Losing Your Job in Bangladesh: An Employee's Guide to Your Rights
Who this guide is for
If you work in a factory, shop, office, bank or other establishment in Bangladesh, your employer can end your job only in the ways the law allows, and must pay you what the law requires when it does. This guide explains those rules in plain terms, so you can check whether your termination was lawful and what to do if it was not.
The law that protects you
The Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 ("the Act"), as amended by the Labour (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025 and the Labour (Amendment) Act, 2026 (in force from 10 April 2026)
The Bangladesh Labour Rules, 2015
Your appointment letter and your employer's service rules, which can give you more than the Act but never less (s.3)
Act fast. If you want to challenge a termination, the first step, a written grievance to your employer, must be taken within 30 days. Missing this deadline can end your case before it starts (see How to challenge a termination).
This guide does not cover workers in Export Processing Zones, government servants, or employees of bodies with their own statutory service rules, who have separate rules and remedies.
Check your status first
Your rights depend on two things: whether you are a "worker" under the Act, and which class of worker you are.
Are you a worker? Since the 2025–2026 reforms, what matters is the work you actually do, not your job title. If you do skilled, unskilled, manual, technical, clerical, sales or business-development work, you are a worker even if your letter calls you an "officer" or "executive". Courts have held, for example, that a bank's assistant cashier is a worker. You are not a worker if you are employed mainly in a managerial or administrative role, or have been given supervisory authority in writing. In that case your rights come from your contract and the general law, and the Labour Court remedies in this guide may not apply.
Which class are you?
| Class | What it means | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Permanent | Appointed permanently, or probation completed | Full notice and compensation rights |
| Probationer | On trial: 6 months (clerical) or 3 months (others) | Can be released during probation with less protection. If probation ends with no written confirmation or extension, you are treated as permanent |
| Temporary | Hired for work that will end within a limited time | Shorter notice; job ends when the work ends |
| Badli (substitute) | Covering for an absent worker | Become permanent after 1 year of continuous service |
| Casual / seasonal | Casual work, or for a season | Limited rights; check your letter |
| Apprentice | Trainee on an allowance | Governed by your apprenticeship terms |
Being labelled "temporary" or "contractual" for years does not decide your class if your work is in fact permanent. Keep your appointment letter, any confirmation letter, and payslips: they are your proof.
The lawful ways your job can end
Your employment can end in only these ways, and your termination letter should say which one is being used. If it does not, or if the stated reason is not the real one, you may have grounds to challenge it.
| How it ends | Section | Does the employer need a reason? | Notice you should get | Compensation (permanent worker) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Termination simpliciter | s.26 | No, but it cannot be a disguised punishment | 120 days (monthly-paid) or 60 days, or pay instead | 30 days' wages per completed year, or gratuity if higher |
| Retrenchment | s.20 | Yes: you are surplus | 1 month, or pay instead (if 1+ year service) | 30 days' wages per completed year, or gratuity if higher |
| Discharge | s.22 | Yes: certified medical incapacity | Written order | 30 days' wages per completed year, or gratuity if higher (1+ year) |
| Removal | s.23(2) | Yes: misconduct proved at inquiry | None | 15 days' wages per completed year (1+ year) |
| Dismissal | ss.23–24 | Yes: misconduct proved at inquiry, or criminal conviction | None | None, but you still get your earned dues |
| Resignation | s.27 | You decide | You give 60 days (permanent) | Graded by length of service |
| Retirement | s.28 | Age 60 | Not applicable | Retirement benefits |
| Death in service | s.19 | Not applicable | Not applicable | Paid to your nominee |
Whatever the route, you are always owed your unpaid wages, earned-leave encashment and provident fund, and they must be paid within 30 working days.
If you are terminated without a reason (section 26)
Your employer may end your job without giving a reason, but only if it gives you full written notice or pays you instead, and pays your compensation.
| Your class | Notice you must receive |
|---|---|
| Permanent, paid monthly | 120 days |
| Permanent, other | 60 days |
| Temporary, paid monthly | 30 days |
| Temporary, other | 14 days |
What you are entitled to
A written notice, signed by an authorised person, with the date your job ends.
