HR Audit Checklist for Pakistani Companies [2026 Template]

An HR audit is a structured review of your people operations against legal requirements, company policies, and best practices. In Pakistan, where labour law compliance sits across federal (EOBI, FBR) and provincial (PESSI, SESSI, Employment Ordinances) frameworks, an annual audit is not optional. It's the only reliable way to find compliance gaps before a Labour Department inspection does.

This checklist is designed for Pakistani HR teams. Work through it annually, or use sections of it when a compliance question arises.

Rate each item as compliant, partial, or gap found. For every gap, note what's wrong, who owns the fix, and the target completion date.

The foundation of any HR audit is whether you can produce complete, accurate documentation for every employee.

For employment contracts and letters, check that every active employee has a signed appointment letter on file specifying designation, department, reporting line, gross salary, probation period, notice period, and benefits, that all contracts reference the company's standing orders or equivalent policy document, that employees who received promotions or salary changes have updated letters on file, and that termination or resignation letters are on file for departed employees from the last three years.

For employee records, check that a CNIC copy is on file for every employee, educational certificates are on file or verified, emergency contact information has been reviewed within the last 12 months, bank account details are correct against the last three salary disbursements, and current address is recorded and recently confirmed.

For joining documentation, check that joining reports signed by employee and HR are on file for all employees, and that pre-employment reference check records exist or a documented exception is noted.

Most gaps in this section trace back to onboarding itself. A structured onboarding process that collects documentation on day one, rather than deferring it, is what keeps this section clean at audit time.

EOBI is the most audited statutory requirement in Pakistan. These questions mirror what an EOBI inspector will ask.

For registration, confirm the company is registered with EOBI with a current employer code, verified at eobi.gov.pk or your regional office.

For employee enrollment, confirm all employees with 6 or more months of continuous service are enrolled, EOBI insurance numbers are recorded in each employee's HR file, enrollment forms (E-1) are filed and confirmed for all enrolled employees, and new employees are tracked for their 6-month enrollment trigger date.

For contributions, this checklist states the employer contribution at 5% of statutory minimum wage (roughly PKR 1,850 for Punjab in 2026) and the employee contribution at 1% of statutory minimum wage (roughly PKR 370 a month), with contributions remitted by the 15th of each following month, no late payments, and EOBI payment receipts on file for the last 12 months. The contribution calculation is based on statutory minimum wage, not actual salary.

Red flags to investigate include any month with a missing payment record in the last 12 months, any enrolled employee whose contribution record shows a different combined amount than roughly PKR 2,220 a month, and employees who passed 6 months of employment but have no EOBI insurance number.

For a section-by-section walkthrough specific to EOBI and PESSI, this compliance checklist is worth running alongside this audit rather than after it.

For Punjab (PESSI), confirm the company is registered with PESSI if it is a Punjab establishment with 10 or more employees, all eligible employees are enrolled within 7 days of joining, PESSI insurance numbers are recorded in HR files, monthly contributions are remitted by the 15th of the following month, contributions are calculated at 6% of wages capped at the PKR 30,000 insurable ceiling, and challans are on file for the last 12 months.

For Sindh (SESSI), confirm the company is registered with SESSI if it is a Sindh establishment with 5 or more employees, all eligible employees are enrolled, SESSI insurance numbers are recorded, monthly contributions are remitted on time, and the correct employer code is being used, separate from PESSI if the company operates in multiple provinces.

For multi-province operations, confirm employees in Punjab are enrolled with PESSI under the Punjab employer code, employees in Sindh are enrolled with SESSI under the Sindh employer code, and there is no cross-province enrollment confusion.

For income tax, confirm tax deduction is calculated per current FBR income tax slabs, FBR tax tables are updated for the current financial year effective each July, taxable and exempt allowances are correctly classified (medical allowance exempt up to PKR 10,000 a month, conveyance allowance exempt up to PKR 2,500 a month, leave encashment paid during employment is taxable), annual tax certificates are issued to all employees by July 31, and monthly tax remittance to FBR happens on time by the 15th of the following month.

For salary structure accuracy, confirm gross salary matches the latest appointment or increment letter for every employee, allowance breakdowns are consistent rather than arbitrary splits, headcount in the payroll register matches actual employee count with no ghost employees, and employees who resigned or were terminated are removed from the next payroll run with no payments after their last working day.

For payroll records, confirm the salary register for the last 12 months is on file, bank disbursement records match salary register amounts, and all employees have signed or acknowledged salary slips for the last three months.

For gratuity, confirm monthly gratuity provision is calculated at one twelfth of basic salary per employee, gratuity liability is recorded as a provision in accounts rather than only paid on exit, and gratuity payment records are on file for all departed employees from the last three years.

For the attendance system, confirm biometric or attendance records match payroll deductions, late-coming deductions are calculated per stated policy, absent days without approved leave are deducted correctly, and overtime hours are documented and paid or compensated per company policy.

For leave policy, confirm annual leave policy is documented and communicated at a minimum of 14 days per the West Pakistan Employment Ordinance, sick leave policy is documented at a minimum of 10 days per the Ordinance, casual leave policy is documented at 10 days per the Ordinance on a use-it-or-lose-it basis, maternity leave policy is documented at 12 weeks for female employees, and leave balances in the system match manual records on a spot check of 5 employees.

For leave records, confirm leave applications are on file for the last 12 months, approved leave is reflected in attendance and payroll records, and leave encashment payments are documented with correct tax treatment.

Confirm these policies exist, are current, and employees have acknowledged them: code of conduct, disciplinary procedure, grievance redressal procedure (mandatory under Standing Orders), anti-harassment policy (mandatory under the Protection Against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010), data protection and confidentiality policy, IT and acceptable use policy, leave policy covering annual, sick, casual, and maternity/paternity leave, and expense and reimbursement policy.

For anti-harassment compliance, confirm a harassment committee is constituted per the 2010 Act, required for companies with 2 or more employees, with the correct composition of 3 members, a majority of women, headed by a senior woman. Confirm the harassment policy is displayed in the workplace as required by law, employees are trained on the policy at least once at onboarding, and the complaint mechanism is known to all employees.

Termination is the highest-risk area for labour disputes. Incomplete documentation here creates serious legal exposure.

Confirm all terminations are documented with reason and date, termination letters are on file for involuntary separations, notice period was observed or salary in lieu was paid and documented, final settlement was calculated and paid within 30 days of the last working day per the Employment Ordinance, final settlement includes gratuity, leave encashment where applicable, and outstanding expenses, final settlement was signed and acknowledged by the employee, experience certificates were issued to departed employees, EOBI and PESSI/SESSI status was updated at departure with enrollment deactivated after the last contribution month, and provident fund withdrawal was processed where applicable.

A quick data quality check that takes 30 to 60 minutes: confirm headcount in the HRIS matches the payroll register and physical headcount, all active employees have a valid salary record with no zero-salary active records, all designations are current for promoted employees, reporting structure is current with no employees reporting to former managers who have left, contact information is current with a spot check calling 5 employees' emergency contacts, and there are no duplicate employee records.

After completing the checklist, score your audit against three risk bands.

For each gap or partial item, document what's wrong with a specific, factual description, the named owner responsible for fixing it, the specific fix required rather than a vague improve records, the target date within 30, 60, or 90 days based on severity, and the evidence of completion, meaning what document or system record confirms it's fixed.

Track this in a simple spreadsheet, and review monthly until all gaps are closed.

Different parts of the audit run on different cycles.