#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Doing Things Legally >  >  > Williams Legal Section >  >  Thailand's Labour Protection Act 1998 (English Language version)

## William

A copy of the Thai Labour Protection Act 1998 for your information.  You need to look here for such things as "unfair dismissal" and "severance pay".




> *Labour Protection Act of 1998*
> 
> Section 1. This Act shall be referred to as the "Labour Protection Act of 1998."
> * 
> Section 2.* This Act shall enter into force one hundred and eighty days from the date of its publication in the Government Gazette.
> * 
> Section 3.* The following shall be repealed:
> (1) Announcement No. 103 of the National Executive Council to revise the laws on labour and the settlement of labour disputes, dated 16 March, 1972; (2) Act No. 1 of 1990 to amend Announcement No. 103 of the National Executive Council to revise the laws on labour and the settlement of labour disputes, dated 16 March, 1972; Provisions of all laws, regulations and other rules which are the same as provisions of this Act or which contradict or conflict with the provisions of this Act shall be replaced by this Act.
> * 
> ...

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## William

Part 2



> Chapter 1 - General Provisions
> 
> Section 7.Claims or acquisitions of rights or benefits under this Act do not curtail the rights or benefits which an employee is eligible to obtain under other laws.
> * 
> Section 8.* The Minister shall have the authority to appoint an official whose qualification is not lower than a bachelor's degree in political science who shall have authority to file lawsuits or to hold briefs in labour cases in defence of employees or the legitimate heirs of deceased employees and, when the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare has informed the court thereof, he or she shall have the authority to act until the case reaches its final conclusion.
> * 
> Section 9.* Where a boss does not refund guarantee money under paragraph 2 of Section 10 or does not pay wages, overtime pay, holiday pay and holiday overtime pay within the deadline under Section 70, compensation payment under Section 118, special compensation payment under Sections 120, 121 and 122, the boss shall pay interest of fifteen percent per annum to the employee during the period of default.
> 
> Where a boss wilfully does not refund or does not pay the money under subsection one without reasonable cause after the passage of seven days as calculated from the date due for refund or payment, the boss shall pay the employee a surcharge of fifteen percent per annum on the money unpaid during every seven-day period.
> ...

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## William

Part 3



> *Chapter 2 - General Use of Labour
> * 
> *Section 23.* A boss shall announce the normal hours of work for the information of the employee, such that the prescription of the employee's time of commencement and time of finishing of work for each day does not exceed the hours of work for each of the job categories as prescribed in ministerial regulations, but one working day must not exceed eight hours and the total hours of work in one week must not exceed forty eight hours, except that one day's normal hours of work for work which might be hazardous to the health and safety of the employee as prescribed in ministerial regulations must not exceed seven hours and in such a case, the total hours of work in one week must not exceed forty two hours.
> 
> When a boss is unable to announce and fix the time of commencement and time of finishing of work for each day due to the characteristics or nature of the work, the boss and the employee shall arrive at an agreement with each other and fix the number of hours of work for each day which must not exceed eight hours and in such a case, the total hours of work for each week must not exceed forty-eight hours.
> *Section 24.* A boss is not allowed to tell an employee to work overtime on a working day unless the consent of the employee has been obtained on a case-by-case basis.
> 
> When the characteristics or nature of the work requires the work to be performed continuously, such that if there is a stoppage it will cause damage to the work, or where the work is emergency work or such other work as prescribed in ministerial regulations, the boss may order the employee to work overtime to the extent necessary.
> * 
> ...

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## William

Part 4



> *Chapter 5 - Wages, Overtime Pay, Holiday Pay and Holiday Overtime Pay*
>  
> *Section 53.* The boss shall prescribe wages, overtime pay, holiday pay and holiday overtime pay to employees equitably for work which has the same characteristics and quality and when the amount of work is the same, regardless of whether those employees are male or female.
> 
> *Section 54.* A boss shall pay wages, overtime pay, holiday pay, holiday overtime pay and other monetary benefits arising from employment in Thai currency, unless consent has been obtained from the employee for payment to be made in the form of a financial bill or in foreign currency.
> 
> *Section 55.* A boss shall pay wages, overtime pay, holiday pay, holiday overtime pay and other monetary benefits arising from employment to an employee at the employee's place of work. If payment is to be made at another place or by another method, consent must be obtained from the employee.
> 
> *Section 56.* A boss shall pay a wage to an employee equal to the wage on a working day in respect of the following holidays:
> ...

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## William

Part 5



> *Chapter 6 - Wages Committee*
> 
> *Section 78.* There shall be a Wages Committee made up of the Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare as Chairman of the Committee, four government representatives, five boss representatives and five employee representatives appointed by the Cabinet as members of the Committee, and a government civil servant from the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare appointed by the Minister as Secretary.
> 
> The criteria and procedures for obtaining the boss representatives and the employee representatives under paragraph one shall be in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Minister.
> 
> *Section 79.* The Wages Committee has the following authority and duties:
> (1) to offer opinions to the Cabinet in connection with wages policy.(2) to offer opinions to the Cabinet reflecting recommendations of the private sector in connection with the fixing of wages and the annual wage adjustments.(3)To fix the basic minimum wage rate.(4)To fix the minimum wage rates which employees should receive commensurate with economic and social conditions.(5)To offer opinions to the Cabinet for development of the wages system.(6)To give academic recommendations and guidelines for coordination of interests to the various work units in the private sector.(7)To report to the Minister at least once a year in connection with the wages situation and wage trends as well as the measures which should be carried out.(8)To take any other action provided for by this Act or other laws within the authority and duty of the Wages Committee or as assigned to it by the Cabinet or the Minister.When offering opinions to the Cabinet, the Wages Committee may include observations on the development of the national income system.
> 
> ...

