THAILAND Trends and Developments Contributed by: Nam-Ake Lekfuangfu, Theeranit Pongpanarat and Panitan Pruksakasemsuk, Baker McKenzie (Bangkok)
scope of work, control and supervision; and duties to provide work equipment. Employees who work from home, their residence, or anywhere else using information technology must have the same rights as employees who perform work at the workplace or office of the employer. Interestingly, the amended LPA also introduced the concept of “the right to disconnect” for remote working employees. The right to disconnect allows employees working outside the employer’s work environment to refuse contact from the employer, including the chief, supervisor, or work inspector, after normal working hours. This concept has already been introduced in various jurisdictions and is also present in the new Section 23/1. However, this provision is not mandatory. The amend - ed Act aims only to facilitate agreements between employers and employees regarding such arrange - ments. Employers who have already implemented work-from-home or remote working arrangements may need to revisit key documents, such as employ - ment contracts, work-from-home policies, and work regulations, in light of the new Section 23/1 to deter - mine if revisions are necessary. Employers who have yet to adopt a work-from-home policy or agreement may also need to consider whether to implement one and what documents would be involved. Employers’ Adaptation to an Aged Society Thailand is transitioning into an aged society and is projected to become a full-fledged one in mere dec - ades. This will also inevitably affect Thailand’s work - force, and we could expect to see a shrinking work - force in the future. One of the key considerations that could address such an issue is how employers would manage their ageing workforce, particularly related to retirement.
It is worth noting that an employee’s retirement under the Thai labour law is considered a termination of employment. Consequently, the employer will have to pay all termination payments, including severance pay, as required upon the employee’s retirement. However, there is no statutory retirement age under the Thai labour law, and it is up to the employer to decide on the retirement age as appropriate, although we have seen a common retirement age in Thailand to be 60 years old. In this respect, employers may have to consider revisiting their retirement age as they may need to increase the current retirement age to retain their sen - ior employees who may still possess knowledge and expertise valuable to their businesses. Moreover, employers may also have to think about approaches to retain employees to work after their retirement, eg, extending their retirement age or executing agreements after they have effectively retired. New arrangements on terms and conditions of employment with employees may also have to be redesigned as appropriate to their work life after retire - ment, such as more flexible working days and hours, new rates of benefits and compensations, etc.
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