements:
While examining appointment letter, following factors must be considered:
Job Description/ responsibilities - are these the same as were advertised and talked about during the
interviews or job description has been expanded to include some other responsibilities
Salary- what is your basic and gross salary? Consolidated or gross salary must be equal or greater than
Rs. 15,000 per month (in Punjab, KPK and Baluchistan) or Rs. 14,000 (in Sindh province). Gross salary
will include certain allowances like house rent allowance, conveyance/utility allowance.
Probationary Period - what is the required probation period before the service is confirmed. In private
sector, this probationary period is usually three to six months. While in public sector, the probationary
period is one to two years. Another thing to look for is that whether the probationary period is extendable
or not. One must know that the services can be terminated during this time without any notice or without
giving any reason. The probationary period under the above-referred laws is only 3 months.
Termination of service - after confirmation of the service, on expiry of probation period, job can be
terminated by employer at any time by giving a 30-day notice or providing 30-day pay in lieu of that
notice. One also have the right to resign from the service after giving 30-day notice or surrendering 30-
day pay to the company.
Transferability of services - whether the services can be transferred to other sections/departments of the
organization. This can be both good and bad depending on the experience. Transferability of the services
will give a diversified experience however; one may not be able to specialize in the desired field.

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Confidentiality agreement – the employer may require employee not to associate, directly or indirectly,
with a similar business during the course of the employment with the organization and that employee
would not divulge any information relating to the organization to its competitors (even after termination
of the employment).
Leaves, retirement benefits, medical facilities – employees must check whether these provisions are in
accordance with labor laws or company policy.
Other than the above-mentioned factors, the employment contract/appointment letter must also clearly
indicate whether the employment will be governed by general or some specific labor laws like mining
labor code, newspaper employees act or road transport employees act. Moreover, if the employment
contract is negotiated on terms different from those provided in labor laws, this will take precedence over
the labor law. So, employee must examine whether your employment contract is in accordance with the
provisions in the labor laws or is different.
Fixed Term Contracts:
Pakistani labor Law prohibits hiring fixed term contract workers for tasks of permanent nature. The
maximum length of a fixed term (temporary) contract including renewals is 09 months.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh legislation allow for hiring workers on contract where the term of the
contract is specified by the contract itself.
Sindh legislation however defines a contract worker as "a worker who works on contract basis for a
specific period mentioned in the contract, in any establishment but does not include the third party
employment".
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa legislation also defines a contract worker as “a worker who works on contract basis
for a specific period mentioned in the Letter of Contract". The legislation requires an employer to obtain a
No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Labor Department to contract out jobs of peripheral nature and
not those, which are related to core activity of the organization. Such NOC is issued only for a period of 6
months at a time and contains certain conditions related to the job and employment of contract workers.
Probation Period:
In accordance with the Standing Orders Ordinance, probation period is of 3 months duration only. (S.O. 1
of Standing Orders Ordinance, 1968)
Similar provisions are found in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Industrial and Commercial Employment
(Standing Order) Act 2013 (Standing Order 1) and the Sindh Terms of Employment (Standing Orders)
Act 2015 (Standing Order 1).