Employment
Labour law devolved to the provinces after 2010
Following the Eighteenth Amendment each province enacted its own industrial relations and standards legislation. Federal law now covers only the Islamabad territory and trans-provincial establishments.
Key rules
- Deadline — Grievance notice to employer, then reference to the Labour Court within statutory periods
- Deadline — Social security and EOBI contributions monthly
Governing law
- Industrial Relations Act, 2012federal / ICT
- Punjab Industrial Relations Act, 2010
- Sindh Industrial Relations Act, 2013
- Payment of Wages Act, 1936provincially adapted
- Provincial Factories Acts
In practice
Because standards are provincial, minimum wage, leave entitlement and union registration all differ between Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan — advising on a national basis is simply wrong. Employees are classified as permanent, probationary, temporary or contract, and only permanent workers get the full termination protections, which is why misclassification is the most litigated issue. Labour Courts hear individual grievances with appeal to Labour Appellate Tribunals.