Either the full notice period worked, or wages for that period paid to you instead.
If you are permanent: compensation of 30 days' wages for every completed year of service, or your gratuity under the employer's scheme if that is higher (s.26(4)).
All your other dues, paid within 30 working days.
When a "no reason" termination is unlawful
The courts look at what really happened, not the label on the letter. A s.26 termination can be set aside, often with reinstatement and back wages, if it is really:
a punishment in disguise: your employer suspects misconduct but uses s.26 to avoid holding an inquiry, or stops an inquiry it has started and terminates you instead;
retaliation for union activity, including as a unit representative, or for filing a labour complaint (s.196A);
retaliation for a lawful step you took, such as winning a case or an attachment order against management, or complaining of harassment;
for an ulterior purpose, such as making room for a favoured colleague, or punishing you for refusing a voluntary retirement offer.
Timing is evidence. If you were terminated shortly after a complaint, a union demand or a court order, write down the dates and keep copies of everything.
If you are accused of misconduct
You cannot be dismissed for misconduct unless it is proved through a fair inquiry under s.24. If the procedure is not followed, the dismissal is usually unlawful, however serious the allegation.
What counts as misconduct (s.23(4), in summary): wilful disobedience of lawful orders; theft, fraud or dishonesty; taking or giving bribes; habitual absence or absence without leave for more than 10 days; habitual lateness; habitual breach of rules or law; riotous or disorderly behaviour; habitual negligence; falsifying or damaging official records; and starting or joining an illegal strike or go-slow.
Your rights in the inquiry
A written charge sheet stating exactly what you are accused of.
At least 7 days to reply in writing. Reply to every charge, and deny clearly anything you dispute; a vague reply may be treated as an admission.
Subsistence allowance if suspended. Suspension pending inquiry is limited to 60 days. You must be paid half your average wages plus full dearness and ad hoc allowance during it.
A balanced inquiry committee, with equal employer and worker representatives (no more than five in total), finishing within 60 days.
A personal hearing. You can see the evidence against you, question the employer's witnesses and call your own.
Written findings and a written order, a copy of which you must receive.
Defences the courts recognise
Old, forgiven matters cannot be revived. If your employer warned you about an incident and moved on, it cannot later dismiss you for it. A charge sheet listing only such past matters contains no real charge.
Pretext. If the charges were invented to get rid of you for union work, the Labour Court can find the inquiry perverse and order your reinstatement.
Penalty too harsh. Even where misconduct is proved, the Labour Court can reduce dismissal to a lesser penalty or to termination with benefits.
The employer may impose a lesser penalty instead of dismissal: removal (15 days' wages per year of service if you have 1+ year), demotion, stopped increment, a fine, up to 7 days' unpaid suspension, or a warning.
Retrenchment, lay-off, medical discharge and absence
Retrenchment (s.20). If you are let go because your post is surplus and you have at least 1 year of continuous service, you are entitled to:
one month's written notice stating the reasons, or a month's wages instead;
a copy of the notice sent to the Chief Inspector and to your union (CBA), if any;
"last come, first go": in your category, the most recently hired should go first unless the employer records reasons;
compensation of 30 days' wages per completed year, or gratuity if higher;
first offer of re-employment if the employer hires for your category within a year (s.21).
Lay-off (s.16). If work stops temporarily (power failure, no raw materials, breakdown), your job does not end. Since 2025 you qualify for lay-off compensation after only 3 months of service. It is at least 50% of basic wages plus dearness allowance.
Medical discharge (s.22). You can be discharged for illness or incapacity only on a registered doctor's certificate. If you disagree, ask for a second opinion and ask whether you can be moved to suitable alternative work; discrimination on grounds of disability is now prohibited. With 1+ year of service you get 30 days' wages per year, or gratuity if higher. If the condition came from a workplace accident, you are also owed employment-injury compensation.
Overstaying leave or absence. Your job does not end automatically if you are late back from leave. Your employer must write asking you to explain and return within 10 days, give you a further 7 days, and hear you (s.27(3A)). Send your explanation and any medical certificates in writing and keep copies. The courts have reinstated workers whose genuine explanations were ignored.
