Appointment letter in Pakistan: what employers must put in writing
Written by the StreamHCM team for HR and payroll managers in Pakistan. Updated on 7 November 2026. Published 2 November 2026.
In an industrial or commercial establishment covered by the Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968, Standing Order 2-A says every workman must be given an order in writing showing the terms and conditions of service at the time of appointment, transfer or promotion. In the Punjab text, the Ordinance applies to establishments with twenty or more workmen (directly or through another person) on any day in the preceding twelve months. In practice, that written order is the appointment letter, and it should at least state the worker's category, pay, hours, probation and how the job can end.
New joiners often start work on a phone call and a WhatsApp message. That is fine until there is a dispute about probation, notice or final settlement, and nobody can show what was agreed. A clear appointment letter on day one prevents most of those arguments, and it gives payroll the data it needs to pay correctly from the first month.
This guide is general information based on the Punjab text of the Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968, as amended up to 2012. Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan have their own standing orders laws, for example the Sindh Terms of Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 2015. It is not legal advice. Check the law that applies to your province and establishment, or speak to a labour law adviser.
What the law actually says
Standing Order 2-A is one sentence: every workman, at the time of appointment, transfer or promotion, shall be provided with an order in writing showing the terms and conditions of service. It was added to the Schedule by an amendment, and it means a promotion or transfer also needs a fresh written order, not just the first hiring.
The Ordinance does not prescribe a fixed template. That is why appointment letters in Pakistan look so different from company to company. The safe approach is to cover every term that the rest of the Standing Orders, the payroll and the leave policy depend on.
Six worker categories, and why the letter must name one
Standing Order 1 classifies workmen as permanent, probationers, badlis, temporary, apprentices and contract workers. The category decides ticket or card type, notice rights and how a termination is handled, so the appointment letter should say which one applies.
- Permanent: engaged on work of a permanent nature likely to last more than nine months, after satisfactorily completing a three-month probation. A badli who has worked continuously for three months, or for 183 days in any twelve consecutive months, is also counted as permanent.
- Probationer: provisionally employed to fill a permanent vacancy and has not yet completed three months in that post. A permanent employee put on probation in a higher post can be reverted to the old post during those three months.
- Badli: appointed to the post of a permanent workman or probationer who is temporarily absent.
- Temporary: engaged for work of an essentially temporary nature likely to finish within nine months.
- Apprentice: an apprentice within the meaning of the Apprenticeship Ordinance, 1962.
- Contract worker: works on a contract basis for a specific period, with remuneration calculated on a piece-rate basis.
The probation clause
The Standing Orders tie probation to three months. If your letter says "six months probation" for a workman covered by the Ordinance, check that against the law before you rely on it. Write the probation start date, its length and what happens at the end (confirmation letter, or extension only where the law and policy allow). For managerial and supervisory staff who fall outside the "workman" definition, the contract itself carries more weight, so be explicit.
A practical appointment letter checklist
Use this as a format checklist rather than a fixed template:
- Employer's legal name and address, and the work location or branch.
- Employee's full name, CNIC number and joining date.
- Designation, department and reporting manager.
- Worker category under the Standing Orders (permanent, probationer, temporary and so on) and the probation period.
- Gross salary broken into basic pay and allowances, the pay day and the payment method (bank transfer).
- Working hours, weekly rest day, shift pattern and how overtime is approved and paid. See our overtime calculation rules guide and the new overtime calculator.
- Leave entitlements, or a reference to the leave policy, including maternity leave where the role can include it. See labour law leave entitlements in Pakistan and maternity leave in Pakistan.
- Statutory deductions and contributions the employee should expect: income tax under Section 149, EOBI, provincial social security and any provident fund. See the EOBI contribution guide and provident fund in Pakistan.
- Notice period and how resignation or termination works. See our notice period guide.
- Confidentiality, company property and code of conduct, kept reasonable.
- Signatures and dates of both sides, with a copy kept on the employee's file.
Transfers and promotions need a new written order
Because Standing Order 2-A also covers transfer and promotion, a change of branch, designation or salary band should be confirmed in writing too. A short letter that says what changed and from which date is enough. Keep it with the original appointment letter so the history is in one place when final settlement time comes. Our final settlement guide shows why that history matters.
Common mistakes HR teams make
- No worker category, so nobody knows whether notice or probation rules apply.
- Salary written as one gross figure with no basic pay, which later makes gratuity, provident fund and overtime harder to calculate.
- A probation period that does not match the law that applies.
- Letters issued at joining but never on promotion or transfer.
- Signed copies kept only on paper, then lost.
How HR software keeps appointment letters consistent
With employee management software, the letter is generated from the same employee record that payroll uses: designation, category, joining date, salary structure and leave policy. When HR records a promotion or transfer, the system can produce the new letter and keep the full history on the profile. StreamHCM keeps employee documents, onboarding and payroll in one place; see our onboarding checklist and HR software in Pakistan.
Questions
Is an appointment letter mandatory in Pakistan?
For establishments covered by the Industrial and Commercial Employment (Standing Orders) Ordinance, 1968, Standing Order 2-A requires a written order showing the terms and conditions of service at appointment, transfer or promotion. Provincial standing orders laws apply in some provinces, so check the law for your province.
What is the probation period under Pakistani labour law?
Under the Standing Orders, a probationer is a workman who has not completed three months of service in a permanent post. Staff outside the "workman" definition are usually governed by their contract.
Is there a fixed appointment letter format in Pakistan?
No fixed government template is prescribed by the Ordinance. The letter should clearly cover category, pay, hours, leave, probation and notice.
Does a promotion need a new appointment letter?
Standing Order 2-A covers appointment, transfer and promotion, so a written order should be issued for each change.
Who is a badli worker?
A badli is appointed in place of a permanent workman or probationer who is temporarily absent. A badli who works three months continuously, or 183 days in twelve months, is counted as permanent under the Punjab text.
Related: notice period in Pakistan, salary slip format, employee offboarding software.
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