THAILAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Nam-Ake Lekfuangfu, Theeranit Pongpanarat and Panitan Pruksakasemsuk, Baker McKenzie (Bangkok)
13th-month payment and bonuses are not statutory payments under the LPA, and it is up to the employer to prescribe terms and conditions as it wishes or as agreed with the employees as part of their employ - ment terms and conditions. 1.5 Other Employment Terms Statutory Holidays Under the LPA, there are three types of holidays. • Weekly holiday: the employer must provide at least one weekly holiday per week. The interval between weekly holidays shall not be more than six days, and the employer and the employee may agree in advance to fix any day as a weekly holiday. • Traditional holiday: the employer must provide at least 13 traditional holidays per year, including National Labour Day, which the employer must announce in advance. The employer must fix the traditional holidays according to the official annual holidays and religious or local holidays. • Annual holidays: the employer must provide annual holidays of not less than six working days per year for any employee who has worked for an uninter - rupted period of one year. The annual holidays can be fixed in advance or as agreed by the employer and employee. The employer and the employee may agree in advance to accumulate and postpone any annual holiday that has not yet been taken in a year to be included in the following year. If an employee has not completed one year of ser - vice, the employer may set annual holidays for the employee on a pro rata basis. During these holidays, the employee shall receive wages equivalent to a working day’s wages. If the employee is required to work on these holidays, the employer must provide holiday pay or overtime work, if any. Statutory Leaves There are six statutory leaves under the LPA. • Sick leave: An employee is entitled to take sick leave as long as they are truly injured or ill. The
employer will pay wages throughout leave, but for no more than 30 working days a year. • Maternity leave: a female employee is entitled to take maternity leave of not more than 98 days for each pregnancy, inclusive of holidays during the period of leave. Pre-natal care is considered part of this leave. The employer will pay wages throughout leave, but for no more than 45 days for a preg - nancy. • Sterilisation leave: an employee is entitled to take leave for sterilisation and leave as a result of steri- lisation for a determined period, and with a certifi - cate issued by a first-class physician, with wage pay. • Business leave: an employee is entitled to take leave for necessary business of not less than three working days per year, with wage pay. • Military service leave: an employee is entitled to take leave for military service for inspection, military drilling or readiness testing under the law concerning military service. The employer must pay wages throughout leave, but for no more than 60 days a year. • Leave for training: an employee shall be entitled to take leave for training or the development of their knowledge and skills in accordance with the rules and procedures prescribed in the Ministerial Regulations. As the law is silent on payment dur - ing this leave, it is up to the employer to allow the employee to take this leave with or without pay. There are no statutory leaves for disability or childcare. Confidentiality and Non-Disparagement Requirements Thai labour law is silent on the obligations of confiden - tiality or non-disparagement. It is generally permissi - ble for the employer and employee to agree on these obligations, including for the period after the cessation of employment. The enforcement of these confidentiality clauses, in practice, could be somewhat challenging. One of the challenges is that it will be difficult for some employers to have sufficient evidence and witnesses to prove the employee’s breach of confidentiality and to establish the extent of damages they suffer to claim compen -
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