If you resign or retire
Resigning (s.27). If you are permanent, give 60 days' written notice (temporary monthly-paid: 30 days; others: 14 days). If you leave without full notice, your employer may deduct wages for the shortfall. Since 2025 you earn resignation compensation from your first year:
| Your completed service | Compensation per completed year |
|---|---|
| Up to 3 years | 7 days' wages |
| More than 3, less than 10 years | 15 days' wages |
| 10 years or more | 30 days' wages, or gratuity if higher |
Ask your employer for the exact figures in writing; commentary on the lowest tier varies, so check it against the gazetted 2026 Act.
Before you resign, think twice. Once your resignation is accepted, your employment ends. If you are later re-employed, it is a fresh start and your earlier seniority does not carry over. If you are being pressured to resign, keep a record of that pressure; a forced resignation may be challenged as a termination.
Retirement (s.28). You retire at 60. Your employer cannot make you retire earlier, and the Appellate Division has held that a premature retirement can be challenged in the Labour Court. On retirement you receive the benefits under your gratuity scheme, provident fund rules and service rules.
If a worker dies in service after at least 1 year (reduced from 2 years), the nominee or family receives 30 days' wages per year of service. The rate is 45 days per year if the death happened on duty or from a workplace accident, and this is in addition to retirement benefits.
When termination is unlawful
In some situations the law protects you whatever reason or route your employer uses.
Pregnancy and maternity. You are entitled to 120 days of paid maternity leave (60 before and 60 after delivery). A termination notice served during the protected period without sufficient cause does not take away your maternity benefit (s.50).
Union membership and activity. Dismissing or penalising you for joining, organising or holding office in a union is an unfair labour practice (s.195). Since 2025 it is also unlawful to retaliate because you filed a complaint about unfair labour practices (s.196A). You can go directly to the Director General of Labour, who can order your employer to stop and to pay you compensation (s.196B), without a Labour Court case.
Blacklisting. Your employer may not circulate your name to stop other employers hiring you. This is now an offence.
Discrimination. Termination because of your gender, disability or other protected characteristics is prohibited.
Refusing dangerous work. You cannot be punished for refusing work that poses an imminent danger (s.61A).
Harassment complaints. Every establishment must have a Complaint Committee, chaired by a woman, for sexual harassment and gender-based violence (s.332A), and retaliating against a complainant is penalised. The Appellate Division has also allowed an employee to sue her company for damages for failing to stop harassment she had reported.
A pending dispute. While an industrial dispute you are part of is pending before a conciliator, arbitrator or the Labour Court, your employer cannot dismiss you or change your service conditions without the permission the Act requires.
Money you are owed when you leave
Every worker who leaves, even after dismissal, is owed a core set of dues; most exits also carry compensation based on your years of service. Your employer must pay everything within 30 working days of your last day (s.30).
How your compensation is calculated
Daily wage. Your average basic wage plus dearness allowance (and ad hoc wage, if any) over the last 12 months, divided by 30. House rent and conveyance are not included (s.14(2)).
A year of service. You have completed a year if you actually worked at least 240 days in the previous 12 months. Lay-off days, paid sick leave, legal strike days and maternity leave count as days worked (s.14(1)).
Gratuity. If your employer has a gratuity scheme, it pays at least 30 days' wages per completed year (and for any part over 6 months), and 45 days per year for service beyond 10 years. Where both apply, you get whichever of compensation or gratuity is higher, not both.
What you are always owed, whatever the reason you leave
Unpaid wages and overtime up to your last day
Cash for earned leave you have not taken (s.11)
Your provident fund: your own contributions with interest, plus the employer's share if you qualify under the fund rules. Under s.29 you keep this even if you are dismissed
Your share of the Workers' Profit Participation Fund, if your company is covered
Any festival bonus already due
Notice pay, if you were not allowed to work out your notice
A certificate of service (s.31)
You may stay in employer-provided housing for up to 60 days, and you cannot be evicted until all your dues are paid (s.32).
