Thailand is a southeast Asian nation with Bangkok as its capital city. Political stability fluctuates due to the constant coups but Thailand continues to have a monarchy that appears to have a strong partnership with its military. The government controls the media, television, and radio stations but the media are also granted the freedom to speak out and criticize the government for oppression, corruption, abuse of office, among others. Thai culture is deeply rooted in Buddhism where Buddhist beliefs and values are incorporated in their day-to-day lives while exemplifying traditional Buddhist values of mutual respect and self-control. Their cuisine is very popular worldwide and the country has become a major tourist destination of late. Its beaches and resorts are a popular destination for celebrities and regular folk, alike!
Thailand's labor law does not define what it means to be a permanent employee. However, employers are not permitted to hire employees on a fixed-term contract for tasks of a permanent nature. Employment contracts are typically established for a fixed period that is mutually agreed upon and expire upon completion of said employment period. If a contract does not specify a termination date, it is considered to be of an indefinite period.
Where the period is not specified in the contract of employment, an employer or an employee may terminate the contract by giving advance notice in writing to the other party at or before any due date of wage payment in order to take effect on the following due date of wage payment. The advance notice need not be longer than three months. In addition, a probationary employment contract is deemed to be an indefinite contract of employment for notice purposes.
Thailand's labor law does not mandate that all contracts of employment be concluded in writing. However, all employers who employ more than 20 employees must conclude a "working conditions agreement" with the employees or their union, which must be in writing. The mandatory elements to be included in this contract are the following:
Employment or working conditions
Working days and hours of work
Wages
Employee welfare benefits to be provided
Conditions of termination of employment
Petition procedure for the employee
Renewal or amendment procedure of the working conditions agreement
In addition, fixed-term contracts must be concluded in writing.
The Labour Protection Act of Thailand does not directly address the issue of temporary work agency employment. However, it does state that companies who hire an individual (and not an employment agency) to recruit other individuals for work, and the work is part of a manufacturing process or business operations under the company's responsibility, then the company will be deemed as the employer of those workers. If the recruited workers perform work in the same manner as employees under a regular employment contract, they must receive the same benefits as the employees under contract.
Thailand's employment law does not mandate a probationary period. In practice, an employee becomes eligible for severance pay after working for 120 days, so many businesses consider the maximum probationary period to be 119 days.
The only reference to a probationary period in Thailand's Labour Protection Act is a provision that states that "a probationary contract shall also be deemed as an indefinite period contract of employment." However, this does not mean that a probationary employee is given the same employment protections as a regular, permanent employee.
Thailand's labor law states that a normal working day lasts 8 hours and cannot exceed 9 hours. The total normal working hours per week cannot exceed 42 hours. In instances where the employer and employee have arranged overtime work, the additional work cannot exceed 9 hours daily or 48 hours weekly. The employer must provide a weekly rest period of 1 day per week, and the time between each rest period cannot exceed 6 days.
In Thailand, employees are entitled to a rest period of 1 hour before reaching the fifth consecutive hour of work. For employees aged less than 18 years, employers are obliged to provide a break of at least 1 hour after continuously working for no more than 4 hours.
Thailand's labor law provides that an employee is entitled to annual leave of at least 6 days after working for an uninterrupted period of 1 year with the same employer. Employees are paid at their normal wage rate for the duration of annual leave. The employer must fix the days of leave in advance for the employee or conclude an agreement with the employee regarding the days of leave. The employer and the employee may agree in advance to accumulate any annual leave that has not yet been taken in a year and postpone it to following years.
The employer can choose to provide annual leave on a pro-rata basis for employees who have not completed 1 year of service.
If employees' contract is terminated by the employer before, they must be paid for the unused annual leave for the year.
Under Thailand's employment law, employees are entitled to 30 days of sick leave per year. An employee can take up to 2 consecutive days of sick leave without documentation. If the sick leave period is 3 days or more, the employer can require that the employee produce a certificate from a physician or medical establishment. Absent this certificate, the employee must provide the employer with an explanation regarding the sick leave.
During an employee's sick leave, the employer must remunerate the employee at their regular pay rate. Employees must be remunerated in the same method as they normally would when working. Employees are entitled to paid sick leave beyond 3 days if they provide a medical certificate.
In Thailand, pregnant employees are entitled to maternity leave of no more than 98 days for each pregnancy. Any maternity leave taken includes holidays that occur during the period of leave. Employers are obligated to pay normal wages to a female employee during the first 45 days of the maternity leave period. Effective December 7, 2025, maternity leave is increased to 120 days, and employers must pay full wages to a female employee during the first 60 days of the maternity leave period. An additional 15 days of leave is provided if the newborn has medical complications or disabilities.
An employer is prohibited from requiring a pregnant employee to work between 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM, to work overtime, or to work on holidays. If a pregnant employee works in an executive position, in academic work, in clerical work, or in work relating to finance or accounting, the employer may require the employee to work overtime provided that there is no effect on the employee's health and the employee gives prior consent on each occasion.
Effective December 7, 2025, male employees are entitled to 15 days of paid paternity leave to support their spouse or partner during childbirth. This new leave allowance can be taken before or within 90 days after childbirth. Employers are required to pay full wages for the entire 15-day period.
Government sector employees may receive paid paternity leave of up to 15 consecutive working days, to be taken within 90 days after birth.
Employees whose spouses are not insured are entitled to a childbirth allowance worth THB 15,000 (Thai Baht) per birth. See the "Birth Allowance" section for more details.
The labor law of Thailand states that where a date of termination is provided in the employment contract, the employer need not give advance notice of dismissal. Where no period of time is specified in the contract of employment, the employer or the employee may terminate the employment contract by providing advance notice in writing to the other party on or before the due date of wage payment for the termination to take effect on the following due date of wage payment. For example, for employees paid on the 5th of each month, notice on or before April 5th is required for termination to be effective on May 5. The advance notice need not be longer than 3 months. In addition, a probationary employment contract is deemed to be an indefinite contract of employment for notice purposes.
An employer is permitted to pay the wages due to the employee during the notice period and immediately dismiss the employee.
Thailand's labor law mandates the payment of severance benefits to dismissed employees as follows:
If the employee has continuously been employed with the employer for more than 120 days, but less than 1 year, they will be entitled to a payment equal to 30 days of wages
If the employee has continuously been employed with the employer for more than 1 year but less than 3 years, they will be entitled to a payment equal to 90 days of wages
If the employee has continuously been employed with the employer for more than 3 years, but less than 6 years, they will be entitled to a payment equal to 180 days of wages
If the employee has continuously been employed with the employer for more than 6 years, but less than 10 years, they will be entitled to a payment equal to 240 days of wages
If the employee has continuously been employed with the employer for 10 or more years, they will be entitled to a payment equal to 300 days of wages
