Seylan Bank PLC vs The Commissioner General of Labour – CA 891/2009-2009

In the case between Seylan Bank PLC (Petitioner) and the Commissioner General of Labour, D.M.S. Dissanayake (Commissioner of Labour), and certain former employees of Seylan Bank (Respondents), the court addressed the issue of whether the Petitioner was legally obligated to pay enhanced gratuity—specifically, one month’s salary per year for employees with over ten years of unblemished service—pursuant to an internal memorandum (P5), or could revert to the statutory minimum under the Payment of Gratuity Act, No. 12 of 1983. It was held that the internal memorandum (P5) constituted an “agreement” under Section 10(1) of the Act, obliging the Bank to pay the enhanced gratuity and validating the Commissioner of Labour’s order (P12) requiring such payment. The decision reaffirmed the principle th