Worked example
You are permanent and paid monthly. Your basic plus dearness allowance averages Tk 30,000, you have worked 7 years 8 months, and you have 20 days of unused earned leave. Your employer's gratuity scheme pays one month's basic per year, and you are terminated under s.26 without being allowed to work your notice.
| Item | Calculation | Amount (Tk) |
|---|---|---|
| Notice pay (120 days) | 1,000 a day × 120 | 120,000 |
| s.26 compensation | 30 days × 7 completed years × 1,000 | 210,000 |
| Gratuity under scheme | 8 years (part over 6 months counts) × 30,000 | 240,000 |
| You receive the higher of the two | Gratuity | 240,000 |
| Earned-leave encashment | 20 days × 1,000 | 20,000 |
| Total, before provident fund and arrears | 380,000 |
Ask for an itemised settlement statement. Do not sign a "full and final" release you do not understand. If you accept your dues but believe the termination was unlawful, write "received under protest" on the receipt and keep a copy.
How to challenge a termination
The law gives you a three-step route with strict 30-day deadlines, and the first step is compulsory: a Labour Court complaint filed without a proper written grievance can be thrown out at the start.
Send a written grievance to your employer (s.33(1)) within 30 days. Send it by registered post with acknowledgement due, within 30 days of the termination or the event you complain about. Time runs from the event, not from when you decide to act. Say what happened, why it was wrong, and what you want: reinstatement, back wages, unpaid dues. Keep the postal receipt and a copy.
Your employer must respond within 30 days. It must inquire, give you a hearing and send you a written decision. Attend the hearing and take notes.
Complain to the Labour Court within 30 days. File within 30 days of the employer's decision, or of the date its 30 days ran out without a decision. Attach the termination letter, your grievance, the postal receipt and any reply.
What the Labour Court can order: reinstatement with or without back wages; converting a dismissal into a lesser penalty or a termination with full benefits; payment of compensation and all unpaid dues. A party unhappy with the judgment may appeal to the Labour Appellate Tribunal.
Other routes
Union-related termination or retaliation for a complaint: you can also apply to the Director General of Labour, who can order compensation and an end to the conduct directly (s.196B).
Unpaid dues and other rights: you may apply to the Labour Court to enforce any right under the Act, a settlement or a contract (s.213). You can also report non-payment to the Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE).
Civil court or High Court writ? If you are a worker, generally no. The Appellate Division has held that the Labour Court is the proper forum, and that a civil court decree on a worker's termination is void. Writ petitions are open mainly to employees of government bodies and statutory corporations.
If a deadline is close, send the grievance anyway and take legal advice in parallel. A late grievance cannot usually be cured.
What the courts have decided
The Appellate Division of the Supreme Court has repeatedly protected workers where a termination was a punishment or a reprisal in disguise. Some decisions also show where workers lost, usually on deadlines or forum.
| Case | Year | What happened | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation v. Ali Hossain, 34 BLD (AD) 135 | 2012 | Union president terminated "without reason" after protesting mass transfers | Reinstated with full back wages: the termination power cannot be used to punish you |
| Abdul Baque v. Government of Bangladesh, 68 DLR (AD) 235 | 2015 | Employees charge-sheeted, denied the charges, then terminated instead of the inquiry being finished | Terminations set aside: an employer that starts an inquiry must finish it |
| Bangladesh Tea Estate Ltd. v. Staff Association, 28 DLR (AD) 190 | 1976 | Union unit representative terminated after presenting colleagues' grievances | Reinstatement with back wages; you need not be on the union executive to be protected |
| Mongla Port Authority v. S.M. Fazlul Huq, 25 BLD (AD) 291 | 2005 | Employee removed the day after winning an attachment order against the chairman | Set aside as mala fide removal "under the garb of termination" |