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## Marmite the Dog

Do they really use smileys in Thai law? Cool!  8)

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## William

Part 6



> Chapter 9 - Supervision
> 
> *Section 108.* A boss who has a total of ten or more employees shall arrange for work rules and regulations in the Thai language and those rules and regulations must at least have details relating to the following items:
> (1)Days of work, normal hours of work and rest hours.(2)Holidays and criteria for holidays.(3)Criteria for overtime work and holiday work.(4)Days and places of payment of wages, overtime pay, holiday pay and holiday overtime pay.(5)Leave days and criteria for taking leave.(6)Discipline and disciplinary punishment.(7)Complaints.(8)Termination of employment, compensation payments and special compensation payments.A boss shall announce the application of the work rules and regulations within fifteen days from the day on which the boss has a total of ten or more employees, and the boss shall keep a copy of those rules and regulations at the boss' place of business operations or office at all times, and a copy of the rules and regulations shall be sent to the Director-General or a person assigned by the Director-General within seven days from the day of notification of application of the said rules and regulations.
> The Director-General or a person assigned by the Director-General shall have the authority to order a boss to correctly amend work rules and regulations that are contrary to the law within a prescribed period,
> 
> A boss shall disseminate and post the notification of the work rules and regulations
> in a place open to the employees at their places of work, for the information of the employees and so that they can see them conveniently.
> *Section 109.* Complaints under Section 108 (7) must contain at least the following details:
> ...

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## William

Part 7




> Chapter 13 - Employees' Assistance Fund
> 
> Section 126. There shall be an Employees' Assistance Fund in the Labour Welfare and Protection Department the purpose of which is to provide assistance when employees leave their job or die or in other cases prescribed by the Board of Directors of the Employees' Assistance Fund.
> 
> Section 127. The Employees' Assistance Fund shall be comprised of:
> (1)employees' and bosses' contributions,(2)money for transfer to the Employees' Assistance Fund under Sections 133 and 136,(3)surcharges under Section 131,(4)fines which are received from punishing offenders under this Section,(5)monies or properties which are donated by people,(6)government grants,(7)other income,(8)interest belonging to the Employees' Assistance Fund.The Employees' Assistance Fund shall prepare accounts consisting of 
> (1)members' accounts which show the particulars of the employees' and bosses' contributions and interest from the said monies of each of all the members,(2)A central Fund Account which shows the particulars of the money other than those under subsection (1) above.Section 128. The remittance of fines under Section 127 (4) into the Employees' Assistance Fund and the deadline for remitting the said money shall be in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Board of Directors of the Employees' Assistance Fund by notification in the Government Gazette.
> 
> *Section 129. For the purpose of this Act, it shall be held that the monies and properties of the Employees' Assistance Fund under Section 127 belong to the Labour Welfare and Protection Department without the requirement of remittance to the Ministry of Finance as state income.
> ...


*
*

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## William

Part 8



> Chapter 14 - Labour Inspection Officer
> 
> Section 139. In the performance of his or her duties, the Labour Inspection Officer shall have the following authority:
> (1)To enter a place of business operations or office of a boss and the place of work of an employee during working hours in order to inspect the working conditions of the employee and the terms of employment, inquire into facts, take photographs, make photocopies of documents which are connected with employment, the payment of wages, overtime pay, holiday pay, holiday overtime pay, and employee registers, collect samples of materials or products for analysis in connection with work safety, and carry out other actions in order to obtain facts for the implementation of this Act.(2)To issue letters asking or calling on bosses, employees or persons concerned to provide explanations of facts or to send things or documents concerned for use in consideration.(3)To issue written orders requiring bosses or employees to comply correctly with this Act.Section 140. In the performance of the duties of the Labour Inspection Officer under Section 135 (1), the Labour Inspection Officer shall show an identity card to the bosses or persons concerned, and the bosses or persons concerned shall provide the appropriate facilities and not obstruct the Labour Inspection Officer in the performance of his or her duties.
> 
> 
> Section 141. When a boss or an employee has complied with the order of the Labour Inspection Officer under Section 139 (3) within the prescribed deadline, any criminal proceedings against the boss or the employee shall be halted.
> 
> 
> ...

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## William

> Do they really use smileys in Thai law? Cool! 8)


it's those bloody 8s.  And it really hates me copying a pasting from my word docs  :Sad:

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## Marmite the Dog

When you post, check the 'Disable smilies in text' box. :)

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## Ban Saray

William, aa mute point for clarification if you can.
I have a contract to work and I am subcontracted to work for a third party.
One of the conditions is that I work a 12 hour day six days a week.
Under Section 23 this is not permitted, but under other sections - as I am acting on behalf of managemnt of the 3rd party I can work as directed without OT payments.
The work is alo done on a permanenet night shift.

I think I am only entitled to what I can negotiate out of them, but can I insist on an 8 hour shift for a lower salary????

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