| Chittagong Development Authority v. Engineer Abul Kalam, 19 BLD (AD) 9 | 1998 | Chief Engineer removed by an off-agenda decision while sent away, to make room for another officer | Set aside as mala fide |
| Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation v. S.A.H. Monowar Ali, 5 LG (AD) 249 | 2005 | Officers terminated for refusing a golden handshake, despite vacancies | Reinstatement upheld; the employer must act fairly and justify its action |
| BCCI (Overseas) Ltd. v. Tajul Islam Chowdhury, 45 DLR (AD) 61 | 1993 | Union secretary dismissed on old incidents already dealt with by warnings | Dismissal unlawful: forgiven matters cannot be revived |
| P.W.V. Rowe v. Chairman, Labour Court, 31 DLR (AD) 119 | 1977 | Worker overstayed sick leave; employer ignored her medical certificates | Reinstated with full back wages: loss of lien is not automatic |
| Biman Bangladesh Airlines Ltd. v. Md. Abdul Khaleque, 13 ADC 481 | 2016 | Flight engineer retired at 57 | Retirement age is 60; challenge premature retirement in the Labour Court under s.33 |
| British American Tobacco v. Begum Shamsun Nahar, 66 DLR (AD) 80 | 2010 | Employee reported sexual harassment and was later terminated | Her damages suit against the company could proceed, even though she had accepted her dues |
| Mir Sattaruddin v. Palli Daridra Bimochon Foundation, 14 MLR (AD) 278 | 2008 | Long-serving project staff terminated on 3 months' pay | Termination valid, but gratuity still payable for service over 3 years |
| M.A. Mannan v. Chairman, Second Labour Court, 2 ADC 131 | 2003 | Worker sent a grievance from jail, then a second one later | Complaint was time-barred; time runs from the event. Meet every deadline |
| Rupali Bank Ltd. v. Tafazal Hossain, 44 DLR (AD) 260 | 1992 | Assistant cashier won a civil suit against his termination | Decree void: as a worker, his case belonged in the Labour Court |
| Robi Axiata Ltd. v. First Labour Court, 21 BLC (AD) 218 | 2015 | Employer sought to reject complaints made without a prior grievance | The Labour Court may reject a complaint at the start if the legal steps were not followed |
Employee checklist
Keep these documents safe, before anything goes wrong
☐ Appointment letter, confirmation letter and any promotion letters
☐ Payslips, or bank statements showing salary, for at least the last 12 months
☐ Service book entries, ID card and attendance records you can obtain
☐ Leave applications, approvals and any medical certificates
☐ Every warning, show-cause or charge sheet, and your written replies
☐ Copies of any complaint you made (union, harassment, safety) with dates
If you receive a termination, show-cause or charge sheet
☐ Note the date you received it and keep the envelope
☐ Check which section is cited and whether notice or pay in lieu is given
☐ Reply to any charge sheet in writing within 7 days, answering every charge
☐ Attend the inquiry; ask to see the evidence and to question witnesses
☐ Ask for an itemised settlement statement; check it against Money you are owed
☐ Write "received under protest" if you accept dues but dispute the termination
☐ Ask for your certificate of service
If you want to challenge it
☐ Send your written grievance by registered post within 30 days
☐ If there is no satisfactory answer within 30 days, file in the Labour Court within the next 30 days
☐ For union-related action, also consider applying to the Director General of Labour
☐ Take legal advice early; do not wait until a deadline has passed
Disclaimer and sources
This guide is general information, not legal advice for your situation. Figures from the 2025 Ordinance and 2026 Act are drawn from published commentary and should be checked against the official gazette; implementing Rules for several new provisions are still awaited. Many of the court decisions above were made under the older Employment of Labour (Standing Orders) Act, 1965, whose rules carry over into the current Act. A companion guide for employers covers the same law from the employer's side.
Sources
Bangladesh Labour Act, 2006 (English text, amended to 2018), MCCI
The Rules Have Changed: Bangladesh's 2025–2026 Labour Law Reforms, The Legal Circle via Legal 500, 11 June 2026
The Bangladesh Labour (Amendment) Act 2026: What changed, MiHCM
Provident fund, gratuity and WPPF in Bangladesh, MiHCM
Bangladesh Labour Law Amendment 2025, Mahbub & Company
Appellate Division judgments cited in What the courts have decided, from the reported copies (Manupatra), by their law-report references